England scripted history during the opening match of the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad against New Zealand. Opting to bowl first, New Zealand's stand-in captain Tom Latham could not have foreseen the unique batting record that England would establish.
England posted a total of 282-9 in their innings, but what set their performance apart was that all eleven batters managed to reach double figures. This extraordinary feat had never been accomplished in the history of One Day Internationals (ODIs), spanning 52 years and 4,567 matches.
The sequence of England's batting order during this memorable innings read as follows: Jonny Bairstow 33, Dawid Malan 14, Joe Root 77, Harry Brook 25, Moeen Ali 11, Jos Buttler 43, Liam Livingstone 20, Sam Curran 14, Chris Woakes 11, Adil Rashid 15 not out, and Mark Wood 13 not out.
This unique achievement was a testament to England's deep batting lineup. Their aggressive approach at the crease led to wickets falling, but it also provided enough opportunities for the lower-order batsmen, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood, to reach double figures.
The decision to adopt a high-risk approach might have been influenced by New Zealand's team composition, which featured only three frontline bowlers – Trent Boult, Matt Henry, and the versatile Mitchell Santner, known for his batting capabilities.
West Indies v Australia, Bridgetown, 1990/91 (Courtney Walsh 4)
Pakistan v West Indies, Dhaka, 1998 Champions Trophy (Shahid Afridi 4)
Zimbabwe v India, Rajkot 2000/01 (Brian Murphy 1)
India v Pakistan, Jaipur 2007/08 (Robin Uthappa 1)
Australia v India, Chennai 2022/23 (Steve Smith 0)
England's record-breaking performance surpassed the previous record of ten batters reaching double figures in a single ODI innings, a feat achieved on five separate occasions in the past. Notably, in all those instances, the team batting second achieved this milestone.
While such records are more common in Test cricket, where there are no restrictions on overs, this historic achievement in ODIs adds a new chapter to England's cricketing legacy in the 2023 World Cup.