486-run opening wicket stand– This Australian duo shatters domestic and FC record

November 1, 2020 has seen a new world record in First-Class cricket. In the Sheffield Shield competition, which is Australia’s oldest First Class domestic competition, Will Pucovski and Marcus Harris have broken a 30-year world record. In the ongoing Sheffield Shield fixture between Victoria and South Australia in Adelaide, Will Pucovski and Marcus Harris shared a record 486-run partnership for the opening wicket. This is the highest partnership for any wicket in the Sheffield Shield, breaking the previous highest mark of 464 set by Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh in 1990 set while playing for New South Wales in their contest against Western Australia in Perth.

The highest opening partnership in the history of the Sheffield Shield was 431 set by Mike Valetta and Geoff Marsh in the 1989 edition of the Sheffield Shield while playing for West Australia against South Australia in Perth.When one looks at the overall First-Class record, Will Puckovski and Marcus Harris are in an elite company.

When it comes to First Class partnerships for any wicket, Puckovski and Harris are 19^th in the all-time list of best partnerships. The highest in history is 624 set by Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara in the Colombo Test match of 2006 against South Africa. When it comes to best opening partnership in all of first class cricket, Pucovski and Harris are sixth on the all-time list, with the best being 561 set by Waheed Mirza and Mansoor Akhtar for Karachi Whites against Quetta in the 1976/77 Quaid-e-Azam trophy edition.

Records galore

On the second day, Puckovski and Harris had moved their partnership to 418. Puckovski reached his double century on the first ball of the third day. The partnership seemed to be approaching 500 but Will Pucovski continued on his merry ways as he smashed 255 but Marcus Harris gloved a short ball from Wes Agar to the keeper to depart for 239.

South Australia were bowled out for 200 but this partnership between Will Pucovski and Marcus Harris showed the way with an excellent display of batting. Western Australia are currently leading the Sheffield Shield followed by Queensland and Tasmania in second and third position respectively.