Warner one ball away from more history

Believe it or not after seven centuries in the past 12 months, David Warner rates one-day cricket as "the format I've struggled most in".

Quick Single: The story behind Warner's celebration

The opener has turned Australian batting records on their head in the 50-over format over the past year, pushing notable names of the one-day game like Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson out of the record books.

Three-game ODI series may not be the most common format for the game, but Warner now owns the Australian record for the most runs scored in a series of three matches.

Scores of 24, 119 and 156 give him a total of 299 runs (at 99.67). That not only beats Ponting's record for runs scored in a Chappell-Hadlee series – 241 in 2007 – it also beats Shane Watson's national record set in 2011.

Watson clubbed a memorable unbeaten 185 against Bangladesh in April 2011 that gave him a series aggregate of 294, which has now been surpassed by five runs. Watson's innings remains the high mark for an individual score by an Australian in one-day cricket.

Before this Chappell-Hadlee Series, the Australian record for ODI centuries in a calendar year was five – set by Ricky Ponting (twice, in 2003 and 2007) and Matthew Hayden (2007). It now stands at seven thanks to Warner's 156 here in Melbourne and 119 in Canberra on Tuesday.

"I think first and foremost it's probably been the format I reckon I struggled at early in my career," Warner said this week.

"The last 18-24 months I've really worked hard on trying to construct my innings and build an innings and not play too many big shots early on.

"And just relay that Test match attitude into the one-dayers because you do get a few more balls in your area in one day stuff where you can actually play through that line."

Quick Single: Another record for Warner at the MCG

As incredible is it has all been, it is even more remarkable to consider he has only narrowly missed out on a host of other new entries in the record books.

Warner's seven centuries have been accompanied by two scores in the 90s – the 93 he made against India in Canberra in January and the 98 scored against New Zealand in Wellington in February, where New Zealand used the Decision Review System to remove him.

Dropped on 18 today, Warner ransacked New Zealand's bowlers for 138 more. His 156 was an impressive 59.09 per cent of Australia's 7-264, which puts him in the upper echelon of one-man dominations.

Warner was on track to set a new Australian record for the highest individual percentage of a team's score until James Faulkner smashed a boundary in the final over.

Damien Martyn retains that particular record, with 60.73 per cent of the team's total, coincidentally in a match against New Zealand.

That innings by Martyn, an impressive 116 not out out of Australia's 191 in Auckland in March 2000 was the only time an Australian carried their bat in one-day international cricket.

It looked set to be matched by Warner for 49.5 overs today, but the team-first mentality saw him set off for a suicide single on the final ball of the innings, which was well fielded by Trent Boult who swivelled and threw down the stumps.

Warner smashed four sixes – one a monster some 20 rows back over the long-on boundary off a free hit - and 13 boundaries in a 128-ball knock of 156 that lasted 213 enthralling minutes.

His seven ODI tons in 2016 – as well as two dismissals in the 90s – saw him draw level with the mark Sourav Ganguly set in 2000. Warner has achieved the feat in his 23rd one-dayer of the year, while Ganguly played 32 in his record year.

Leading the way is Sachin Tendulkar's nine ODI tons set in 1998, when India's Little Master played 34 matches. It is worthwhile to note that four of Tendulkar's centuries came in matches against Zimbabwe and Kenya – while another four came in a home series against Australia. Warner's tons have come against India, South Africa (three times), Sri Lanka (twice), and New Zealand (also twice).

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