O’Dowd stars in Nepal

CRICKET

ONE month you are at Tonga Park in a club game, looking for a quick single.

The next month it is in Nepal, banging out a century for your country and setting a record in the process.

Max O’Dowd had an impressive season while playing for the Albion club and also turning out for Otago B. He made a couple of big scores for Otago B, ending up the highest runscorer for the season for the side and also knocked up a century in a club twenty20 game.

O’Dowd, though, went to the next level when playing for the Netherlands in a tournament in Nepal which also involved Malaysia.

In a T20 game, O’Dowd has hit 133 in a game against Malaysia.

Opening the batting, he scored the runs off just 73 balls and hit 15 fours and six sixes. It was a record score for a Netherlands batsman in the shortest form of the game.

The Netherlands made 191 for two wickets off its 20 overs and Malaysia came up short in reply with 176 for eight wickets off its 20 overs.

O’Dowd (26) came south to Dunedin at the start of last season, looking for opportunities. He was born in Auckland and is the son of former Auckland and Northern Districts player Alex O’Dowd.

Max O’Dowd qualifies for Netherlands through his mother. He has been playing for The Netherlands since 2015.

New Zealand paceman Kyle Jamieson took three wickets as Royal Challengers Bangalore thumped Kolkata Knight Riders by 38 runs yesterday for their third straight win in the Indian Premier League, AAP reports.

Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers shone with the bat in Chennai.

De Villiers’ unbeaten 76 off 34 balls in Bangalore’s total of 204 for four earned him the player of the match award. But after Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat, it was Maxwell (78 off 49 balls) who did most to steady the innings after the captain fell for five in the second over.

Kolkata’s toporder batsmen could not convert good starts and were restricted to 166 for eight, with Jamieson picking up three for 41.