Potchefstroom is not only experiencing a regular rainfall during the past few weeks, cricket runs are also coming down in floods.  

Let’s rephrase: we are seeing a downpour of runs like never before.

The cricket team of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Potchefstroom is waging a reign of terror in the 50-overs game of the North-West Premier League.

This team first slogged a massive 504/8 against Lichtenburg on their home grounds, with André Malan (172) and Michael Enslin (89) wielding the sceptre for the winning team (was there ever any doubt?). Lichtenburg was bowled out for a meagre 57 runs, which meant that the NWU triumphed with an astounding 447 runs.

However, this was only a foretaste of what was to come. On Saturday 18 November, 20-year-old Shane Dadswell rewrote the record books by hitting 490 runs from only 151 deliveries in the same series against Potch Town. This included 57 sixes and 27 fours. What an absolutely unbelievable performance. Naturally, this is also a world record, which has the tongues of cricket fans across the world wagging.

Especially in the cricket-crazy India the right-handed Dadswell made the headlines in among others the Times of India, The Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, that were full of praise for Dadswell and his beastly bat. His name is now known as far as New Zealand and is displayed on every authoritative cricket website. The previous highest score for an official 50-overs game was 268 by Ali Brown for Surrey.

Truly remarkable.