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Australia v The Netherlands, Group A, St Kitts

McGrath joins the 50-wicket club in World Cups

S Rajesh and HR Gopalakrishna

March 18, 2007

Text size: A | A

Stats highlights from the third match of Group A between Australia and The Netherlands.

Adam Gilchrist: 100 fours in World Cup matches © Getty Images

Australia's victory margin was 229 runs, making them the first team to win consecutive ODIs by 200-plus margins. In their first game of the tournament they had beaten Scotland by 203 runs.

The margin of victory is the third largest in World Cups, and the fourth time in this tournament that a team has won by more than 200 runs. (Click here for the largest margins of wins in World Cups.)

Australia's total of 358 for 5 is the fifth-highest in World Cups, and the highest of this tournament. The all-time World Cup record is still held by Sri Lanka, who made 398 for 5 against Kenya at Kandy in 1996.

When Glenn McGrath trapped Daan van Bunge in front, he became only the second bowler to get to 50 World Cup wickets. His sights will now be set on going past Wasim Akram, who has 55 from 38 games. (Click here for the leading wicket-takers in World Cups.)

Peter Borren went for 89 runs from his ten overs - his economy rate of 8.90 runs per over makes it the fifth-most expensive spell in World Cups (among bowlers who've bowled at least eight overs). Ashantha de Mel, with 97 from ten overs, has the highest runs-per-over figure.

The Netherlands, who conceded 353 in their previous match, against South Africa, leaked 358 this time, making it the third time that a side had conceded more than 300 in consecutive World Cup matches. The two previous instances were both by Sri Lanka. In 1975, Australia and Pakistan thrashed 338 and 330 off them, while in 1983 Pakistan and England blasted them for 338 and 339 in successive games.

The 204 runs that Michael Clarke and Brad Hodge added was a record for the fourth wicket in World Cup matches. It bettered the 168 that Chris Harris and Lee Germon had put together against Australia at Chennai in 1996. It was also the seventh 200-plus stand in World Cups. (Click here for the highest World Cup partnerships for each wicket.)

After two unbeaten knocks of 99 and 97, Hodge finally managed his first ODI century. He now has three half-centuries and a hundred from 15 matches, at a healthy average of 39.69.

Adam Gilchrist became the first Australian batsman to hit 100 fours in the World Cup. He's the fourth to achieve the feat - Sachin Tendulkar (187), Brian Lara (108) and Aravinda de Silva (107) are the others.

Australia became the first team to score more than 300 in three successive World Cup matches. They scored 331 for 4 in their first match of the current tournament, while in the 2003 final they thrashed 359 against the hapless Indians.

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S Rajesh

Stats editor Every week we take a look at the story behind the stats, with an original slant on facts and figures. The column is written by S Rajesh, Cricinfo's stats editor. Rajesh did an MBA in marketing, and then worked for a year in advertising, before deciding to chuck it in favour of a job that would combine the pleasures of watching cricket and writing about it. The intense matches of office cricket were an added bonus.

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