Craig McMillan was one of the most underrated batters to ever play for New Zealand. Most of the cricket fans do not even remember him and that is very sad because he was a very good batter and he has scored a lot of runs for New Zealand. He was not able to get as much popularity as Kane Williamson. He played 55 Test Matches and 197 ODI Matches for New Zealand. In the 55 Test Matches he played he made 3116 runs at an average of 38.47 with 6 test centuries. In the 197 ODI Matches that he has played he scored 4707 runs at an average of 28.19 and he made 3 ODI centuries. In total he made 7800+ runs.
Let’s look at Top 5 Best Batting Performances of Craig McMillan
1) 142 vs Sri Lanka (1998)
This was his second test hundred and his highest score in test cricket. This in innings was played in the second innings of this test match when New Zealand needed quick runs. He made 142 runs from just 179 runs at a great strike rate of 80. This was a brutal test innings and he smashed the Sri Lankan bowlers out of the park as he hit 13 fours and 6 sixes in this innings meaning a total of 88 runs in boundaries. This innings established him to the cricket world who started to fear him. New Zealand won this match by a massive 167 Runs.
Also Read | Best innings of Adam Gilchrist
2) 139 vs Zimbabwe (1998)
The second best test innings by Craig McMillan was his first test century which was an innings that came against the best Zimbabwe team to have ever played cricket. Craig McMillan was someone who wanted to show the world how good he was. In this innings he played 209 balls for his 139. In this incredible innings he hit 18 fours and 4 sixes meaning 96 runs in boundaries. He liked hitting a lot of sixes in every test innings. He has a strike rate of 66.51 in this innings.
Also Read | Best innings of Matthew Hayden
3) 142 vs Zimbabwe (2000)
Another test innings with 142 for Craig McMillan and this time as well it came against Zimbabwe. Craig McMillan was the most attacking batter in his team and he used to come lower down the order. In this innings he played 209 balls which was also the same number of balls he played in his debut century. In this innings he hit 18 fours and 2 sixes meaning 84 runs in boundaries. He had a good strike rate of 68 in this innings and because of his knock the match was a draw.
Also Read | Best innings of Brian Lara
4) 104* vs Pakistan (2001)
This was the first century for Craig McMillan in ODI cricket and what a devastating hundred It was against the best pace attack in the world which had Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Craig McMillan only took 75 balls to hit this hundred se he smashed 6 fours and 5 sixes in this innings meaning 54 runs in boundaries. He had an amazing strike rate of 139 in this innings and New Zealand won this match by a whopping 138 Runs against a great Pakistan team.
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5) 117 vs New Zealand (2007)
This was an epic innings by Craig McMillan S he played this innings against the best ODI team evet assembled in cricket. Australia had posted a massive total of 346 in which Matthew Hayden made a brutal 181. It looked over for New Zealand but Craig McMillan stood up for his country and played a match winning 117 from just 96 balls at a strike rate of 122. He hit 13 fours and 5 sixes In this innings meaning 86 runs in boundaries alone. New Zealand won this thriller of a match by 1 wicket.
Also Read: Best innings of Nathan Astle
