In Edinburgh on Wednesday, the Australian men’s cricket team easily defeated Scotland by seven wickets, with opener Travis Head setting a new record for the fastest half-century by a batsman.
In the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Head reached his half-century in 17 deliveries, repeating Marcus Stoinis’s feat against Sri Lanka. Head finished with 80 as Australia comfortably defeated Scotland’s small score 154/9 in just 9.4 overs.
In his knock, Head hit 12 fours and five sixes, which meant that 78 of his 80 runs came through boundaries (the second-highest percentage of runs through boundaries in a 50-plus score in men’s T20Is). At the Grange Cricket Club Ground, he and Mitch Marsh (39 off 12 deliveries) both went down against a bowling attack from Scotland.
Even though Australia lost opener Jake Fraser-McGurk early in the first over of their chase, Head and Marsh continued to assault the hosts whenever possible, finishing the Powerplay at 113/1 and close to reaching the winning total.
Although ball-by-ball data for men’s T20I is available, this Powerplay total was the second highest ever, just missing the 116 runs Romania scored in a 2021 match against Serbia in Sofia.
Australia put on a masterful display, with contributions from Sean Abbott (3/39), Xavier Bartlett (2/23), and Adam Zampa (2/33) with the ball before Head, Marsh, and Josh Inglis (27*) produced stunning feats with the bat.
Australia now leads the three-match series 1-0, and Head wants his squad to keep attacking when play resumes on Friday in Edinburgh. “Obviously they (Scotland) are keen as (for the contest) and so are we, we want to start on the right foot,” Head stated.
“We’ve got a couple of young guys in our team, a bit of a fresher group off the back of the T20 World Cup, and everyone is keen to make a stance in international cricket. Scotland’s captain, Richie Berrington, expressed disappointment with his team’s performance and hoped for a comeback throughout the series. “We’re disappointed with how things ended up today, but it’s a great experience especially for the younger guys who’ve come in,” Berrington stated.
