Cricket: Great Scott! A top-class ton

By RICHARD BOOCK in Bloemfontein

A sunburned and exhausted Scott Styris sat slumped in his chair yesterday, reflecting on the agony and ecstasy of his first World Cup outing.

The 27-year-old right-hander experienced the highs of a maiden one-day international century - a sparkling 141 off just 125 balls - on the same day that New Zealand's cup plans were derailed with a 47-run loss to Sri Lanka.

With wickets tumbling, Styris was required in the middle inside the first two overs and tried his best to lead the charge towards the target of 273, remaining a threat to the Sri Lankans until his departure in the 47th.

In 15 previous ODIs at Goodyear Park, the highest-winning chase had come from England, who scored 264 to beat the Proteas in Bloemfontein in 1995-96.

Styris obviously had not been made aware of the enormity of his task, as he kept battling throughout the innings, to the extent that he gave his side a rough chance of coming back from the edge.

The Northern Districts stalwart, who posted his maiden test century on his debut in the West Indies last year, took only 104 balls to reach three figures, the same number of deliveries that Sanath Jayasuryia took to post his man-of-the-match 120 in the first innings.

In energy-sapping conditions which also took a toll on the Sri Lankans, Styris searched in vain for a game-turning partnership, but instead watched most of his partners depart cheaply, the best effort coming from Chris Cairns, who scored 32 in a fourth-wicket stand of 78.

Styris said afterwards that he would have preferred to have launched the all-or-nothing attack on the Sri Lankans a bit sooner, but was hamstrung by frequent dismissals at the other end and could not afford to get carried away.

"We were wanting to go for it earlier, but we had to set up a platform first, and unfortunately the wickets kept tumbling. At no stage did we really have two guys properly in. Even when Jacob Oram arrived, I wanted to give him a chance to see the ball properly for a while."

Styris, who has played in hot-spots such as Sri Lanka and Brisbane, said the intensity of the sun had surprised him, as it also caused dehydration problems for Jayasuryia.

Of his century, he gave the distinct impression that it was of academic interest only, and that he was far more interested in the fortunes of the team.

"It's a hollow feeling, to score runs in a game which is lost," he said.

Only Glenn Turner's 171 not out against East Africa at the 1975 World Cup was higher than Styris' effort in 30 years of New Zealand one-day internationals.

Styris second

Scott Styris' 141 against Sri Lanka yesterday was the second-highest score by a New Zealander in one-day cricket:

171*: Glenn Turner v East Africa, Birmingham, 1975.

141: Scott Styris v Sri Lanka, Bloemfontein, 2002-03.

140: Glenn Turner v Sri Lanka, Auckland, 1982-83.

130: Chris Harris v Australia, Madras, 1995-96.

122*: Nathan Astle v England, Dunedin, 2001-02.

120: Nathan Astle v Zimbabwe, Auckland, 1995-96.

120: Nathan Astle v India, Rajkot, 1999-00.

119: Nathan Astle v Pakistan, Dunedin, 2001-02.

118*: Mathew Sinclair v Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 2000-01.

* Denotes not out

World Cup schedule

Points table