Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa etched his name in the record books during the second ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare on Friday, September 18, reaching 200 wickets in men’s ODI cricket.
The landmark wicket came when Zampa dismissed Zimbabwe opener Innocent Kaia. The Australian bowled a wrong’un that beat Kaia’s attempted drive before crashing into the leg stump. Zampa achieved the milestone in his 123rd ODI, surpassing the previous Australian record held by legendary spinner Shane Warne, who reached 200 ODI wickets in 125 matches. Kaia was dismissed for 34. Zampa later removed Craig Ervine to finish with figures of 2/62 from nine overs. His two wickets took his overall ODI tally to 201. Zampa became the fastest Australian spinner to reach 200 wickets in men’s ODIs, achieving the feat two matches quicker than Warne. Warne remains Australia’s leading spinner in ODI cricket with 291 wickets from 193 matches. However, Zampa has now reached the 200-wicket mark in fewer matches than the former Australia great. Globally, Zampa is the third-fastest spinner to reach 200 ODI wickets. Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq holds the record after achieving the milestone in 104 matches, while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan reached the mark in 115 matches. Australia’s Mitchell Starc holds the overall record for the fastest bowler to 200 ODI wickets, reaching the milestone in 102 matches. Zampa’s milestone came as Australia secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. Australia posted 356/6 after being asked to bat first, with Travis Head leading the scoring with 112 off 84 balls. Mitchell Marsh contributed 53, while Cooper Connolly scored 78.
The result gave Australia an unassailable lead in the series, with the visitors now set to face Zimbabwe in the third and final ODI. Zampa was not the only Australian to achieve a milestone during the second ODI. Young all-rounder Ollie Peake became the youngest Australian spinner to take an ODI wicket. Peake’s wicket of Brendan Taylor helped him create the record.
Zimbabwe were bowled out for 272 in 48.3 overs as Australia completed an 84-run victory. At 20 years and seven days, Peake surpassed Nathan Hauritz’s previous record. Hauritz was 20 years and 155 days old when he claimed his first ODI wicket.
