Abbott Equals Andrew Symonds' Record for Fastest Hundred in English T20 Cricket
Key Highlights :
Australian allrounder Sean Abbott has achieved a record-breaking feat by equalling the fastest-ever hundred hit in English T20 cricket. The Surrey player simply destroyed Kent's bowling at the Oval in the T20 Blast competition, thundering to three figures in just 34 balls on Friday night to match the competition record set by his late, great compatriot Andrew Symonds for Kent against Middlesex 19 years ago.
Abbott's incredible knock featured 11 sixes and seven fours, including 30 coming in the 17th over - 6-4-6-4-4-6 - off his luckless Australia pace colleague Kane Richardson. Even more remarkably, the 31-year-old Abbott, who rescued a difficult situation for Surrey after coming in at 4-64, had previously never scored a fifty - his best had been 41 - in 76 T20 innings.
His 110 not out off 41 balls completely transformed the match, taking Surrey to 5-223 before they went on to limit Kent to 7-182 and seal a 41-run victory. After the match, Abbott paid tribute to one of Australian cricket’s old heroes, Andrew Symonds, saying: “I don’t think people should be talking about me and ‘Roy’ in the same breath… but that was a lot of fun!”
Abbott's incredible form with bat and ball have him firmly on the radar for the upcoming Ashes series against England and the World Test Championship against India at the Oval on June 7. He was called in to Australia’s pre-Ashes training camp, as fears grow pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood will not be fit for duty. Abbott and fellow fast bowler Michael Neser were called in to Australia’s pre-Ashes training camp, as fears grow pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood will not be fit for duty.
Abbott has been in irresistible form for Glamorgan, taking a career-best 7-32, including a hat-trick, last week against Yorkshire. He followed up by grabbing 4-40 and smacking 86 against Worcestershire this week.
The record for the fastest T20 hundred in history is held by Chris Gayle, who hit a 30-ball century for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013. Rishabh Pant is second with a 32-ball ton for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in 2018, followed by Wihan Lubbe's 33-ball effort for North West against Limpopo in Paarl in the same year.
Sean Abbott's remarkable feat of equalling Andrew Symonds' 34-ball record is a testament to the Australian allrounder's talent and hard work. With the Ashes and World Test Championship looming, Abbott is sure to be a key player in the Australian team's success.
