OTD | Ian Smith smashed the highest Test score as a no. 9 batter in 1990

New Zealand has always produced some amazing cricketers over the years. The likes of Richard Hadlee, Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, and Ross Taylor come to mind. In the current generation, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult come to mind. 

Brendon McCullum might be the England coach right now but he has left his imprint on the New Zealand set-up as well. Much before McCullum could show his BazBall capabilities, there was another player by the name of Ian Smith. 

The former Kiwi wicketkeeper and batter showed his skills with the bat during a Test match versus India. The Auckland Test of 1990 saw Smith write his name in the history books of cricket. 

Ian Smith’s blistering century which made history

Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, and Atul Wassan had combined to leave the Kiwis struggling at 131/7. Former India coach John Wright who was the captain saw his team bat first as he himself was out for 3. Martin Crowe, perhaps one of the greatest Kiwi batters was out for just 24 runs. Richard Hadlee in the twilight of his career came to his teams’ rescue with a gritty 87-run knock. 

The star of the show was Ian Smith who was batting at the number 9 position and scored 173 from just 136 balls. The Indian bowlers had no clue as the Kiwi went after the visitors’ bowling unit. None of the bowlers were spared as they were deposited to all parts of the ground. Ian Smith hit a total of 23 fours and 3 huge sixes to help his side reach 391. In reply, skipper Mohammad Azharuddin scored 192 runs off just 259 balls with the help of 26 fours. 

Sachin Tendulkar was out for just 5 runs as Kiran More (50) and Atul Wassan (53) helped India take a lead of 91 runs. New Zealand batting a second time scored 483/5 before declaring their innings. John Wright began by scoring 74 as Andrew Jones (170) and Martin Crowe (113) defied the Indian bowling attack. The game ended in a tame draw as India were set a massive 393 runs to win. WV Raman was not out on 74 with Manoj Prabhakar on 63. It was one of the most enterprising knocks in the history of New Zealand cricket in the early 1990’s era.