Bruce hits 345 for third highest score in NZ first class game

Big-hitting batsman Tom Bruce recorded the third-highest score in New Zealand first-class cricket on Thursday with a superb 345 for Central Stags against Auckland Aces.

Only Bert Sutcliffe has made higher scores in a single first-class innings in New Zealand, notching 355 during the 1949-50 season and a national record 385 during the 1952-53 season for Otago.

Bruce, who has played 17 Twenty20 International matches for New Zealand, resumed his knock on 212 on day two of the Plunket Shield contest in Auckland and brought up the triple century with a tight single off his 379th delivery.

The 33-year-old finally fell after facing 401 balls after nearly 9-1/2 hours at the crease, having hit 36 boundaries and six sixes.

The record for the highest score in first-class cricket belongs to West Indies great Brian Lara, who scored an unbeaten 501 for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994. REUTERS

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