
Scottish All-Rounder Breaks Beloved Kapil Dev's Record
Last Updated:
McMullen ranks as the second fastest player to score 1000 runs and take 50 wickets in ODIs. Surpassing legends like Kapil Dev and Shakib al-Hasan.
South Africa born 25 year-old Scottish All-Rounder Brandon McMullen now ranks above the renowned Indian cricketer Kapil Dev, an all-time-great all-rounder (who guided India to their World Cup title in 1983), becoming the second fastest player to score a 1000 runs, and take 50 wickets in ODIs. He also surpassed the likes of Lance Klusener of South Africa, who was one of the best all-rounders of the 90s and the early 2000s, legendary Greg Chappell of Australia, and Bangladeshi cricketing icon, Shakib al-Hasan.
McMullen achieved this feat during Scotland's match against Netherlands in the Netherlands Tri-Nation Series, which was the eleventh round of the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2. He took 33 matches to get the double, placing himself just below Netherlands' legend Ryan Ten Doeschate who took 28 innings to get the record. Scotland won the match by a comfortable margin of 44 runs.
During the match itself McMullen got just 9 runs in 13 balls while batting (hitting two fours in the process), whilst Finlay McCreath scored 81 off 106 balls (seven fours and one six), and Mark Watt 60 off 72 balls (five fours and two sixes) – their half-centuries helping Scotland to get to 262/9 in 50 overs. However, McMullen was lethal with his bowling, picking up 3 wickets in 10 overs – collecting the wickets of Max O'Dowd (23 runs off 14 balls, hitting two fours and two sixes), Vikramjeet Singh (7 runs off 14 balls, hitting just one four), and Noah Croes (26 runs off 24 balls, hitting four fours), with Netherlands' innings ending at 218 in 45 overs, and McMullen giving away 40 runs.
McMullen now ranks above the likes of Zeeshan Maqsood of Oman (37 innings), Corey Anderson of New Zealand (40 innings), Lance Klusener of South Africa (42 innings), Greg Chappell of Australia (44 innings), Kapil Dev of India (46 innings), Steve Waugh of Australia (46 innings) and Rohan Mustafa of UAE/Shakib al-Hasan of Bangladesh (50 innings each).
He made his international debut for Scotland in 2022, making his ODI debut against Namibia. In 33 ODIs, he has amassed 1149 runs at an average of 45.96, with four centuries, and four half-centuries to his name in 29 innings. His personal best being 151.
On the bowling end, he has collected 52 wickets at an average of 20.09. His personal best being 5/34 in a close match against Ireland.
First Published:
June 07, 2025, 12:47 IST
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hans India
11 minutes ago
- Hans India
Rugby Premier League creates chance for India to achieve Olympic dream, says Kalinga Black Tigers coach Mike Friday
Mumbai: Kalinga Black Tigers head coach Mike Friday hailed the Rugby Premier League (RPL) as a groundbreaking platform blending international excellence with domestic talent to help India's rugby dream flourish. A former rugby sevens player himself, Mike Friday proceeded to become England Sevens' most successful coach to date, leading them to 10 titles during his tenure, while also securing a Commonwealth Games silver medal in 2006. He has also played a significant role in building legacies across the teams he has coached, including the Kenya Sevens and the USA Sevens teams. Now taking up a new challenge at the GMR RPL, he described the league's unique appeal, stating, 'It's a very innovative format, a perfect balance between international players and domestic players. When you're trying to grow the sport and build capability, it's crucial to include domestic players in that development. It's a fantastic experience for them, not only in-game time but more importantly in training time.' He explained how Indian players will benefit from the exposure they'll get throughout the tournament. 'During training, they get exposed to physical, technical, tactical and mental development from the senior international players, which they can then take back to their team and the next generation of Indian players," Friday reckoned. 'I love that cradle-to-grave idea - creating the legacy for Indian players tomorrow. I think that's what the RPL provides, allowing India to dare to dream and achieve their Olympic dream," he added. Asked about coaching in this league format with top players who don't often play together, Friday called the experience 'unique, and one that will come with lifetime memories.' 'Players who normally go head-to-head, country against country, come together to represent their region and the Indians of today and tomorrow. It's a special honour. We're here for a reason - not just to win, but to inspire Indian rugby players and help them become the best versions of themselves. That is humbling and very exciting.' On the emerging domestic talent, Friday praised young players' resilience, especially Arjun Mahato. 'It's very hard for Indian players. On occasions, they've been thrown into the deep end, going under the water a lot. But the challenge is to survive in the deep water. They're improving every session. I tell them: you have to get it wrong to get it right - that's what they're doing and learning.' He singled out Arjun for rising to the challenge, saying, 'He's confident, knows what to do, but more importantly, he's ready to discuss why. That's half the challenge. Indian players tend to wait to be told what to do, but they need to understand why we do it. Then they can teach rather than just be taught. Arjun is already embracing that.' On the league's organisation and facilities, Friday was effusive in praise. 'The league has done fantastically well. It's easy to look from the outside and think it's simple, but there's so much behind-the-scenes business. The RPL has done extremely well. There's been fantastic work getting all the owners on board and bringing in the best players and coaches in the world.' 'We're excited, inspired, and ready to add to a legacy. Kudos to RPL, kudos to GMR, kudos to India Rugby," Friday concluded.


