Finch ends Australia’s pain with mammoth T20 score

Stuart Broad conceded his England side had been batted out of their first NatWest Twenty20 clash against Australia by Aaron Finch.
Australia's Aaron FinchAustralia's Aaron Finch
Australia's Aaron Finch

England, in limited-over cricket after another triumphant Ashes series, could only stand and watch as Finch clubbed 156 in 63 balls for the highest individual T20 
international total.

Broad’s men tried to chase Australia’s mammoth 248-6 but fell 39 runs short, with Joe Root’s unbeaten 90 their standout on a night which belonged to Finch.

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“We’re disappointed to have lost the game but credit to Australia and how they batted,” said Broad.

“Finch was excellent. He tried most things, hit sixes and to hit 14 in an innings is quite incredible.

“Some times you hold your hands up and say you were outplayed – he hit his first ball for six and we knew it was going to be a tough ask.”

On Root, who dipped in and out of form in the Test series, Broad added: “It was his first international T20 and 90 was a great effort.”

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Australia captain George Bailey could only marvel at Finch’s one-man demolition job in Southampton.

“It was pretty extraordinary,” he said. “I can only think of Chris Gayle in the Indian Premier League who has done that.

“We spoke to him about hitting sixes, telling him not to try and hit them 40 rows back. As it was, he hit them 40 rows back.”

Finch added: “It was one of those things, one of those days. The wicket was flat and it made it easier for stroke play. It was nice to get a few early and build on it.”

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The right-hander’s record-breaking knock, on a night when a Twenty20-best 457 runs were scored, overshadowed Australia’s total of 248 – the second-highest Twenty20 score.

The size of the task swamped England’s batsmen – who still managed their own second-highest score of 209-6, thanks largely to Yorkshire’s Root.

The result, in the first of two NatWest Twenty20 internationals, meant Australia also ended their 200-day wait for a competitive international win.

The Australians had not tasted success in any format on this tour, or the previous whitewash trip to India, and England captain Broad had pledged to keep the foot on the beleaguered tourists.

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His decision to send Australia in to bat after winning the toss was, however, quickly undermined.

Finch, who reached all his landmarks with sixes, served his intention by hitting his first ball from Steven Finn over the ropes.

While England did then remove David Warner cheaply, after his bat was unintentionally hurled from his grip as he skied Broad, from there Finch took centre-stage.

The 26-year-old reached his half-century with a straight six off Ravi Bopara and appeared ready to beat South African Richard Levi’s international record 45-ball century. Finch was, however, briefly sedated as he crept up on triple figures. He played out back-to-back dot balls to miss the record mark before reverting to type – top-edging Broad for six to bring up his ton from 47 balls.

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Brendon McCullum’s previous Twenty20 record score of 123 was next in his sights – and duly beaten with a maximum over cover – before another heave made him the first man to 150.

Jade Dernbach, who returned impressive figures of 3-34 as the carnage fell around him, finally got Finch to play on in the 18th over, the Victorian leaving to a standing ovation from the crowd.

England were then able to apply some restraint in the closing overs to at least ensure Australia fell short of Sri Lanka’s record Twenty20 total of 260-6.

England’s batsman were, however, still left with a task only heavy hitting, rather than efficient batsmanship, could overcome.

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Australia’s 18 sixes were an indication of that and the pressure told as England slipped to 42-4.

Michael Lumb and Alex Hales made a quickfire opening stand of 33 only to fall from consecutive balls – albeit at opposite ends. Lumb was trapped plumb in front by Mitchell Johnson before Hales edged behind off Josh Hazlewood.

Luke Wright fell the same way and when Eoin Morgan thrashed Johnson to cover point without scoring England were in a hole.

Root was then left with a bloodied mouth by a Hazlewood delivery – which prompted Warner to be first on the scene and duly ignored by the England batsman.

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Root remained composed and brought up a half-century from 29 balls and continued until the end.

However, like the long-awaited debut of Australia’s Pakistan-born leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed – who returned 0-43 and dropped a catch – that was lost in the glare of Finch’s fireworks which gave Australia their long-awaited win and a 1-0 lead ahead of Saturday’s final game at Chester-le-Street.