West Indies captain and wicketkeeper Shai Hope made cricket history on Wednesday, November 19, becoming the first batter ever to score an international century against all 11 current full-member nations. He struck a breathtaking 109 off just 69 balls at McLean Park in Napier against New Zealand, with a strike rate of nearly 158. Despite his heroic effort, West Indies fell short in a five-wicket loss.

No other batter in the world has achieved centuries against Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Ireland, and Afghanistan. Hope’s milestone includes two Test centuries against England and one against India, along with ODI centuries against Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Nepal, the Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe. Earlier this year, he also scored his first T20I century against Australia.

This was Hope’s first ODI century against New Zealand, completing his collection of hundreds against every Test-playing nation. He now sits joint second on the West Indies’ all-time ODI centuries list, behind only Chris Gayle.

Most ODI centuries for West Indies:

Chris Gayle – 25

Shai Hope – 19

Brian Lara – 19

Desmond Haynes – 17

In the rain-affected 34-over match, New Zealand chased 248, needing eight runs off the final six balls and sealing victory with three deliveries to spare. Devon Conway contributed 90, while Mitchell Santner added 34 from 15 balls in the lower order. Hope’s innings, however, was so exceptional that he was awarded the Player of the Match.

Despite the recognition, Hope remained self-critical, lamenting that he hadn’t done enough to secure a win. “I always look at it this way — I got, what, 109 or 110? Still not enough,” he said in the post-match presentation, as quoted by Cricbuzz. “I needed 120 or 130 for us to win. It’s always good to give the team the best possible chance. I always reflect internally to see what more I could have done. It’s about putting pressure on the opposition, not letting them settle, especially in these conditions. If they get on top of you, it becomes hard work. I wanted to bring impetus to the innings and give us the best chance of defending the score. Everyone knows I love to win. Whether I score hundreds or fifties doesn’t matter.”

Hope added, “I’d rather score 2 and we win than get a hundred and lose. That’s how I see the game. I try to find ways to keep improving and give my team the best chance possible. I aimed to maximise the last few overs, got the strike, and managed to score a couple at the end. Honestly, I thought it was enough, but clearly it wasn’t. There are always areas to improve scoring a few more off dot balls early, putting more pressure during the power play. Hindsight is perfect, and it’s easy to talk after the game.”