Cameron Green detonates 47-ball hundred in Mackay
One swing after another, the ball kept sailing. In Mackay, Cameron Green ripped up the pace book and the record book with a 47-ball century — the second-fastest ODI hundred by an Australian, and the fastest by an Aussie against South Africa. Only Glenn Maxwell’s 40-ball blur at the 2023 World Cup sits ahead of it. Green finished unbeaten on 118, a maiden ODI ton delivered with the swagger of a seasoned finisher and the timing of a top-order pro.
The platform was outrageous before he even walked in. Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh bulldozed a 250-run opening stand, the fifth-highest for Australia in men’s ODIs. Their tempo meant South Africa’s new-ball bite never arrived; by the time the first wicket fell, Australia were already in launch mode. Green took that cue and pressed turbo from ball one.
The method was simple and brutal. Anything a touch full disappeared back over the bowler; anything short got flattened square. He hunted the spin, stepping deep to open up the off side, then holding shape to power the straight boundaries. There was no frantic slog in the swing — just clean base, fast hands, and a wide hitting arc. The hundred off 47 balls erased Matthew Hayden’s 66-ball benchmark for the quickest Aussie ton against South Africa and left a trail of comparisons in its wake.
That comparison column is glittering. Ricky Ponting, Steve Smith, David Warner — none have reached a century this fast against South Africa. Green did it on his first try at the landmark, with the kind of control that suggests this wasn’t a one-off purple patch. It felt like the moment an all-format all-rounder announced he’s not just a project — he’s a problem for opponents.
Once Head and Marsh had battered the shine off the ball, Green and Alex Carey iced the innings with a 164-run stand for the third wicket. The number that jumps out isn’t the total, though — it’s the speed. That partnership purred at 12.14 runs an over, the fastest by any Australian pair for stands of 150-plus in ODIs. Shot after shot, they found gaps and then cleared ropes as if the boundaries had moved in.
Australia’s top three combined for 431 runs — the second-most in ODI history for the first three wickets. Only South Africa’s 439 in Johannesburg in 2015 tops it, on that famous day AB de Villiers detonated West Indies. The point is clear: this wasn’t a solo show. It was an innings staged on a base of dominance, then elevated by Green’s finishing power.
South Africa ran out of answers. Field changes didn’t matter. Pace off didn’t grip. The new plan was the old plan in disguise, and Green kept picking it early. For the visitors, Wiaan Mulder bore the worst of it. His economy rate of 13.28 across six or more overs slots in as the second-worst in ODI history under that workload — a number that tells you how relentless the hitting was.
What did the innings look like beyond the numbers? Controlled violence. There was no flurry of edges or miscues. He set deep fields with audacious strokes, then pierced them with crisp drives. He backed himself to clear long-on and long-off, and he did it without over-swinging. When South Africa shortened up, he rode the bounce and carved the square boundaries. It was the shot-making of a tall batter who understands leverage and balance, not just raw power.
For a player whose promise has been trailed for years, the context matters. Green is 25. He’s had glimpses across formats — a Test ton, impactful T20 bursts — but white-ball hundreds set a different tone. They close games or crack them open in a way selectors and captains remember. This one felt like both: a close and an opening, locking in his role as a middle-overs enforcer who can finish like a specialist.
Records tumble and a young spinner steals the other spotlight
The headline numbers kept stacking up as the innings rolled on. Australia’s upper order was ruthless, but the bowlers matched the intensity. Cooper Connolly, just 22 years and two days old, returned figures of 5/22 — a five-wicket haul that rewrote a slice of Australian spin history. He became the youngest Australian spinner to take an ODI five-for and posted the best ODI figures by an Australian spinner, eclipsing Brad Hogg’s 5/32 from 2005.
Connolly’s left-arm orthodox didn’t win by mystery; it won by rhythm and fearless lengths. He attacked the stumps, teased the drive, and kept protection tight enough to bait mistakes. On a day owned by batters, his spell was the full stop South Africa couldn’t dodge. Every time they tried to counterpunch, Connolly dragged them back with a wicket.
South Africa’s struggles weren’t just about one bowler getting targeted. The attack as a unit couldn’t pin Australia to a phase. The new ball didn’t swing long enough to damage Head and Marsh, and the middle overs never got the squeeze. When Carey joined Green, South Africa’s spinners lost their lines and the seamers lost their lengths. When the plans changed, the pressure didn’t — it just shifted from square to straight and back again.
Days like this tend to get judged against the broader ODI landscape, and the placement is obvious: this was one of the most turbo-charged batting displays Australia have put on in the format. The Maxwell yardstick still stands for sheer pace in reaching three figures, but Green’s 47-ball hundred comes with added weight: it arrived against a full ICC member with ODI pedigree who traditionally bowl hard lengths and hold nerve at the death.
What sets it apart? The blend. Top-order platform, middle-overs aggression, and late-overs cruelty — all stitched together with almost no lull. Add Connolly’s demolition and it becomes the kind of one-day performance teams pin on the dressing-room wall as their blueprint.
- Second-fastest Australian ODI century: Green 47 balls (vs South Africa, 2025), behind Maxwell’s 40 balls (vs Netherlands, 2023).
- Fastest ODI century by an Australian against South Africa, beating Matthew Hayden’s 66-ball mark.
- Head–Marsh opening stand: 250, fifth-highest for Australia in men’s ODIs.
- Top three wickets combined: 431 runs, second-highest in ODI history for the first three wickets (behind South Africa’s 439 in 2015).
- Green–Carey third-wicket stand: 164 at 12.14 runs per over, the fastest by run rate for any Australian ODI partnership of 150-plus.
- Wiaan Mulder economy: 13.28 across 6+ overs, second-poorest in ODI history under that workload parameter.
- Cooper Connolly: 5/22 — youngest Australian spinner with an ODI five-for and best ODI figures by an Australian spinner, surpassing Brad Hogg’s 5/32 (2005).
There’s a bigger ripple, too. Australia have cycled through power-hitters, anchors, and floaters trying to solve the ODI middle overs. Green’s innings offers a clean answer: hit the hard length bowlers off their spots early, force captains to burn fields, then cash in late with the same hitters. If he keeps marrying clean ball-striking with smart tempo, Australia’s batting card gets shorter for opponents very quickly.
For South Africa, this is a reset tape. They’ll revisit lengths, rethink how they start overs to power players like Green, and likely re-balance the middle-overs plan with extra pace or a wrist-spin wrinkle. For Australia, it’s validation. The openers can bully you. The middle can break you. And now there’s a 25-year-old all-rounder who can finish you.
