Australian allrounder Sean Abbott has been left astonished by his personal record-breaking exploits after equalling the fastest-ever hundred hit in English T20 cricket.
The Surrey participant merely destroyed Kent’s bowling on the Oval within the T20 Blast competitors, thundering to 3 figures in simply 34 balls on Friday evening to match the competitors report set by his late, nice compatriot Andrew Symonds for Kent in opposition to Middlesex 19 years in the past.
But the modest Abbott, who has shortly turn into a well-liked determine with the county champions, paid tribute to one in every of Australian cricket’s previous heroes afterwards, shrugging: “I don’t assume folks needs to be speaking about me and ‘Roy’ in the identical breath… however that was loads of enjoyable!”
It was an astounding knock which featured 11 sixes and 7 fours, together with 30 coming within the seventeenth over – 6-4-6-4-4-6 – off his luckless Australia tempo colleague Kane Richardson.
Much more remarkably, the 31-year-old Abbott, who rescued a tough scenario for Surrey after coming in at 4-64, had beforehand by no means scored a fifty – his finest had been 41 – in 76 T20 innings.
As an alternative, his 110 not out off 41 balls utterly reworked the match, taking Surrey to 5-223 earlier than they went on to restrict Kent to 7-182 and seal a 41-run victory.
“Should have a chat with Moises Henriques (his captain on the Sydney Sixers) again residence – possibly I’m batting too low!” laughed Abbott, when requested on Sky TV concerning the transformation from a person who’d solely made 51 runs in seven innings in all the 2022-23 BBL.
“No, we’ve acquired a category facet again residence on the Sixers, so I can’t ask to bat an excessive amount of increased. Simply grateful for this chance,” stated Abbott.
“This isn’t going to sink in for some time. First (Blast) recreation on the Oval in entrance of a house crowd (of 17,000), I haven’t batted that nicely, good to go on the market and profit from it. I had somewhat little bit of luck – however, boy, that was loads of enjoyable.”
The luck got here when, after being shunted up the order to No 6 and racing to his half-century off 23 balls, together with three sixes bludgeoned over long-on off George Linde, he acquired dropped by the identical participant off Joey Evison when he’d powered on to 87.
However Abbott couldn’t be stopped and reached the landmark with two extra back-to-back sixes off one other Australian, Kent’s 41-year-old veteran Michael Hogan.
Abbott’s impolite kind with bat and ball have him firmly on the radar for the upcoming Ashes collection in opposition to England and the World Check Championship in opposition to India on the Oval on June 7.
Abbott and fellow quick bowler Michael Neser had been known as in to Australia’s pre-Ashes coaching camp, as fears develop tempo spearhead Josh Hazlewood is not going to be match for responsibility. Hazlewood has not performed any red-ball cricket since injuring his Achilles within the Sydney Check in opposition to South Africa in January and solely just lately made his comeback within the Indian Premier League.
Neser was controversially omitted from Australia’s 17-man squad for the World Check Championship closing and first two Ashes Checks, however selectors left the door open for the ultimate three matches.
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He has been in irresistible kind for Glamorgan, taking a career-best 7-32, together with a hat-trick, final week in opposition to Yorkshire. He adopted up by grabbing 4-40 and smacking 86 in opposition to Worcestershire this week.
FASTEST T20 HUNDREDS IN HISTORY
Chris Gayle – 30 balls (Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors in Bangalore) 2013
Rishabh Pant – 32 balls (Delhi v Himachal Pradesh in Delhi) 2018
Wihan Lubbe – 33 balls (North West v Limpopo in Paarl) 2018
Andrew Symonds – 34 balls (Kent v Middlesex in Maidstone) 2004
Sean Abbott – 34 balls (Surrey v Kent at The Oval) 2023
