Finch slams 172, betters own mark

that I’ll look back on when I’ve finished playing and be really proud of.”

Finch cracked his first six in the fourth over of the morning, and with his third he brought up a 22-ball half century - his fastest in Twenty20 internationals. Australia took 75 from the Powerplay, with Finch doing the bulk of the scoring while fellow opener D’Arcy Short was content to turn the strike over to his bighitting partner.

Finch brought up his second T20I hundred at the end of the 14th over, taking just 50 deliveries. Four overs later, his 15th four took Australia’s score to 200, and he then moved beyond 150 with a swipe to deep midwicket. He moved beyond the previous world record high score of 156, which he scored against England in 2013, with his ninth six.

Short eventually fell swinging

19 runs 4x3, 6x1

37 runs 4x2; 6x3

Off-side 39.5%

51 runs (4x4; 6x3)

38 runs (4x2; 6x3)

On-side 60.5%

across the line at fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani to be caught for 46, while Finch fell in bizarre circumstances in the final over. Stretching out to hit a full delivery from Muzarabani, he over-balanced and kicked his own stumps to be out hit wicket.

“I thought he was going to go with a wide slower ball, so I got back,” said Finch.

“I realized out of the hand that it was a touch wide, so I actually went to let it go and probably just didn’t realize how far back onto my stumps I got. Disappointing not to be not out at the end.”

It appeared Zimbabwe might make a fist of their chase when openers Solomon Mire and Chamu Chibhabha rushed past 40 in the fourth over, but once they were dismissed regular wickets quickly stalled the innings.

Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar raced through four overs while conceding just 16, while Andrew Tye’s seamers were even more effective. He took three for 12 as Australia inflicted one last record against the Zimbabweans, the hosts slumping to their largest ever defeat in T20Is.

Australia have now won two games on the trot following from a disastrous tour of England, and Finch suggested that the change of scenery and opposition had made a big difference.

“The mood in the camp has always been positive, and I think coming here we’ve brought that confidence that we had.”

Australia 229/2 in 20 overs (A Finch 172, D Short 46) vs Zimbabwe 129/9 in 20 overs (S Mire 28, A Tye 3/12, A Agar 2/16) More than any sport, numbers tell a story in motor racing. What the naked eye cannot see — the over-use of a kerb, the underbraking at an apex — is revealed by time-sheets and lap-charts that keep drivers honest, and remind viewers that bravado may not ensure a better lap. So sensational are the numbers this year, in fact, that on-track racing can barely keep up.

Look at the World Championship battle. For the first three races, the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel led the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. The next three belonged to Hamilton, with a commanding 14-point lead by the time we left Monaco. Traditionally, that is a massive lead, given how drivers chip away at each other, making up 3 points in one race and losing 2 in the next. In Canada, Vettel came first and Hamilton fifth, obliterating the lead to inch ahead by a solitary point. France was the exact opposite, with Hamilton winning and Vettel fifth, giving back the British driver his 14-point lead.

The Austrian Grand Prix this weekend — held at the Red Bull Ring circuit in the town of Spielberg — shuffled the deck one more time, with Vettel finishing third and Hamilton retiring from