• Michael Bevan was playing his 200th match. He became only the fourth Australian (after Steve Waugh 325, Allan Border 273 and Mark Waugh 244) and the 32nd player overall to appear in 200 ODI matches.
• The unbeaten 70 run-partnership between Darren Lehmann and Brad Hogg was Australia’s best for the seventh wicket in the World Cup. This obliterated the previous best of 55 (unbeaten) runs between Doug Walters and Gary Gilmour against England at Leeds in 1975.
• Lehmann scored 28 runs of final over of Australian innings bowled by Rudi van Vuuren. The sequence being (444646).He now holds the record of scoring maximum runs in an over in the World Cup. Previous record was of 26 runs (464660) scored by West Indiand Brian Lara off the bowling of Canadian left arm spinner Barry Seebaran at Centurion on February 23.
• Glenn McGrath (7-15) returned with the best figures ever in World Cup history. The previous best was Winston Davis’ seven for 51 for West Indies against Australia at Leeds in 1983.
• It was the second best performance by a bowler in all ODIs after Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas’ 8 for 19 against Zimbabwe at Colombo SSC in 2001.Incidentally the previous best figures returned by an Australian were six for 14 by Gary Gilmour against England at Leeds in 1975),
• McGrath’s previous best career bowling performance also came in the World Cup, when he claimed 5-14 against the West Indies at Manchester on 30-5-1999.
• At the end of this match McGrath has 35 wickets to his name from in 22 matches in World Cup – maximum for Australia. He moves ahead of Shane Warne’s tally of 32 wickets from 17 matches.
• The wicket of Murgatroyd provided the 50th instance when McGrath dismissed a batsman without letting him opening his account. He became third bowler in ODI history to do so.
• Gilchrist, by effecting six dismissals, established a new World Cup record. The previous record was of five dismissals held by five keepers - India's Syed Kirmani (in 1983), West Indian Jimmy Adams (in 1996), Pakistani Rashid Latif (in 1996), Indian Nayan Mongia and West Indian Ridley Jacobs (in 1999).
• Gilchrist provided the fifth instance of a keeper effecting six dismissals in an ODI. He has himself done so twice before in 2000 and 2003. England’s Alec Stewart (in 2000) and West Indian Jacobs (in 2001) are the others to do so in ODIs.
• At the end of this match, Gilchrist's career tally reads as 259 dismissals from 151 matches – 222 catches and 37 stumpings. He now has the maximum dismissals by any keeeper in ODI history. He goes past the previous record tally of 257 dismissals (191 catches and 66 stumpings) by Pakistan’s Moin Khan (in 182 matches).
• Namibia's 45 in 14 overs was the shortest innings in ODI history. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 38 runs in 15.4 overs against Sri Lanka at Colombo SSC in 2001.
• Namibia’s total is the fourth joint lowest total in all ODIs after Canada’s 36 (v Sri Lanka at Paarl earlier in this World Cup), Zimbabwe’s 28 (v Sri Lanka at Colombo SSC in 2001), Pakistan’s 43 (v West Indies at Cape Town in 1993) and along with Canada’s 45 (v England at Manchester in 1979).
• This is also the lowest total ever made by any team against Australia. India were dismissed for 63 by Australia at Sydney in 1981.
• Australia’s victory margin of 256 runs is the largest in terms of runs in ODI history. Sri Lanka had previously beaten India by 245 runs at Sharjah in 2000. England's 202-run win over India at Lord's in 1975 was the previous biggest victory margin in the World Cup. Incidentally Australia's best win prior to this match was the 232 run victory over Sri Lanka at Adelaide way back in 1985.
• Australia's win was also their 11th consecutive victory, equalling the record for most consecutive victories in one-day internationals, held by West Indies.

(Article: Copyright © 2003 Rajneesh Gupta)