By Rob Barnett
Aaron Finch flew to the highest score in Twenty20 international history as his 63-ball 156 sped Australia to a staggering 248 for six at the Ageas Bowl.
The opening batsman, who narrowly missed out on the fastest T20I ton, flayed a scarcely-believable 14 sixes and 11 fours after the tourists were put into bat.
Australia’s next-best contribution was Shane Watson’s 37 while Jade Dernbach was England’s most impressive bowler with figures of 3-34 from four overs.
Finch’s outstanding innings followed England Women’s five-wicket win to regain the Ashes in the first part of this double-header.
Live Text Commentary
England Innings
9:22pm - Jos Buttler cuts Ahmed for four in the 15th over, after which England require 104 for victory.
9:17pm - WICKET! Bopara c Warner b Watson 45; Eng 137/5 - Bopara smites Watson for a straight six and four but then gets under a short ball and is held at midwicket, ending a stand of 95 with Root.
9:15pm - FIFTY! Root (29b 8x4 0x6) - Root clips Faulkner over midwicket for his eighth four to herald a brisk half-century and a brave one after his early blow to the helmet.
9:12pm - CHANCE! - Watson restricts England to five from his second over before Bopara narrowly survives on 33 from David Warner’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end. The batsman thought he was out and was walking off when TV replays showed the bails had not left the grooves of the stumps in time!
9:03pm - CHANCE! - Bopara survives a stumping shout on 18. His back foot left the ground just after Wade broke the stumps from Ahmed’s leg-side wide. Bopara responds by striking four through mid-off.
9pm - Bopara hits Faulkner down the ground for four as the hosts reach 98 for four from 10 overs. They need another 151 to win.
8:56pm - Root picks up two fours in overs from Shane Watson and Ahmed, with England not too far being where Australia were in terms of runs at the same stage.
8:48pm - Debutant leg-spinner Ahmed is immediately swept for four by Ravi Bopara in an introductory over costing 10.
8:45pm - Joe Root, who recovered from the blow to the helmet by clipping Hazlewood off his pads for four, takes the same bowler for two more fours, moving England to 54 for four from the powerplay.
8:38pm - WICKET! Morgan c Maxwell b Johnson 0; Eng 42/4 - Eoin Morgan drives to cover-point where Glenn Maxwell holds a sharp head-high catch. If not before, England are in trouble now as Johnson completes a wicket-maiden.
Root receiving treatment after a Hazlewood delivery smashes into his grill and gets lodged there. #EngvAus 38-3 pic.twitter.com/HzKEfceW9g
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 29, 2013
Ouch! @joeroot05 tops edges a pull into his grill & the ball gets stuck in the grill of the helmet. Seems fine though #EngvAus
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) August 29, 2013
8:28pm - WICKET! Wright c Wade b Hazlewood 4; 37/2 - England lose a third scalp in four balls as Wade takes a regular catch for a keeper via faint edge from Wright, who had driven the previous delivery for four.
8:26pm - WICKET! Hales c Wade b Hazlewood 8; Eng 33/2 - Hales skies towards sqaure-leg where wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, having hesitated, holds a diving catch just ahead of Fawad Ahmed.
8:24pm - WICKET! Lumb lbw Johnson 22; Eng 33/1 - Johnson gets revenge for the previous over with a delivery that would have hit middle and off stumps.
8:22pm - CHANCE! - Alex Hales, having just hit four through backward point, takes a risky single towards mid-off and would had been run out for seven by a direct hit from James Faulkner at the non-striker’s end.
8:20pm - Lumb spoils an otherwise tight over from Josh Hazlewood by launching the last ball down the ground for the innings’ first six.
8:15pm - Mitchell Johnson starts with a front-foot no-ball and also bowls two wides in an over yielding three fours for Michael Lumb and costing 17.
Australia Innings
Come on @AaronFinch5 u couldve had it!! Well played my man! Some serious hitting! Well deserved!! #hitemfarhitemlong#beatings#cleanhitting
— Richard Levi (@RichardLevi88) August 29, 2013
7:57pm - END OF INNINGS! Australia 248/6; Wade 15, Faulkner 5 - Dernbach’s quicker ball removes Glenn Maxwell’s off stump for the cost of one run and an impressive last over gives the bowler figures of 3-34.
7:52pm - Matthew Wade smacks Finn over long-on to get in on the act. The tourists are 242 for five with an over to go.
