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Australian blind cricketer Steffan Nero did the unthinkable and took the cricketing world by storm by belting a record triple century in the limited over match on June 15. In his historical knock, he blasted an unbeaten 309 off 140 balls against New Zealand in the International Cricket Inclusion Series to propel his side to a humungous 270-run victory.
Nero also bested the earlier record of an unbeaten 262 set by Pakistan’s Masood Jan at the 1998 Blind Cricket World Cup.
In his masterclass knock, the opening batter clobbered 49 fours and one maximum to script another ODI record of posting 542/2 in their stipulated 40 overs.
Batting second, the Blackcaps were restricted to just 272 in which Nero was responsible for five run-outs as wicketkeeper.
Nero became the eighth Australian to score a triple century across all formats, joining an illustrious list of cricket greats including Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, and David Warner.
“It’s the first time I’ve played an ODI in a while,” he was quoted as saying by News Corp.
“It got difficult at stages. There were times when I was getting quite tired, mentally as well, and I thought I was going to get out.
“For any fully sighted cricketer to bat for that amount of overs is tough, for blind cricketers, we use so much more energy to concentrate — the glare becomes a big factor as well. I was really well supported by the other boys and I definitely didn’t do it alone. People around me were just telling me to push. I was that knackered but kept finding it in me to keep pushing,” he added.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet but as the days and weeks pass, I think I’ll realise what an achievement it is,” he further added.
Nero has congenital nystagmus, meaning his brain does not receive a clear message of what his eyes are seeing.
He has already struck two centuries earlier in the tournament and the unbeaten 309 takes his series batting average to a whopping 523.00, giving him a mind-boggling strike rate of 224.5.
