All Change Here

I know I’m terribly late, and that one other match has also been played long after this one was done, but… holy pretzels and spaghetti.

Yes, my exclamations need a bit of work, but you’d have pretty much the same reaction after seeing that blitzkrieg of an innings from Aaron Finch on the night of August 29, 2013, the centerpiece of the Australian win over England in the first T20 of the series. Studded with an astonishing 11 fours and 14 sixes, Finch did his duty with 156 off 63 balls, thus saving Australia’s face coming off a highly disappointing show in the Ashes Test series which had just concluded. So, late as I may be, I shall proceed to recap this thoroughly entertaining game… although it might just turn out to be All About Aaron…

For starters, England had won the toss and chose to field. It looked like the beginning of the same old opening disaster for Australia when, with just 11 on the board, David Warner lost his wicket in a most amusing fashion. He took an almighty heave at Stuart Broad, top-edged, and sent his bat flying while doing so, while Jos Buttler happily took the catch. England looked set to take the opportunity to skittle out a relatively young and inexperienced Aussie lineup – but unfortunately for them, they ran into Finch.

Finch whacking his first ball for six was a sign of things to come; after that, it didn’t really stop. It wasn’t really the sort of innings you would find the purists drooling with joy over, either – more the crash, bang and wallop kind, all fourteen sixes going every which way possible, including quite a few on the off side. He reached his fifty, off 27 balls, with a six; reached his hundred, off 47 balls – just short of Richard Levi’s record of 45 balls for the fastest T20 international hundred – with a six, and reaching his 150 with – what else – a six.

The bowling was absolutely murdered. Anything minutely close to a bad ball was sent over the rope or the fence. It would be a bit pointless to describe the damage inflicted in detail, as every England bowler bowled ended up with an economy of over 10 that night – all except, wonder of wonders, Jade Dernbach, usually the one with the double-digit economy and therefore the butt of many a cricket meme. Dernbach went unscathed, somewhat, even ending with three wickets for 34 runs in his four overs, including those of Finch and Shane Watson, pitching in with a useful 37 off 16 balls.

Where were we? Ah, yes, Finch. Together with opener Shaun Marsh, who crafted a handy 28 off 21, he put on 114 for the second wicket before Marsh fell, after which Finch and Watson kept the scoreboard ticking and eventually took Australia to an almighty 248 for 6 in 20 overs. It would take a stretch of the imagination to even fathom England chasing that down – 12.45 runs per over can make any captain lock himself in the shower and cry – but the collective imaginations of the audience didn’t need to be exercised, for it never happened.

The first England over, bowled by Mitchell Johnson, did go for 17 runs, but Australia recovered soon enough – Michael Lumb was first trapped in front by Johnson, and soon after, his partner Alex Hales (who would eventually be the star of England’s win in the next game, but that’s another story) followed him, caught behind off Josh Hazlewood; along with Luke Wright and Eoin Morgan.

But it didn’t quite dry up there, though, even though the result had well been decided – to the delight of the local crowd, disappointed as they were with the inevitable, Joe Root, Ravi Bopara and Jos Buttler decided to put on an exhibition of their own. Root’s fine showcase of strokeplay earned him 90 off 47 balls, including 13 fours and a smash in the face from a Hazlewood short delivery – the ball got lodged between the peak of his helmet and the grille, gifting him a cut lip. Ironically, David Warner, whose fist had infamously provided Root the same treatment earlier in the tour, was the first Australian to go to his aid!

England managed to cross 200, for only the fourth time in a T20 international, but that was about as far as they got, ending their 20 overs on 209 for the loss of six wickets. It was not really the best night to be an England supporter – but for the Australian fans, the cricket lovers around the world glued to their TVs and radios, and for those in the crowd who just came there to have a good time (as you would at a stadium) it was a night to savour, a night of whose grainy iPhone camera pictures will be stored for a long, long time; a night about one man whose innings made everyone on Twitter stop what they were doing and turn their eyes to the Ageas Bowl at Southampton. And left them open-mouthed for a good while to come.

- RD

Scores and stats: ESPN Cricinfo