Amelia Kerr has joined Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam, and Meg Lanning on the elite list of cricketers with multiple T20I centuries as captain. The 25-year-old New Zealand all-rounder achieved the feat in the fifth and final T20I against South Africa on Wednesday, March 25, at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Rohit and Babar are the only men’s cricketers from full member nations to have scored multiple T20I hundreds as captain. In women’s cricket, Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu, Australia’s Meg Lanning, and West Indies’ Hayley Matthews are the other players to have achieved the feat.
On Wednesday, Kerr also registered the fastest century by a New Zealand batter in Women’s T20Is as the White Ferns beat South Africa by 92 runs to seal the series 4-1. She surpassed Suzie Bates, who had scored a 55-ball hundred against the Proteas in Taunton in 2018.
Kerr recently became the only cricketer across men’s and women’s T20Is to register 11 consecutive scores of 30 or more.
HOW KERR ROCKED SOUTH AFRICA
Leading from the front, Kerr smashed a sensational 105 off just 55 balls, laced with 19 fours and a six, to power the White Ferns to a commanding 194 for six.
After New Zealand slipped to 54 for three, Kerr steadied the innings with a composed yet aggressive knock and stitched together a crucial stand with Brooke Halliday, who made 26. Kerr batted deep into the innings before Ayabonga Khaka dismissed her in the penultimate over.
She then made her mark with the ball, returning figures of 3-0-6-2 to dent South Africa’s chase. Kerr removed Annerie Dercksen and Nadine de Klerk at key moments as the visitors never recovered. Lea Tahuhu starred with three wickets, while Sophie Devine picked up two, as New Zealand restricted South Africa to 102 for nine.
Kerr has made a sensational start to her new role, scoring 499 runs in 10 matches as T20I captain at an average of 62.37. She has also taken 15 wickets, underlining her all-round prowess.
