Australian blind cricketer Steffan Nero breaks all mileposts scoring an unbeaten 309* vs NZ

Australian blind cricketer Steffan Nero entered the world record books when he smashed an unbeaten knock of 309 runs against New Zealand in the International Cricket Inclusion series in Brisbane.

Nero broke Pakistani Masood Jan's record of 262* runs, which he achieved in the 1999 Blind Cricket World Cup. 

The wicketkeeper's triple-century score came after two-consecutive hundreds; 113 off 46 and 101* from 47. His current average in the series is an astounding 523.

According to The Guardian, post scoring a third-straight ton, Nero stated, "It's a dream in itself to play for Australia, so to make a century for Australia is one of those lifelong memories you will never forget."

Speaking about the toll such a long knock puts on his body, Nero said, "I imagine for anyone — including a fully sighted person — it's a big mental strain, but with vision impairment, we have to expend a lot more energy trying to concentrate, especially with the ball moving around and the glare.

"That's one thing I think a lot of people don't realise [about blind cricket]; just the mental aspect of straining your eyes for that period of time can be quite taxing."

He has also joined the likes of David Warner and Michael Clarke to become the eighth Australian cricketer to breach the 300-run mark. 

This run from Nero is even more incredible, considering he last played cricket way back in 2018. 

The right-hander concluded by thanking the media for showcasing the tournament.

"The media exposure has been absolutely fantastic. Being in mainstream media, that's where we want the exposure so that everyday people can see our sport, but also other vision-impaired people too.

"It means they might see it on the news and push and strive to play as well."

Australia is currently 6-0 in the series, comprising five T20Is and three ODIs.

This is the first time in a series that blind, deaf, and intellectual disability (ID) teams have played international cricket at the same time.