In a game that was meant for the fringe players within the Aussie setup to showcase their skills, it was all-rounder Marcus Stoinis who stole the show with a heroic knock in the first ODI against New Zealand at Auckland. Stoinis, who made his debut in 2015 against England, played one of the most memorable ODI knocks of all time, as he single handedly led Australia’s charge in a tricky run-chase.
Chasing 287 to win on a ground that wasn’t too large by the modern standards, the Kangaroos seemed done and dusted when the sixth wicket fell with just 67 runs on board. It seemed evident that the Kiwis were due to welcome their Trans Tasman neighbors with a crushing defeat.
From there on however, Stoinis began his brilliance as he went on to slam 11 massive sixes. En route to an epic knock of 146 off just 117 deliveries, the all-rounder fell short of support and almost got Australia past the winning line. However, a moment of brilliance from Kane Williamson sealed the game for New Zealand by five runs as he ran out Josh Hazlewood.
“If you look at the stat book after making 140-odd and taking three-for it doesn’t feel that good,” Stoinis said.
“It just shows how much of a team game cricket is and how important winning is to everyone. I’m happy to an extent but probably not what I would imagine. “As an all-round game, it’s what you dream of and think about when you close your eyes before the game. I’ve had smoother innings than this but this is a different kind of pressure. To put the performance on the board feels good.”
Elaborating about his plan of chasing, Stoinis said:
“The plan was pace myself but then target a certain bowler and the end with the wind was the main thing for me. Then there were a couple of overs before they put five out on the boundary where I thought it might be time to have a crack. Also, once you’ve faced 100 balls it does get a bit easier, so the more wickets we lost, the more I thought it was my turn to score the runs.
“With Hazlewood the plan was for me to face the first four or five and then get a single last ball. But at the end there, the plan was to try to hit a six and get a draw and then leave Josh to get a single to win the game,” Stoinis concluded.