Fact Check: Cricketer Glenn Maxwell is NOT the first Australian to score double ton in World Cup match, he is second to Belinda Clark
The first Australian player to score over 200 runs in an innings during a World Cup match is former cricketer Belinda Clark, not Maxwell.
Netizens celebrated Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell's double century during the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, by claiming he is the "first Australian player to score a double century in ODI history."
Social media posts read, “GLENN MAXWELL BECOMES THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN PLAYER TO SCORE DOUBLE HUNDRED IN ODI HISTORY”
FACT CHECK:
The claim is misleading. Maxwell is not the first Australian cricketer to achieve the feat.
The first Australian player to score more than 200 runs in an innings during the World Cup is former cricketer Belinda Clarke, who scored 229 runs in 1997. According to a report by India Today published in 2010, Australian player Belinda Clark had been the first ever player to score an ODI double century in 1997.
Taking a hint from this, we searched further online and found the same information on the website of ESPN Cricinfo. It states that former Australian cricketer Belinda Clark scored 229 runs off 155 balls and remained not out between the Australian and Danish cricket teams, held in Mumbai on December 16, 1997.
The same was confirmed by Cricket Australia that mentions the record of scoring a double century was first passed by Belinda Clark, and after 26 years Maxwell joined in.
Furthermore, upon keen reading, it was found that all reports on Maxwell clearly mention that he is the first to win double-centurion in Men’s ODIs.
Evidently, the claim is misleading as Glenn Maxwell is not the first Australian player to score a double century in ODI history. However, he is the first to win double-centurion in Men’s ODIs.