The 2nd Fastest ODI Hundred

I know this blog is supposed to be about footie and tits and funny stuff but I just HAVE to post about this - having witnessed on TV one of the most amazing batting performances ever imaginable. Shahidi Afridi (Pakistan) destroying India's bowling attack for 102 from 45 balls, hitting 9 sixes and 10 fours. He also holds the record for the fastest EVER hundred when he, in his first ever innings at the age of 16, smashed the Sri Lankans for 102 from 37 balls, hitting 11 sixes and 6 fours.

He plundered bowlers before they could settle in. Lakshmipathy Balaji's second over, and Anil Kumble's and Dinesh Mongia's first were pillaged for more than 20 runs each. His howitzered swat over midwicket off Zaheer Khan in the eighth over was his 200th six in one-dayers, and he blasted his way to a fifty off 20 balls. Salman Butt was reduced to a blur at the other end and bowlers' line and length were rendered redundant. Afridi charged to his hundred in 45 balls, equalling Brian Lara's record for the second-fastest hundred. If his 102 at Nairobi in 1997 - still the fastest in ODIs - had introduced him to the world, his 102 today just reaffirmed that he remains one of the most destructive elements in the cricket world. More...

also...

In this golden era of run-scoring, where bat is master and ball is slave, there are several pretenders to the mantle of the cleanest hitter around.

The mind instantly turns to England's six-thirsty hero Andrew Flintoff, while Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, India's Virender Sehwag and Aussie basher Adam Gilchrist are also in the frame.

But facts and figures point to one man standing above them all, Pakistan's pinch-hitter Shahid Afridi. More...