Trent Boult carved out a his own slice of history last night, becoming the third fastest bowler ever to take 200 wickets in one day international cricket.
The 34-year-old Black Caps talisman dismissed Bangladesh opener Litton Das with the first ball of the game, before deceiving Towhid Hridoy with a cleverly-disguised knuckle ball to take his 200th scalp.
The milestone reached in just his 107th ODI makes him the third fastest to 200 wickets. Only Australia's Mitchell Starc (102) and Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq (104) were quicker.
Boult puts himself above some cricketing royalty, including the likes of Brett Lee, Allan Donald and Waqar Younis.
The left-arm seamer also becomes just the sixth New Zealander to reach the milestone. Daniel Vettori leads all Kiwi bowlers with 297 wickets, followed by Kyle Mills (240), Tim Southee (214), Chris Harris (203), and Chris Cairns (200). Given the lack of ODI cricket played in the modern era, it's unlikely Boult will catch Vettori, but by the time he hangs up his boots he could move into second spot above Mills.
Boult finished the game against Bangladesh with figures of 2/45, and said afterwards he was "very proud" of reaching the 200-wicket milestone.
"It's come through a lot of hard work. I’ve always enjoyed one day cricket and there’s been days where it’s been a lot more successful than others, but it’s a very good feeling to tick off 200," he said.
New Zealand remain top of the table through three games at the World Cup, with their next challenge coming against Afghanistan on Wednesday night.
Whether captain Kane Williamson features in that game remains to be seen. He was forced to retire hurt after scoring 78 this morning after picking up a freak left-thumb injury.
While grounding his bat scampering for a quick single, a throw at the stumps hit Williamson flush on the thumb. He opted to continue batting after having it strapped up, but decided to leave the field a few balls later. He is set to get scans on it later today.
It was bad luck for Williamson, who was making his first return to competitive cricket since rupturing his ACL in March.
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