(Reuters) – Australia opener Travis Head set a powerplay record with the bat as he blasted a 25-ball 80 in a Twenty20 International in Edinburgh on Wednesday as the visitors delivered a chastening seven-wicket win over Scotland.
Head raced to 73 in the powerplay, outstripping Irishman Paul Stirling’s men’s T20 record of 67 against West Indies in 2020, as Australia chased down 155 in less than 10 overs.
Head’s 16 boundaries in the powerplay was also a record, while he equalled Marcus Stoinis’s Australian record for the fastest fifty in T20Is in 17 balls.
Scotland had given Australia a fright at the recent T20 World Cup, prompting the team’s left-arm spinner Mark Watt to declare they were out for “blood” before the series-opener.
Asked whether Australia wanted to make a statement, Head said: “You could say that.
“It’s always nice reading a couple of headlines coming in saying how keen they are to get us done.
“Obviously, two more games to go but nice to start on the right foot.”
The three-match T20 series against the Scots has little context and nothing really at stake but the opening match allowed Australia and Head to rewrite the record books.
Captain Mitchell Marsh hammered 39 off 12 balls before Josh Inglis and Stoinis drove Australia to 156 for three for victory, the highest chase achieved within 10 overs in men’s T20Is.
Only T20I debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk failed to fill his boots for Australia, the opener miscuing a pull to be caught for a duck off the bowling of Brandon McMullen.
ODI and test world champions Australia failed to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in a major disappointment but had moved on quickly, said Head.
“You look back at some of the guys you played with in that period. And that’s disappointing as well looking at that and going, ‘OK, we didn’t get to where we wanted to be’.
“But that’s all part of it. We’ve been a very fortunate team the last couple of years.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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