Milestone for Snedden

Press, 19 December 1988, Page 40

Milestone for Snedden

PA New Delhi The New Zealand vice captain, Martin Snedden, achieved a notable milestone in the one-day cricket international against India at Baroda on Saturday.

When he had Chetan Sharma caught by the wicketkeeper, lan Smith, Snedden captured his hundredth one-day wicket for New Zealand.

Only two New Zealand players have achieved that feat — Richard Hadlee has 144 and Ewen Chatfield 142 — and Snedden got to his century in his eightieth oneday match. Just four players have played more limited-over internationals for New Zealand. Chatfield and the current captain, John

Wright, have played 114, Hadlee 108 and Jeremy Coney 88. However, Snedden’s personal pleasure was tempered by the circumstances of the match, as Mohammad Azharuddin scored the fastest ever one-day century to carry India to a stunning twowicket victory.

“It is unfortunate it happens on a day when we lose. It would have been more enjoyable if we’d won.

“I see it as fairly significant for me because I’ve had a hard time in tests and one-day cricket at times and it’s nice to have been around long enough to get 100,” he said.

Only an elite group of cricketers have taken

more than 100 one-day wickets. The Indian star Kapil Dev heads the list with 158, with Hadlee and Chatfield second and third. Others in the group include India’s left arm spinner Ravi Shastri, Pakistan’s all-rounder Mudassar Nazar, the West Indian Joel Garner, England’s lan Botham and Australian Dennis Lillee.

• The New Zealand test wicket-keeper, lan Smith, is out of top cricket for at least four weeks after an X-ray of his injured right hand revealed a slight break in the thumb joint, Smith injured his hand stopping a hard, low return from the outfield in Saturday’s one-day international against India,