Amelia Kerr has ‘the world ahead of her’ after rewriting the record books

Women's Cricket

White Ferns allrounder Amelia Kerr said that the enormity of what she achieved against Ireland in Clontarf on Wednesday has not sunk in.

Kerr broke Belinda Clark’s 20-year-old record for the highest ODI score in women’s cricket hitting 232 not out but didn’t stop there going on to take 5/17 with the ball for perhaps the greatest individual ODI performance of all time.

Speaking after the match Kerr said:  “It’s pretty surreal. It was just nice to get the opportunity to open and get some time out in the middle.

“I had to work hard at the start but once I got through (that period) then I got going and then had that good partnership with Leigh, which allowed me to play the way I wanted to play and hit boundaries, because we weren’t losing wickets.”

Kerr was pleased to be able to play her natural game and have it come off so very well as she raced to a hundred in 77 balls before accelerating to go beyond 200.

She added: “I didn’t change much. I just wanted to keep batting, put the bad balls away. I was scoring off most balls then. I knew the Powerplay was coming, so I thought once we get to the Powerplay I’ll try and go hard then.

Kerr had no idea that she was about to break the world record revealing that she had never heard of Clark before breaking her record.

“No, I had no idea. I thought I heard them say stuff on the speaker but I didn’t hear them because everyone was clapping. I had no idea,” she said, adding, “I hadn’t heard of her (Clark), but I’d heard now from the girls … women.”

New Zealand coach Haidee Tiffen was thrilled with Kerr’s achievement and backed her to build on the achievement.

Tiffen said:

“Incredible innings. For a 17-year-old to show such a range of shots plus also the concentration is just incredible. Breaking a 20-year record – outstanding; 232 and carrying your bat – unbelievable performance.

“I’ve always known Amelia has tremendous potential with the bat. I genuinely believe she will be a top-class all-rounder for the team, and no doubt about it, she will be batting in the top order for the White Ferns in the future.

“Not only is she a talented bowler, which we saw first and foremost, but the fact that she has gone out and worked really hard at her batting and I know she is hungry to perform and contribute with the bat. Hugely talented player and at 17, she’s got the world ahead of her.”

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