An extraordinarily lopsided one-day match at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground earlier this week saw hosts Oman endure the ignominy of being bowled out for 24 against Scotland, by virtue of which they recorded the fourth-lowest total in the history of List A cricket.
The inaugural Gillette Cup in England in 1963 marked the arrival of List A cricket, and since then, there have been ten instances of a team totalling 35 runs or less in this format, including once at the ODI level. Taking this into consideration, here is a look at the ten lowest team totals in List A history.
18 by West Indies Under-19 v Barbados, Blairmont, 2007-08
The 34th edition of the Regional Super50 (christened as the KFC Cup), saw a new record for the lowest List A total. In a first-round Zone A fixture, a hapless West Indies Under-19 side, featuring future internationals such as Kieran Powell and Darren Bravo, crashed to a woeful 2/5 en route to being bowled out for just 18 in 14.3 overs. Seasoned left-arm pacer Pedro Collins was the chief demolisher, with a haul of 7/11. Barbados lost two wickets before securing the victory.
19 by Saracens Sports Club v Colts Cricket Club, Colombo, 2012-13
Few would have expected the mayhem to follow when Sekhar Murali and Dilan Sandagirigoda put on an opening stand of 13 for the Saracens Sports Club at the Colts Cricket Club Ground. However, the latter’s dismissal to Chathuranga Kumara triggered a sensational meltdown that saw the total crumble to 19 all out in just 10.5 overs, with Kumara (5/17) and fellow paceman Kaniksha Alwitigala (4/11) bowling unchanged. The home team duly triumphed by ten wickets.
23 by Middlesex v Yorkshire, Headingley, 1974
Until this John Player League match, no team had been bowled out for less than 30 in a List A match – the lowest total was 36, by Leicestershire against Sussex at Leicester in 1973. The following year, Middlesex snatched the record with a dismal display, as they tumbled for 23 in 19.4 overs in a chase of 149 from the allotted 40 overs. No batsman scored more than six, while the new-ball pair of Tony Nicholson and Arthur Robinson took three wickets each for Yorkshire.
24 by Oman v Scotland, Al Amerat, 2018-19
Scotland began their three-match List A series in Oman in emphatic style, as they condemned the hosts to a measly total of 24 in 17.1 overs. Openers Jatinder Singh and Twinkal Bhandari were out for ducks with only three runs on the board, and from thereon, Scotland never looked back. Medium pacers Ruaidhri Smith and Adrian Neill made short of work of the batting, with both returning hauls of 4/7. Scotland won by ten wickets, needing only 3.2 overs to reach their target.
30 by Chittagong Division v Sylhet Division, Dhaka, 2002-03
This was a third-round clash of the Ispahani Mirzapore Tea National Cricket League One-Day, played at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Having been put in to bat, Chittagong Division lost wickets at regular intervals before folding for 30 in 20.4 overs. Had it not been for nine extras, the total would have been even less. Sylhet’s opening bowlers Rezaul Haque (4/20) and Nasir Hossain (5/8) shared the spoils, paving the way for their team’s eight-wicket win.
31 by Border v South Western Districts, East London, 2007-08
Buffalo Park witnessed a heavily one-sided Pool A game of the South African Airways Provincial One-Day Challenge. Hosts Border bore the brunt of a brilliant spell from pacer Nathan Murray, who scythed through their line-up to finish with 7/16. That Border managed to double their score from 14/7 was due to number eight Lundi Mbane, whose score of ten was the highest of the innings. South Western Districts sped to a thumping ten-wicket win in five overs.
34 by Saurashtra v Mumbai, Mumbai, 1999-00
The lowest List A total on Indian soil was recorded in a Ranji Trophy One-Day West Zone encounter at the Wankhede Stadium, where a commanding performance from the Mumbai bowlers ensured that Saurashtra were rolled over for 34 in 21.1 overs. The tone was set by Paras Mhambrey, who removed Sudhir Tanna off the very first ball. But the outstanding bowler was medium pacer Amit Dani, with a return of 5/7. Mumbai completed a nine-wicket win soon after.
35 by Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka, Harare, 2004
The withdrawal of 15 senior players due to a standoff with the cricket board meant that a severely weakened Zimbabwean side faced the visiting Sri Lankans. As was widely expected, Sri Lanka pocketed the five-match series 5-0. The nadir for Zimbabwe came in the third ODI at the Harare Sports Club, with the entire match lasting just 27.2 overs. After opting to field, Sri Lanka ran riot with their pace troika of Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando and Farveez Maharoof.
Placed at 18/1 at one stage, Zimbabwe imploded to get shot out for 35 in 18 overs. Vaas took 4/11, with Maharoof (3/3) not too far behind. This capitulation gave Zimbabwe back the record of the lowest ODI total – the previous record was 36 by Canada against Sri Lanka at the 2003 World Cup, which had in turn broken Zimbabwe’s mark of 38 set in 2001-02, also against Sri Lanka. Saman Jayantha’s breezy 28* put the finishing touches on Sri Lanka’s nine-wicket win.
35 by Cricket Coaching School v Abahani Limited, Fatullah, 2013-14
This was the opening match for both teams in the Dhaka Premier Division. Led by international player Shahriar Nafees, Abahani Limited mustered a total of 247, with left-arm spinner Bishawnath Halder taking 5/38. However, Halder’s effort went in vain, as Cricket Coaching School were bowled out for 35 in 20.2 overs in reply. Pace bowler Al-Amin Hossain (6/16) netted the first five wickets to reduce the score to 21/5, while left-arm spinner Nabil Samad scalped 4/4.
35 by Rajasthan v Railways, Nagpur, 2014-15
Railways enjoyed an unbeaten run in the Central Zone group of the 2014-15 Vijay Hazare Trophy, before getting knocked out in the quarterfinal. Among their four wins was a nine-wicket rout of Rajasthan, who began their innings by slumping to an incredible 1/4 – each of the top four batsmen were out without scoring. Rajasthan were eventually dismissed for 35 in 15.3 overs, with the pace duo of Anureet Singh (5/16) and Amit Mishra (5/18) sparkling in tandem.