109*, 109, 109*: County captain overtakes India batter to register highest List A average of all time

Libby’s third consecutive ton in the ongoing One-Day Cup helped Worcestershire chase down 334 against Sussex on Friday, August 7. Batting at No.4, he stayed unbeaten at 109 off 96 to see his side through in a steep chase. Interestingly, this was his third consecutive score of 109 in the competition.

His run of form started with an unbeaten 109 as he helped Worcestershire chase down 294 against Middlesex. He was dismissed for a 100-ball 109 in the following game against Essex, with his side falling well short of the 377-run target, but he more than made up for that against Sussex to keep Worcestershire in the hunt for a knockout spot.

A combined batting effort from Sussex saw Fynn Hudson-Prentice top score with a 35-ball 68, Jack Leaning complete a patient 50 and four other batters get into their thirties. Teenage pacer Freddie Price scored 22 not out off 13 from No.9 to finish the innings strongly and took them to 333-9 in 50 overs.

Worcestershire started the chase strongly, with the opening pair of Isaac Mohammed and Brett D'Oliveira adding 60 runs together in 11.2 overs. But they fell within four overs of each other, bringing Libby to the middle with 251 still needed off 210. He got crucial support from Kashif Ali (73 off 52) and Ben Allison (20 off nine) to take the team through in the penultimate over.

Highest List A batting average of all time (minimum 50 innings): Jake Libby dethrones Ruturaj Gaikwad with 109*, 109, 109*

The unbeaten 109 took Libby’s List A batting average to 61.4 in 56 matches, taking him past Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 58.61 at the top of the list. The Worcestershire skipper now has 2456 runs in the format, with six tons and 18 half-centuries, and a top score of 126*. Sam Hain, meanwhile, rose to the third spot, overtaking Michael Bevan, after his 80 against Northamptonshire earlier in the One-Day Cup season.

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