Playing his 100th List A match, Bowes hit 27 fours and seven sixes as he helped Canterbury post 343 for 9 after they were put in to bat at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
“It might sink in over the next day or two, but obviously a great day here at Hagley and a good occasion to do something special,” Bowes said after his innings. “These things happen naturally, organically. You don’t plan for it or try to do it, so I’m glad it was my day. Probably not [hit he ball] consistently that well, so it was nice to get most of them out of the middle and hit it around the park. It started off really nicely so I just kept going and it was working so I didn’t try to rein it in too much and just kept the foot on the gas.”
The 32-year-old got off to a quick start and continued to show his aggression despite losing his opening partner Henry Nicholls for a five-ball duck in the second over. He got to his half-century in 26 balls and brought up his century in 53 deliveries. He took another 50 deliveries to complete his double, before being trapped lbw in the 39th over by Matthew Bacon, who registered a five-for. This was Bowes’ best List A score, comfortably going past his previous high score of 126.
Only two other batters in Canterbury’s top seven reached double-figures, with captain Cole McConchie’s 40-ball 27 the next highest score. However, No. 8 Zakary Foulkes gave them a late boost with a 46-ball 49 to take them close to 350.
Canterbury bowled their Otago out for 103 to complete a 240-run win.
