Tom Bruce celebrates his record innings at Eden Park. Photo: Photosport
Central Stags cricket captain Tom Bruce has posted the third-highest score in domestic first-class cricket, scoring 345 against Auckland at Eden Park.
Bruce's first triple-century is the highest first-class score in New Zealand since December 1952, when the late great Bert Sutcliffe produced his national record of 385, while opening the batting for Otago.
Sutcliffe is the only person to score more runs than Bruce in a first-class innings in New Zealand - including Test cricket - and he did that twice, also scoring 355 in the Plunket Shield in December 1950 against Auckland.
Only Bert Sutclife has scored more than Tom Bruce in a first-class innings in New Zealand. Photo: © Photosport Ltd www.photosport.co.nz
Resuming on his overnight score of 212 not out, Bruce went past Peter Ingram's Central Stags landmark of 247 to become his team's individual recordholder.
He also shared consecutive Central Stags record stands over the course of his innings. On Wednesday, his 292 with Dane Cleaver (115) broke the fourth-wicket partnership record of 276, previously held by Martin Crowe and Scott Briasco.
A fifth-wicket record followed on Thursday, when Bruce and Josh Clarkson, who reached a career-best 166 not out, compiled 303 together. The previous mark stood at 301, set by Ross Taylor and Jarrod Englefield in 2004/05.
When Bruce eventually feathered an attempted sweep to wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher, off spinner Louis Delport, at 670/5, a remarkable innings came to a close and his Auckland Aces opponents ran after him to congratulate him, before he left the field to a standing ovation from those few who witnessed it.
His knock spanned almost nine-and-a-half hours and came off only 401 balls.
Bruce declared at 700/5 in the middle session - a record team total for the Central Stags and the fifth highest total in all first-class games (including Tests) on New Zealand soil.
Highest first-class scores in NZ men's domestic cricket:
385 Bert Sutcliffe for Otago, 1952/53
355 Bert Sutcliffe for Otago, 1949/50
345 Tom Bruce for Central Stags, 2024/25
338* Roger Blunt for Otago, 1931/32
334 Dean Brownlie for Northern Districts, 2014/15
327* Devon Conway for Wellington Firebirds, 2019/20
316* Michael Papps for Wellington Firebirds, 2017/18
301* Peter Fulton for Canterbury, 2002/03
