A batter always tries to score as many runs as possible for his team to secure a good position. We have seen many times in cricket when a batsman single-handedly changed the whole scenario of the match by scoring a big innings. Scoring a century is a big task for the batter, but scoring a double century is even harder.
However, we have seen a total of eight double centuries in the ODI format so far. India has five, and New Zealand, Pakistan, and West Indies have one each. In this article, we will also cover the highest scores for West Indies in ODI cricket. Speaking of West Indies cricket, this country has given some big names to cricket. So let’s check.
3. Viv Richards (181 runs) against Sri Lanka at Karachi
Viv Richards was one of the best batsmen to play this game. He was the legendary West Indies all-rounder. He holds two out of the top three individual scores for his country. The third highest score against Sri Lanka came in the 7th match of the 1987 World Cup. It was Sri Lanka who won the toss and bowled first. The West Indies lost two wickets on the trot. But after that, a big partnership helped them to reach 360/4 in their 50 overs.
Desmond Haynes scored 105 runs, while Richards scored a big century. He made 181 runs off just 125 balls, with 16 fours and 7 sixes. In reply, Sri Lanka couldn’t even cross Richard’s figure. Sri Lanka scored 169/4 in their 50 overs and lost the match by 191 runs. Richards was the “Man of the Match”.
2. Viv Richards (189* runs) against England at Manchester
Viv Richards held the record for the highest individual score in ODI for more than a decade. It came against England at Manchester. West Indies won the toss and chose to bat first. They lost their nine wickets for 166 runs, but then an unbeaten partnership of 106* runs for the 10th wicket helped West Indies reach a total of 272/9 in their first innings. Richards single-handedly scored most of the runs for his team.
He carried his bat through and remained not out on 189* off 170 balls, with 21 fours and five sixes. Apart from him, only two other batters went past the 10-run mark. In reply, England couldn’t do much with the bat. They got all out for 168 runs in 50 overs. For them, Allan Lamb was the high scorer with 75 runs. West Indies won that match by a margin of 104 runs.
1. Chris Gayle (215 runs) against Zimbabwe (Highest for West Indies in ODI)
The only double century for West Indies came from the bat of Chris Gayle, which is also the highest score for them in ODI cricket. It was the 15th match of the 2015 World Cup between West Indies and Zimbabwe. This match saw many records broken. After winning the toss, the Caribbean team batted first. They lost the first wicket in the very first over of the innings. But after that, there was a record-breaking partnership for the second wicket.
Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels added 372 runs for the second wicket, and both batters got centuries. Samuels scored an unbeaten 133 runs. On the other hand, Gayle just took every bowler apart. He smashed a double century and made 215 runs off 147 balls with 10 fours and 16 maximums. West Indies made 372/2 in their 50 overs. In response, Zimbabwe also batted well but got all out for 289 runs and lost the match by 73 runs. Then, Gayle became the first and only double centurion for his country.
List of Highest Individual ODI Score for West Indies
| Player | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Gayle | 215 | 147 | 10 | 16 | Zimbabwe | Canberra | 24 Feb 2015 |
| Viv Richards | 189* | 170 | 21 | 5 | England | Manchester | 31 May 1984 |
| Viv Richards | 181 | 125 | 16 | 7 | Sri Lanka | Karachi | 13 Oct 1987 |
| John Campbell | 179 | 137 | 15 | 6 | Ireland | Dublin | 5 May 2019 |
| Evin Lewis | 176* | 130 | 17 | 7 | England | The Oval | 27 Sep 2017 |
| Shai Hope | 170 | 152 | 22 | 2 | Ireland | Dublin | 5 May 2019 |
| Brain Lara | 169 | 129 | 15 | 4 | Sri Lanka | Sharjah | 16 Oct 1995 |
| Dinesh Ramdin | 169 | 121 | 8 | 11 | Bangladesh | Basseterre | 25 Aug 2014 |
| Chris Gayle | 162 | 97 | 11 | 14 | England | St George’s | 27 Feb 2019 |
| Xavier Marshall | 157* | 118 | 11 | 12 | Canada | King City (NW) | 22 Aug 2008 |