7:48pm - WICKET! Bailey lbw Finn 1; Aus 228/5 - Australia’s captain is trapped in front for 155 fewer than Finch.
7:45pm - WICKET! Watson b Dernbach 37; Aus 227/4 - Another slower ball takes out leg stump. Dernbach hasn’t exactly dragged it back but his over took 2-6.
7:42pm - WICKET! Finch b Dernbach 156 (63b 11x4 14x6); Aus 226/3 - The scarcely-believable innings ends in the 18th over as Finch plays on to Dernbach’s slower ball.
Chris Gayle holds T20 record 175 from 66 balls in the IPL. Aaron Finch was the opposition captain
— BBC TMS (@bbctms) August 29, 2013
7:40pm - 150! (60b, 10x4 14x6) - Finch smites Briggs over the leg-side rope three more times, the last of those taking him to another fantastic landmark.
7:34pm - Three sixes come from Wright’s next over, two for Finch and one for Watson, before another for Finch over cover off Broad gives him the highest T20I score, beating Brendon McCullum’s 123 versus Bangladesh. By the end of the over, the 16th, another Watson maximum makes Australia 199 for two.
Finch's Wagon Wheel... so far! #EngvAuspic.twitter.com/uJk4wc7bWU
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 29, 2013
7:26pm - CENTURY! Finch (47b 9x4 8x6) - Finch top-edges a hook just over the fielder at fine-leg for another maximum that takes him to a maiden international hundred. He has batted brilliantly.
7:21pm - Shane Watson ends a Dernbach over with two fours down the ground, the first off the back foot and the other off the front. Finch misses out on claiming the fastest T20I ton as Luke Wright starts with a tight over.
7:13pm - WICKET! Marsh c Lumb b Briggs 28; Aus 125/2 - The left-hander miscues and Lumb holds a good catch, running in from long-on. It’s not Finch, but England needed a breakthrough.
7:12pm - A Lumb misfield at long-off from the last ball of Briggs’ second over gifts Finch four. The first of three consecutive Finch sixes off Joe Root then speeds Australia to three figures in an over that yields 27, making the tourists 122 for one from half their overs. Finch remarkably has 91 from 36 balls.
7:04pm - FIFTY! Finch (26b 5x4 4x6) - Finch raises his second T20I half-century by smashing Ravi Bopara down the ground for his fourth six. In the previous over Marsh slog swept Danny Briggs for his first maximum.
6:54pm - Another tightish over is tarnished last ball when Finch launches Finn for a maximum similar to his first. The same happens in the next over as Finch smites Jade Dernbach over the cover boundary, taking Australia to 58 for one from the powerplay.
1 - @bachaji23 has played one previous T20 match - a Big Bash match in January that also featured @AlexHales1& Michael Lumb. Reacquainted.
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) August 29, 2013
6:49pm - Shaun Marsh ends a decent Broad set of six by opening the face for four as 10 come from the over.
6:45pm - Finn concedes three leg-side fours to Finch in his next over, after which Australia are 29 for one from three.
6:37pm - WICKET! Warner c Buttler b Broad 1; Eng 11/1 - David Warner loses grip of his bat as he skies to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. The umpires consult TV replays to confirm Stuart Broad has not bowled a no-ball before confirming the dismissal. Finch thick-edges the next ball for four.
6:35pm - Steven Finn opens up and is pulled for six over backward square-leg by Aaron Finch as the over costs 10.
Pre-Play News
6:10pm - Play is scheduled to begin at 6:30pm. Here are the teams in full.
England: Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Luke Wright, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, Danny Briggs, Jade Dernbach.
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood, Fawad Ahmed.
Fawad Ahmed to become Australia's 64th T20I player. #ENGvAUSpic.twitter.com/NLlXiiEphS
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) August 29, 2013
6:04pm - ENGLAND WIN TOSS AND BOWL - Stuart Broad decides to insert Australia. Danny Briggs will play on home soil for England, who leave out Michael Carberry, James Tredwell and Boyd Rankin from their 14-man squad.
Leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed makes his long-awaited debut for the tourists.
5:55pm - Evening all. England Women have just regained the Ashes and their male counterparts will hope to keep the feel-good factor going tonight in part two of a Twenty20 double-header at the Ageas Bowl.
The toss will take place shortly and ecb.co.uk is ready to keep you updated on all the action.