Gerhard Erasmus took a record 16 balls to score his first run [X]

Namibia skipper, Gerhard Erasmus scripted an unwanted record of taking the most balls to open the scoring in T20Is as they faced Australia in match 24 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua.

The Australian captain, Mitchell Marsh won the toss and asked Namibia to bat first and dominated the Namibians as Erasmus came in to bat at the 3.4 over mark when they were reduced to 15/2.

It was not until the third ball of the 9th over, when he faced his 16th delivery that the 29-year-old scored his first run as he swept a low full toss from Adam Zampa for a single. The single was followed up by a bright smile on the skipper’s face.

This marked the most number of balls [16] taken by a batter to get off the mark in T20I cricket since the time the ball-by-ball data is available i.e., 2005. 

The previous holder of the record was Kenya’s Tanmay Mishra who took 15 balls to score his first run when they faced Pakistan in a quadrangular series played September 2007.

The Namibian team, eventually crumbled for a paltry 72, with Erasmus getting dismissed for 36 off 43 balls.