Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh put on a mammoth 250-run stand in the third ODI against South Africa on Sunday (August 24).
Having failed to put on a team score of 200 in the first two matches, Australia’s opening pair of Head and Marsh made up for it and how. With the hosts already having lost the series, the duo struck a 250-run opening stand in 34.1 overs. Head scored 142 off 103 while Marsh fell for 100 off 106. Cameron Green then cashed in on the solid platform with an unbeaten 118 off 55, while Alex Carey made 50 not out off 37.
Australia posted 431-2, their second-highest score in ODIs, falling just short of their record of 434-4, also against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2006.
3rd ODI, Australia vs South Africa
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Where does Marsh and Head's opening partnership rank for Australia?
The 250-run partnership between Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh is now the fifth-highest opening stand for Australia, surpassing the 246-run stand between Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh against Scotland in 2013.
The top two spots belong to David Warner and Head for their 284-run partnership against Pakistan in 2017 and 269-run stand against England in 2022.
Head and Marsh's partnership on Sunday came at a run rate of 7.31, the second-best for a 200-plus run opening stand for Australia, behind the Mitchell Marsh-Warner stand of 259 against Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup, which came at 7.65.
It is also the highest-ever opening stand against South Africa, beating the previous record held by the England pair of Vikram Solanki and Marcus Trescothick, who scored 200 at The Oval in 2003. Overall, it is the third-highest ever ODI stand against South Africa, behind Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman's 260 in 2023 and Abdul Razzaq and Saleem Elahi's 257 in 2002.
Highest opening partnerships in ODIs for Australia
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
