England, Australia, a record-breaking week and strange agonising fact in ODIs and T20Is

With king-sized bats, lightening quick outfields, shorter boundaries and new field restrictions coming into play, scoring runs against the white ball has become a lot easier.

With king-sized bats, lightening quick outfields, shorter boundaries and new field restrictions coming into play, scoring runs against the white ball has become a lot easier. The balance is heavily tilted towards the batsmen and it would not be wrong to say that contemporary cricket is more of a batsmen dominated. Every now and then, old records are shattered while new records are created.

[read-also] 520997 [/read-also]

Interestingly, within a span of one week, Australia and England recorded their highest team totals in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and One-Day Internationals (ODIs) respectively.

The third ODI between England and Pakistan at Nottingham saw many records being scripted on August 30, 2016. England recorded their finest and world’s highest ODI innings total of 444 in the first innings riding on Alex Hales’ blistering century. Hales also became the highest scorer in an ODI for an Englishmen with his awe-inspiring knock of 171.

England now boast of the record for holding highest ODI total, but they are yet to win the 50-overs format World Cup. Since the inception of World Cup in 1975, England have managed to make it to the finals of coveted tournament on three occasions namely — 1979, 1987 and 1992. But they have not managed to win the tournament on a single occasion. England have been a dominant Test side, but their fortunes have not been the same in shorter formats. Though their career graph have been on a hike in the recent times and now wear a dominant look in coloured outfits but the fact remains that the inventors of the game do not have a World Cup title to their name. With the next World Cup to be hosted in England, they have a chance to change this nightmarish fact.

Australia on the other hand posted 263 in the first T20I against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on Tuesday, which is the highest T20I total for any side till date. Glenn Maxwell returned to the international side with a bang and smashed his maiden T20I ton to steer his side to a commanding position. Maxwell remained unbeaten on 145 with 14 boundaries and nine maximums to his name. Australia won the game by 85 runs and now hold the record for highest T20I total. Sri Lankan bowlers had a torrid time in dealing with the belligerent Australian attack.

Undoubtedly, Australia have been the best overall side since the inception of the game. Be it Tests or ODIs, they have numerous trophies in their cabinet. Australia have been a dominant force with the white ball but have not yet won a single T20I title since its inception in 2007. They made it to the final of the tournament in 2010 but lost the battle to England. The fact that they have won the 50-over World Cup on record five occasions is as baffling as their run in T20Is. They have had a formidable side for this format and some match-winners but have failed to click as a unit. Big Bash League (BBL), one of the most prominent T20I leagues in the world, is also Australia’s local T20 tournament.

The fact is mind-boggling as Australia England both recorded highest T20Is and ODIs within a week but both the teams have not tasted success in the same format’s elite tournament.