Indian Express
44 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Should Gukesh rue the missed chance to win title or take heart that he beat Carlsen and Arjun in classical chess in Norway?
After two weeks of pulling rabbits out of the hat and grinding his way to wins even when he was in worse positions from the start of games, there were no more rabbits left to be found for Gukesh Dommaraju. The 19-year-old world champion had started the final round of the Norway Chess tournament with a realistic chance of winning the title, starting just 0.5 points behind leader Magnus Carlsen. But he ended the tournament in third spot, after losing the round 10 game to USA's Fabiano Caruana, who pipped him to second spot in the standings, behind title winner Magnus Carlsen. It was a gripping end to a tournament that had been billed as the first Carlsen vs Gukesh clash in classical chess since the Indian teenager's coronation as world champion. In what was one of the most dramatic days of chess this year, Gukesh's final game against Caruana was a perfect highlight reel of his whole tournament in Stavanger: he started off worse than his opponent, then through sheer tenacity found some incredible resources to gain an edge, and then found himself in the clutches of time trouble. While he ended third in the standings, the event saw Gukesh beat Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi for the first time in classical chess. The win over Carlsen was sweeter for more reasons than one: after defeating the world champion from India, Carlsen had posted 'You come for the king, you better not miss' — a line from HBO's popular series The Wire. Gukesh's second, Grzegorz Gajewski, had also told Indian media: 'As a world champion, he keeps facing these comments that, 'ok, you're the world champion only because Magnus didn't play. You know, you try not to hear those comments. But then you lose to him, and then you lose to him again, and that's not a bit pleasant.' Those first-ever wins over Carlsen and Arjun notwithstanding, Gukesh will be smarting. This is, after all, the second classical tournament since he became world champion in December last year — the first being the Tata Steel tournament at the start of the year in Wijk aan Zee — where he has been within touching distance of winning the title coming into the final round and then letting it slip. Gukesh's desperation to beat Caruana and win the title was apparent early on. He started to take risks in the game on Friday from as early as move 4 — playing 4.h6, to signal his intent to fight for the title. Caruana, who also had a chance to win the title, was not about to be left behind. Right after Gukesh castled long, the American's b pawn marched down the board (14…b4) towards the black king. By the 17th move, Gukesh had 30 minutes lesser on his clock compared to the American. Caruana also had an edge in the game as per the eval bar. At multiple times at this event Gukesh has been in trouble due to the time control used at this event — two hours with no increments and then 10 seconds added from move 41. By the 34th move from both players, the American had surged ahead as per the eval bar. At this stage, Gukesh had an additional pawn and a rook while the American had a knight and a bishop still on the battlefield. Carlsen, meanwhile, was struggling on the adjoining board against Arjun. A win for Arjun against the Norwegian would have meant that Gukesh could win the title with just a draw in the classical portion against Caruana. Gukesh was under massive time trouble by the 45th move, his time having trickled down to 15 seconds. That's when he got a lifeline as Caruana blundered with 47.f4. This left Gukesh's pawn on the d file to make a run to promote to a queen. When Gukesh played 48… d1=Q, it turned out to be one of the most significant moments of Norway Chess 2025. Because, that was a Championship-surrendering blunder as Caruana had a one-two knockout punch ready: he captured Gukesh's original queen on the next move with a bishop, giving a discovered check on Gukesh's king. When Gukesh moved the king out of safety, Caruana took all of seven seconds to hop his knight to c3 which forked the Indian's rook and recently-promoted queen. As soon as Gukesh saw that haymaker of a move, he plunged his face in his hands, unable to believe what he had just done. He resigned soon enough, and then covered his face with a hand for a long time. On the other board, Carlsen, realising that Caruana was going to win, played out a draw, which was enough for his seventh title in 13 years. Gukesh looked devastated as he walked out of the playing hall. Carlsen, meanwhile, went on to lose to Arjun in the Armageddon. He was on broadcast studios talking about the 'pain of chess' — a reference to his own fist-smashing meltdown after throwing away a winning position against Gukesh in round 6. But the Norwegian might as well have been talking about the teenage boy from India and what he was feeling at that moment. Carlsen did have kind things to say about the two Indians in the fray. 'I think the kids are on track. But they're not way ahead of schedule,' Carlsen said on the Norway Chess broadcast. The world no 1 then said that looking at Gukesh play at the event, he was reminded of himself back in 2008 or 2009 when he was just breaking through. 'It wasn't always so pretty,' Carlsen added before explaining how at Linares 2008, there was Viswanathan Anand who was cruising in first place while he was 'playing crazy games every which way'. Gukesh might not have been in the mood to look at his glass and think of it as half full, but Carlsen had a hint of positivity to offer for the Indian teenager. 'You can see in certain games or in parts of the game that Gukesh and Arjun are far behind myself, Fabiano and Hikaru Nakamura. But we're also the very best players in the world. They're not supposed to be our equals in every part of the game. The fact that Gukesh can actually fight for tournament victory despite having so many bad positions, like he will probably not be happy with himself. But it is encouraging. It's typical. That's what kids do.' (The writer is in Stavanger at the invitation of Norway Chess) Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. ... Read More


