Afridi’s maiden T20 hundred leads Hampshire rout of Derbyshire

Thursday, 24 August 2017 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

253 ESPNCricinfo: A sensational first Twenty20 century from the swirling bat of Shahid Afridi ended Derbyshire’s dream of reaching finals day for the first time on a night of tumbling records at the 3aaa County Ground.

Sent in to open the Hampshire innings in a move that wrecked Derbyshire’s plans from the outset, the 37-year-old allrounder hit seven sixes and 10 fours before losing his wicket to just the 43rd ball he faced.

Hampshire’s innings actually collapsed at the end, with five wickets falling for 17 runs in the space of nine deliveries, but Afridi’s fireworks, supplemented by James Vince’s 55 off 36 balls and 27 off 11 by George Bailey, enabled Vince’s team to build a total that shattered several records and created a winning margin of 101, taking them to finals day for the seventh time in eight years.

First of all it was Hampshire’s highest T20 total, surpassing their 225 against Middlesex in 2006, and the fourth-highest by any team in domestic T20 in this country. Indeed, only five higher scores have been made anywhere in the world since the T20 concept was born.

It is also the highest against Derbyshire, bettering Warwickshire’s 242 for 2 at Edgbaston in 2015 and the highest witnessed on this ground, passing Lancashire’s 220 for 5 in 2009.

Chief Scores: Hampshire 249 for 8 (Afridi 101, Vince 55; Critchley 3-32 ) beat Derbyshire 148 (Abbott 3-25, Dawson 3-28) by 101 runs.