Aaron Finch ransacked England’s bowling with an eye-popping, boundary-fuelled world record 156 as Australia piled up 248 for 6, the second highest total in a Twenty20 international and the highest between Full Member teams.
It was a mindboggling display of hitting from Finch, who has six previous T20 caps, as he tore England’s attack to shreds with a brutal display, in the process going well past Brendon McCullum’s 123 as the highest score in Twenty20.
He began with a six first ball, picked up effortlessly off Steven Finn, and it was a theme that would continue throughout as he set a new world record of 14 maximums in his innings. Each of Finch’s landmarks came up with a six; his half-century in 26 balls, his hundred off 47 balls, beating McCullum’s record and his 150.
He was on track to beat Richard Levi’s 45-ball hundred against New Zealand, in Hamilton, as the fastest on the international stage but after reducing himself to a couple of singles had to settle for second spot when he launched his 47th delivery, from Broad, for another six.
He was the first Australian to make a Twenty20 international hundred and it took him just 13 more deliveries to power past 150. It had long since stopped begin an even contest and the six had been reduced to ‘just another blow’. The bowlers had no clue.
Picking through the wreckage of England’s figures may seem a rather pointless task, but there are a couple of overs that stand out. Joe Root’s only over cost 27 – he made the mistake of conceding a single to Shaun Marsh first ball – and Danny Briggs, on his home ground, was taken for 23, all by Finch.
The only England bowler to have an economy rate in single figures was Jade Dernbach, which itself will bring amazement from many. He finally removed Finch and also dumbfounded Shane Watson with back-of-the-hand slower balls; Watson after his 37 off 16 balls, in a stand of 99 in seven overs, which had gone almost unnoticed.
Finch and Marsh had added 114 in nine overs for the second wicket having come together early following David Warner’s bizarre dismissal. Swinging with all his power, he top edged Broad’s second ball and, in the process, lost his bat which flew towards short fine-leg while Jos Buttler settled under the catch. Warner then had to walk to collect his bat off an obliging England player who had picked it up. It was the high point of the innings for England.
