Finch-hit for Australia

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Aaron Finch’s record-breaking innings saw Australia to a first competitive international win in 200 days as they beat England by 39 runs in the first Twenty20 international at Southampton on Thursday.
Man-of-the-match Finch’s stunning 156, the highest individual score in all Twenty20 internationals, was the cornerstone of Australia’s 248/6, itself the second-highest team score at this level.
England, who wrapped up a 3-0 Ashes series win with a draw at The Oval on Sunday, unsurprisingly lost early wickets when faced with such a colossal chase and finished on 209/6 in this day/night fixture.
Victory saw Australia go 1-0 up in a two-match series that concludes in Durham on Saturday.
Australia hadn’t won a major international match since a 17-run one-day international victory over the West Indies at Melbourne on February 10.
Finch’s runs came from just 63 balls and the 26-year-old Victorian opener, playing just his seventh match at this level, comfortably surpassed the previous Twenty20 world record of 123 set by New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum against Bangladesh at Pallekele in September last year.
“I have been with the Australia A side all summer, so I brought a bit of form into the game,” said Finch at the presentation ceremony.
“The wicket was flat and it was one of those days. There was no seam or spin so it was nice to get a few early boundaries and I took it on from there.”
Australia Twenty20 captain George Bailey said the only innings to compare with Finch’s was West Indies star Chris Gayle who in April scored the fastest century in all professional cricket, off 30 balls, during his 175 not out for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Pune Warriors in the Twenty20 Indian Premier League.
“It was a pretty extraordinary knock and the only innings that came close was Chris Gayle’s in the IPL,” said Bailey.
“We knew it was going to be a good wicket and history says it is tough to defend on this pitch but given it’s been so long since we had a win we’ll take it,” he added of a match where the teams’ combined 457 runs was also a Twenty20 international record.
Finch got off the mark, reached his fifty, hundred and 150 with sixes.
Indeed his 14 sixes were also a world record for an individual T20 international innings, with Finch also striking 11 fours. Finch’s century was only the 10th in all T20 internationals, the first by an Australian and the first by any batsman in England.