Sam Northeast on Saturday (July 23) entered an exclusive group of cricketers to pass 400 runs in a single innings after hitting 410 not out for Glamorgan in an English County Championship match.
He didn’t get a chance to challenge Brian Lara’s world-record individual score of 501 — set in 1994 while playing for Warwickshire, also in an English county match — because Glamorgan chose to declare on 795-5 against Leicestershire.
Also read: Cricket returns to Commonwealth Games: Cricketers recall experiences from 1998 edition
Northeast, a 32-year-old right-handed batter, hit 45 fours and three sixes in his 450-ball knock. It is the highest individual score this century in elite-level cricket, surpassing Lara’s test-record 400 not out for West Indies against England in 2004, and the ninth highest of all time.
Only eight players had previously ever made 400 or more in first-class cricket.
Also read: 1st ODI: India clinch a 1-0 lead vs West Indies in nail-biting thriller
Like Lara, Australian batter Bill Ponsford passed the 400 mark on two occasions, when playing for the state of Victoria in the 1920s.
Northeast’s knock was the fourth 400-plus score in the English county game, after Lara, Archie MacLaren (424) in 1895 and Graeme Hick (405) in 1988.
Also read: Shikhar Dhawan-led India records unusual feat in 1st ODI vs West Indies
Cooke’s 191 not out was somewhat overshadowed by his partner’s achievements. Colin Ingram (139) had also scored a century of his own on day three, when Northeast finished unbeaten on 308 overnight.
Also read: Watch: Serbian bowler’s unique celebration has left viewers in awe
He continued to flay the Foxes’ bowling attack on the fourth morning, making the highest individual score in Glamorgan history and becoming the Welsh county’s first player to reach 400.