By SRTeam See, there once was a time when ODI, or one-day cricket used to be a format where teams used to just take their time and build up a decent or good score to defend. And this surely was one of the most favorite cricket formats because of the true authenticity of the cricket, like you saw how the bowlers were performing well in their spells, how the batting side is doing, the strategies brought up by each team, and things like that. Though, in the last 2 decades or so, it seems like one day cricket has just changed the gears. When there are flatter pitches, and the batting line up of a team is good, they just go for the highest score they can achieve. That is precisely what has led to some of the highest one-day match scores in the history of cricket, and that’s why we’re here to take a good look at the Top 10 One-Day Match Highest Score So Far. Let’s just get to it, then.
1. England – 498/4 vs Netherlands (2022)
It was one of the recent matches where England just went after Netherlands like crazy and tried to hit that 500 runs mark to become the first-ever team to do so. They were just 2 runs short, but the match was just crazy good, especially if you love big hitting. In this particular match, we saw 3 centuries, one after the other, but Joss Butler’s 162* in just 70 balls was something else. Though, Phil Salt and Dawid Malan were the ones who set up the whole innings for a high score by their centuries. And then came Liam Livingstone to finish things off with his fiery 66* innings in just 22 balls, that was straight-up 300-strike-rate batting in an ODI game.
2. England – 481/6 vs Australia (2018)
Oh, yes, England was going for higher scores ever since 2016, but back in 2018, they actually managed to hit the highest ODI score at that time, and against the strongest ODI team, which at that time was Australia. In 50 overs, they managed to end their inning at 481/6, which was just a mind-boggling score at that time. This time, once again, 3 top batters played their part: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, and of course, Alex Hales. And when it came to finishing off well, then came Eoin Morgan (the captain), who scored 67 runs in just 30 balls.
3. England – 444/3 vs Pakistan (2016)
Yes, once again, we have England on the list for the 3rd consecutive time, and this time, they were up against Pakistan, and we must say that the batting line up of England kinda destroyed Pakistan’s bowling attack completely and ended up scoring 444/3. When the first wicket fell quickly, it was Alex Hales and Joe Root who took charge and set up the inning for a literal big score. And to finish things off, then came Joss Butler’s fiery inning of 90* in just 51 balls.
4. Sri Lanka – 443/9 vs Netherlands (2006)
To be honest, up until 2016, it was Sri Lanka’s highest score of 443/9 vs Netherlands that stayed at the top for so long. This 1st ODI match of Sri Lanka tour of Netherlands was something else, like, right off the bat, Sanath Jayasuriya started going after bowlers scoring 157 runs and setting up a decent score. Even after losing a few wickets, then came Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 117* runs inning.
5. South Africa – 439/2 vs West Indies (2015)
South Africa is one team that holds the title of the team that has scored the most 400+ scores in ODI history. Like, they have done it 8 times now, which is just insane if you think about it for a sec. Their highest-ever team score came in 2015 when they were going up against the West Indies. That day, only three batsmen stood on the pitch and completely destroyed the West Indies’ bowling lineup. Like, Hashim Amla scored 153, and Rilee Rossouw scored 128. Who’s 3rd? Oh, it was this match when we saw the fastest ever ODI century, and that was hit by none other than AB de Villiers (the captain), who ended up scoring a mind-boggling 149 in just 44 balls. That’s a 338.63 strike rate in ODI cricket.
6. South Africa – 438/9 vs Australia (2006)
South Africa is at it once again, but this was their old unbeaten score back in 2006 against prime Australia. This was probably one of the best matches in ODI history because Australia set up a high score of 434/4, and it was looking like an easy win for them. But then came South Africa’s batting attack, and they did the unthinkable. With Graeme Smith scoring 90 runs and Herschelle Gibbs’s 175 run inning, South Africa won this match by 1 wicket (with 1 ball remaining).
7. South Africa – 438/4 vs India (2015)
It was the last match in the South Africa tour of India, and that was when South Africa went for their 3rd highest ODI score ever. Like, batting first, we saw 3 centuries from this team scored by Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, and of course, AB de Villiers. AB was at it once again, like hitting 119 runs in just 61 balls.
8. Australia – 434/4 vs South Africa (2006)
Oh, this one back in 2006 was the highest ever score achieved by Australia, and this is the same match that we talked about where South Africa put up a good fight and won this match. Like, can you even imagine scoring as high as 434 runs and still losing?
9. South Africa – 428/5 vs Sri Lanka (2023)
This was one of the recent highest scores put up by the South African team against Sri Lanka. It was just in 2023. In this very match, we saw Aiden Markram, who smashed the fastest-ever World Cup century in just 49 balls, but later, in the same month, Glenn Maxwell did that in just 40 balls, pushing Markram to the 2nd spot.
10. South Africa – 418/5 vs Zimbabwe (2006)
Once again, we have a prime South African team hitting another 400+ score, but this was back in 2006 against Zimbabwe. They achieved this high of a score only because Mark Boucher stayed up on the pitch till the end, scoring 147 runs in just 68 balls.
Conclusion
As you just saw, literally all of these highest ODI scores came after the 2000s, and that just goes to show how cricket has evolved in just a few decades, and now ODI as well is an explosive format. Though, it is not very often that you see these highest scores, but still, when the conditions are good for the batting side, expect to see a lot of boundaries.