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Rahul, Karun and India seeking a batting high in England
Mumbai: Going into the England Test series starting at Leeds on June 20, India's biggest concern will be over how the Shubman Gill-led side will cope after the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Who will step up in the batting line-up? It's a place which demands a lot of acclimatisation by the batters. When the sun plays hide-and-seek, on most days in England one is facing the moving ball in the cold and gloom. The two India A unofficial Tests against England Lions would have helped ease some nerves in the Indian camp. After Karun Nair's double century in the first game, KL Rahul hit a stylish century on Day 1 of the second game in Northampton on Friday. Dilip Vengsarkar knows what it takes to do well in England, having scored three centuries at Lord's, cricket's spiritual home. 'The fact is you have to get acclimatised to the conditions quickly,' says Vengsarkar. 'We were fortunate that we got to play a lot of County games ahead of the series and also in between Tests. It was good practice – moving ball, seaming conditions, cold and gloomy weather of England. Once you get acclimatised and have runs behind you, then it is a beautiful place to bat. They are excellent wickets to bat on,' says the former India captain who played 116 Tests and toured England four times (1979, '82, '86 and '90). In a country where many sub-continent batters have struggled, Vengsarkar piled up 960 runs in 13 Tests, with four hundreds and four half-centuries at an average of 48. The high point was his two match-winning hundreds in India's 2-0 series win in 1986. The key for him was using the side games to get into rhythm. While India's main squad landed in England on June 6, Rahul made the effort to reach in time to play in the second India A game. The Karnataka batter benefitted. On his first day in the English summer, he crafted 116 while opening the batting. It was a satisfying effort on a green Chester-Le-Street pitch against a quality attack led by Test pacers Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue. Though he got a hundred, there was an important lesson for him in the end – you are never set in England. His first lapse in concentration ended his 273-minute vigil when he played away from the body to a good-length delivery from seamer George Hill to be caught at second slip. The ball was 61 overs old, but Hill's delivery swung to take the edge. Vengsakar's advice? 'You have to adapt to conditions quickly, because even after 80 overs the ball keeps swinging in the air and off the wicket. So, you have to be careful not to play big shots because invariably the ball moves (and) then you are gone in the slips, or caught behind. You have to push the ball for ones, twos and threes. 'It's important to stay side-on and not play big drives.' While Rahul has cemented the opener's spot, the team management is undecided on the No.4 slot. Karun batted at No.3 in the first India A game in Canterbury, strengthening his case with a classy 204. Given the No.4 slot at Northampton, he scored 40 during an 84-run partnership with Rahul. It means he is seen as a possible candidate for the crucial middle-order spot. Experience matters For a team in transition, the experience of the two former Karnataka teammates could be vital. Rahul and Nair are both 33, but Nair is hoping to make a Test comeback after eight years, having played the last of his six Tests in 2017. On the last tour to England (2021-22), Rahul was part of a strong line-up of Kohli, Rohit, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. For a smooth transition, India need Rahul in the lead role this time. For a batter of his quality, an average of 33.58 in 58 Tests doesn't do justice. Being the most experienced batter in the side, the young team will look up to him. Those who have watched him from close say Rahul is extra-focussed now. He made an effort to stay in the zone in IPL, producing consistent scores (539 runs, avg 53.90). That focus was evident during Fiday's knock. The lesson for him from the last England tour is that when in form, make it count. In 2021, he made a difference in the first two Tests, but then his form tapered off. He started with 84, 26 and 129, but his scores in the remainder of the series were 5, 0, 8, 17 and 46. The first Test is at Headingley, where the ball swings. The high point of any series is Lord's, venue of the third Test. Not everyone has tasted success here, including Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Ricky Ponting. Rahul has. On India's last Test there, Rahul struck a majestic 129 to set up a memorable win. 'When you play at Lord's and it is a full house, the atmosphere is electrifying. It could unnerve the best players while it could bring the best out in some who can hold their nerves,' sums up Vengsarkar.