On this day (June 23) in 2003, first-ever century in T20 cricket was smashed. Ian Harvey, an Australian player scripted history when he reached a triple-figure mark. He clinched his century off 50 balls with a phenomenal strike rate of exactly 200. He hammered 13 fours and four sixes all over the ground.
In a group contest against Warwickshire, Gloucestershire won the toss and elected to bowl first. Warwickshire kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and hence, could not post a good total. Warwickshire scored 134/7 in their given quota of 20 overs. Jonathon Trott was the highest scorer for Warwickshire with unbeaten 65 off 54 deliveries. Jon Lewis and Mark Alleyne scalped two wickets each while Martyn Ball and Ian Harvey dismissed one batsman each.
Gloucestershire were supposed to chase the total in 20 overs but Harvey had some other plans. He opened the innings alongside Craig Spearman. Ian reached the first ever century and won the game for his side. Riding on a blistering century hit by the all-rounder, Gloucestershire chased down the target in mere 13.1 overs. Harvey scored unbeaten 100 off 50 balls. Notably, 76 runs of the century came by boundaries in just 17 balls. As Gloucestershire won the match, they reached the semi-finals of the inaugural T20 season.
Ian was adjudged as man of the match for his magnificent century. He went on to be the third highest run scorer of the tournament and this his was the first of his three T20 hundreds.
This was the maiden edition of Twenty20 cup and Gloucestershire officially signed up Australian all-rounder Ian Harvey for the season. John Bracewell, director of the club, was quoted in the Gazette as saying, “I got a fair bit of stick for bringing Ian to the club in 1999, but the club’s cricket results have blossomed since. There is no doubt that Ian is one of the most exciting cricketers on the County circuit and this has not only been proven on the park, but also tested in the marketplace.”
In 2013, Harvey returned to Gloucestershire, taking up coaching roles. Harvey’s job is to help the team shape their white-ball skills for one-day competitions.
