New Zealand batsman Corey Anderson has smashed his way to the fastest one-day international 100, taking just 36 balls to reach his century against the West Indies.
Left-hander Anderson, 23, smashed his 12th six of his innings off spinner Nikita Miller in the 18th over at the small Queenstown ground on Wednesday to reach three figures.
He eclipsed Pakistani Shahid Afridi’s previous record of 37 balls, set against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996.
Anderson finished unbeaten on 131, having smashed 14 sixes as New Zealand posted a mammoth 4-283.
He was supported by Jesse Ryder, whose 104 was itself the sixth fastest ton in ODIs in his second match since the well-documented problems he suffered at the start of 2013.
The pair, who put on 191 for the fourth wicket, came together at 84 for three in the seventh over, with New Zealand already in control of a match which looked for a long time like it would not start because of persistent rain.
The assault proper started in the 12th over as the pair combined to take 19 off Jason Holder, but it got worse from there.
Anderson smashed four sixes in the next over, off Sunil Narine, then repeated the trick two overs later off Ravi Rampaul.
At that stage Anderson had hit 10 sixes in the space of 16 deliveries faced and his side had moved on to 194 for three.
At the other end Ryder was prepared to deal in relatively pedestrian fours, but he put the cherry on the tourists’ worst moment as he swept the last ball of that Miller over – which cost 27 runs – over the boundary.
Among some ugly bowling figures, Rampaul stood out for the wrong reasons as his three overs cost 64 runs.
ICC rules state that to constitute a match, a minimum of 20 overs have to be bowled at the side batting second. The match was reduced to 21 overs each after rain delayed the start.
In the 19th over of the West Indies’ reply, they were struggling at 4-100.
The West Indies lead the five-match series 1-0 after a two-wicket win at Eden Park on Boxing Day. The second match in Napier was rained off.