In ODI cricket, bowlers need to have control over the ball from the first delivery to outfox the batters. Apart from the main aim of taking wickets, they also need to keep an eye on bowling economical spells.
Bowling maiden overs is an effective way to slow down the opponent’s run rate. And several maiden overs in a bowler’s spell can alleviate the pressure on the batting side, prompting the batters to make mistakes.
Over the years, many bowlers have excelled at sending down maiden overs at crucial junctures in matches. This article lists the top 10 instances of the most maiden overs bowled by a bowler in an ODI innings.
Most Maiden Overs in an ODI Innings
Player | Maiden Overs | Over Bowled | Against | Venue | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bishan Singh Bedi (IND) | 8 | 12.0 | East Africa | Leeds | 11 Jun 1975 |
Phil Simmons (WI) | 8 | 10.0 | Pakistan | Sydney | 17 Dec 1992 |
Richard Hadlee (NZ) | 6 | 12.0 | East Africa | Birmingham | 7 Jun 1975 |
John Snow (ENG) | 6 | 12.0 | East Africa | Birmingham | 14 Jun 1975 |
Bishan Singh Bedi (IND) | 6 | 12.0 | New Zealand | Manchester | 14 Jun 1975 |
Gary Gilmour (AUS) | 6 | 12.0 | England | Leeds | 18 Jun 1975 |
Sarfraz Nawaz (PAK) | 6 | 11.0 | England | Manchester | 24 May 1978 |
Mike Hendrick (ENG) | 6 | 12.0 | Pakistan | Leeds | 16 Jun 1979 |
Dennis Lillee (AUS) | 6 | 10.0 | England | Sydney | 14 Jan 1980 |
Kapil Dev (IND) | 6 | 8.0 | Sri Lanka | Amritsar | 12 Sep 1982 |
Key Insights
Bishan Singh Bedi and Phil Simmons hold the joint record for bowling the most maiden overs in an ODI innings. Both bowlers sent down 8 maidens against East Africa and Pakistan, respectively. However, Bedi’s spell consisted of 12 overs, as at that time, an ODI innings lasted for 60 overs, with a bowler allowed to bowl 12 overs.
Bishan Singh Bedi is the only bowler to earn 6 or more maiden overs on 2 occasions. Interestingly, both instances came in the 1975 World Cup against East Africa and New Zealand.
Richard Hadlee, Ewen Chatfield, and Gavin Larsen, all of them from New Zealand, have bowled 5 or more maiden overs 3 times.
Among the bowlers with 5+ maiden overs in an innings, Phil Simmons has the best economy rate. Simmons gave away only 3 runs in his 10-over spell, scalping 4 wickets and returning with an economy of 0.30.
There are over 77 instances of a bowler sending down 5 or more maiden overs in an ODI innings.
313 maiden overs delivered by Shaun Pollock in his ODI career — the most by any bowler in the 50-over format. The South African all-rounder is the only one to earn more than 300 maiden overs.