Mitchell Santner ignited the New Zealand fireworks late with his alliance at ten with Jacob Duffy, the last batsman, in a tough chase against the West Indies. The aggressive Santner even put up a half-century to entertain the thought of a New Zealand win after the reduction of the hosts to 107-9 at one point, and still being 58 runs away from their target.
The valiant stand between Mitchell Santner and Jacob Duffy has now, however, shattered the record of the highest partnership for the tenth wicket in T20I history, at least for players from Test-playing nations. In the spirit of their fightback here are five of the highest tenth-wicket stands in T20Is from full-member nations.
5. 38* runs – Obed McCoy & Hayden Walsh (West Indies) vs New Zealand, Kingston, 2022
August 2022 in Kingston was the time when West Indies, in the second T20I match of their three-match series against New Zealand, leg-spinner Hayden Walsh and fast bowler Obed McCoy saved the team from a certain embarrassment.
The two tailenders, batting at no 10 and 11, were called up to the crease after the dismissal of Odean Smith at 87-9 in 16.1 overs. Slicing through West Indies’ innings, Walsh (10* off 8) and McCoy (23* off 15) combined together to bring forth 38* runs for the tenth wicket from the remaining 23 balls to escort West Indies to 125-9 in 20 overs. However, the match was still lost by the hosts with a 90-run margin.
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4. 40* runs – Haris Rauf & Sufiyan Muqeem (Pakistan) vs Afghanistan, Sharjah, 2025
Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf had a ferocious 16-ball 34* in the fourth match of UAE T20I tri-series 2025 against Afghanistan in Sharjah, hitting four mighty sixes. Pakistan, chasing 170, suffered a major collapse, and after 17 overs they were down to 111-9, when Rauf was joined by number 11 Sufiyan Muqeem.
The pair of cricket players fumbled an unbroken partnership of 40 runs from merely 18 balls, composing a small part of the middle order with 7 runs of six balls. Even though Haris Rauf was doing the main part of the batting, Pakistan was still edged out by 18 runs at the end.
3. 42 runs – Josh Little & Barry McCarthy (Ireland) vs South Africa, Bris-tol, 2022
Ireland’s pace bowlers and tailenders Barry McCarthy and Josh Little got together to form a strong partnership where the two scored 42 runs from the 25 balls which were the ninth wicket against South Africa during the series-deciding second T20I match held at Bristol.
The Englishmen were facing a huge target of 183 runs and Little came in to join McCarthy when the score was 96-9 in the 15th over. He soon took the Irish total to 138 all out in the 18.5 overs. McCarthy, who was the best performer on the Irish side in that match with his attack of 32 runs off 19 balls that contained three fours and two sixes, was finally out thanks to Pretorius who was among the bowlers with the side that was awarded a 44-run victory.
2. 44* runs – Josh Little & Barry McCarthy (Ireland) vs South Africa, Dublin, 2021
In the T20I series against South Africa in which Ireland played their first home game in Dublin back in July 2021, the tailenders Barry McCarthy and Josh Little were responsible for exactly one-third of the total score made by the hosts, 132-9 in the 20 overs.
While McCarthy was 30* (off 25 balls), Little was 15* (off 18) after the two cricketers had been together at a difficult 88-9 in 13.4 overs. However, their partnership of 44*-runs (38 balls) only reduced the margin of defeat for Ireland from 33 runs as South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the series.
1. 50* runs – Mitchell Santner & Jacob Duffy (New Zealand) vs West Indies, Auckland, 2025
During the series-opening encounter of the first T20I match, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner and number 11 Jacob Duffy almost pulled off a stunning robbery for their team against West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland in November 2025.
New Zealand had already lost 9 wickets and were at 107 when Santner joined Duffy and he started with a bang hitting 8 fours and 2 sixes in his excellent 28-ball 55*. Jacob Duffy, on the other hand, faced just 1 ball in their entire 50*-run partnership from 20 balls, as Santner kept most of the strike for himself. Nevertheless, due to the all-rounder’s flamboyance, New Zealand lost by a whisker of 7 runs to the guest team.
