The story behind captain Clark's history-altering double hundred

"Denmark had turned up to play in whites, not knowing it was a white-ball tournament."

Even before a ball had been bowled, Julia Price knew it was going to be an unusual day.

"There were lots of animals and cows and elephants wandering around the outside of the ground for some reason."

On a stinking hot late December morning in Mumbai, Australia met their next opponents at the 1997 World Cup, Denmark.

The Aussies had begun their tournament with comfortable wins over South Africa and Pakistan and captain Belinda Clark was desperate to get some time in the middle ahead of the matches against stronger opposition like England, India and New Zealand.

At the toss, the coin fell in Clark's favour and she had no hesitation in choosing to bat.

"It was just a matter of using it as essentially as a glorified net session, to get myself set for when the games got a bit harder," Clark recalls on the latest episode of Stories After Stumps.

To say that Clark cashed in would be an understatement.

While Lisa Keightley (60) and Karen Rolton (64) both fell shortly after passing their half-century, Clark cruised past her century and was determined to keep going.

Although not a lot of boundaries were being hit, the runs were flowing for the Australians as the Indian sun began to bake the uniquely-shaped Bandra Cricket Club oval and those unlucky enough to be in the middle.

"She didn't actually hit too many boundaries," Price says.

"There was lots of twos and threes - it was quite a big ground and an odd-shaped ground, it had a tree in the corner."

"I felt a bit sorry for Denmark," Clark says, "because they were not only getting smashed on the field, but it felt like it was about 100 degrees and 100 per cent humidity.

"They would have been melting way more than us."

With a few overs remaining, Clark made history.

The Aussie skipper became the first player in one-day international history to record an individual score of 200.

Mel Jones was in the middle when the unflappable leader reached the historic milestone.

"I was probably the most nervous I've ever been in my career," Jones recalls.

"So I was thinking, 'don't go out Jones, don't go out!'

"I thought 'Geez, what do I do when she gets there?' So I'm preparing myself for this big moment.

"I remember coming back (for the second run) and I was just so pumped for her, I'm bolting over to her, and she puts out her hand to shake it.

"So we shook hands and I went, 'Is that it? You just hit a double hundred!''

"She's like, 'Come on, overs to go.' So the moment came and went."

Previous Stories After Stumps Episodes

 

Episode 1: Bevan Sent - Michael Bevan's hugely successful move to Tasmania 

 

Episode 2: King of the Bash - Craig Simmons' remarkable debut Big Bash season

 

Episode 3: Nicole Bolton: Raw - The heart-breaking career of the former Aussie opener

 

Episode 4: 'You just dropped the Ryobi Cup' - The frantic finish to the 2011-12 men's one-day cup

 

Episode 5: The Catch - The controversial moment in the 2001 Sheffield Shield final

Clark withstood the oppressive heat and battled on without error to face the first and the final balls of the innings.

She finished on 229 not out from 155 balls, with a staggering 141 runs coming in non-boundaries.

Australia amassed a huge 3-412 before bowling out Denmark for 49.

Hear how Australia's World Cup campaign played out in the latest episode of Stories After Stumps in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.