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Mitchell Santner etched his name in the history books despite New Zealand suffering an embarrassing defeat to the West Indies under his captaincy in the 1st T20I at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday (November 5) as the hosts were beaten by seven runs.
In the run chase, the Black Caps found themselves struggling at 107-9, and the margin could have been heavier. However, Santner played a stunning knock of 55 runs in just 28 balls, which included a 50-run partnership for the 10th wicket with Jacob Duffy. The New Zealand skipper hit eight boundaries and two maximums.
Mitchell Santner Creates History
Santner became the first captain in the history of a full-member team to score a half-century from number eight or below. The 33-year-old broke a record, which was jointly shared by his former teammate Tim Southee as well as Afghanistan cricket superstar Rashid Khan.

Santner's score is also the highest by a captain from number eight (or below), even if associate nations are counted. He is only the second captain after Lansana Lamin (52) for Sierra Leone vs Eswatini in 2024, to score a half-century from the position while leading the team.
From full-member teams, Santner's score of 55 is the third-highest by a full-member player from number eight, behind Isuru Udana (82 vs South Africa, 2019) and Iftikhar Ahmed (60 vs New Zealand, 2023).
Santner also broke Tim Bresnan's record (47 in 2014) for the highest score by a batter from number eight or below against the West Indies.
Mitchell Santner Sets Massive Partnership Record
Santner and Duffy are the first pair from a full-member nation to put up a 50-run partnership for the 10th wicket for a full-member nation. Overall, they are the fourth pair to achieve the feat for the last wicket in the shortest format of the game.
Among Test-playing nations, Santner and Duffy broke the record of Ireland's Josh Little and Barry McCarthy. Although Duffy made only 10 runs.

The previous best 10th wicket partnership against West Indies was a 23-run stand between Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman at Lucknow in 2019.
However, Santner achieved an unwanted record, as he is the first New Zealand captain to lose a T20I to the West Indies. The previous two defeats for the Black Caps against the two-time world champions came in a bowl-out and Super Over in 2006 and 2008, respectively.