New Title: World record broken: Head surpasses Warner and Maxwell with Top 5 fastest T20I half-centuries for Australia

Travis Head has earned a reputation for wreaking havoc at the start of a T20 match, often leaving bowlers and captains puzzled as he takes full advantage of the powerplay overs to give his team a fiery beginning. The Australian batsman showcased his skills once again in the first T20I against Scotland, smashing 80 runs off just 25 deliveries and setting new records at Grange County Cricket Club in Edinburgh.

In doing so, Head reached his half-century in just 17 balls, tying for the fastest T20I half-century by another Australian player. Here’s a breakdown of the top 5:

David Warner unsurprisingly makes this list, having set an 18-ball half-century back in 2010 at the SCG. This performance bettered his own 19-ball fifty from the previous year against South Africa.

Warner finished with 67 off 29 balls as Australia easily chased down 139 in just 11.4 overs, powered by the opening pair of Warner and Shane Watson.

One of the most creative and dangerous batters in world cricket, Glenn Maxwell’s presence on this list is no surprise. Maxwell smashed 50 off 18 balls during a T20 World Cup match against Pakistan in Mirpur, in 2014.

Maxwell would finish with 74 off 33 balls, but it wasn’t enough on the day as Australia succumbed to a 20-run loss while chasing 192, with all Aussie batters except Maxwell and Aaron Finch failing to reach double digits.

Maxwell appears on this list a second time, this time for another 18-ball 50 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2016. Opening the batting, Maxwell made the most of the powerplay, racing to a score of 66 off 29 balls.

This time, it would come in a winning effort as Australia comfortably chased down 129.

Another innings against Sri Lanka, this time by Marcus Stoinis in 2022. The allrounder was at his brutal best, smashing 59 not out off 18 balls, finishing with a flourish after Australia had been in a spot of bother chasing 158 in their opening group match of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Perth.

Stoinis was on fire, scoring at a strike rate of 327.77, while Australia’s other batters scored marginally over a run-a-ball.

Finally, tying Marcus Stoinis at the top of the list is Travis Head with his innings of 80 off 25 balls against Scotland. Head smashed 12 fours and 5 sixes. He accelerated from 50 off 17 balls to 80 off 25, recording the highest strike rate in an innings for any batter who has faced 25 or more deliveries.

Australia chased down the target of 155 in just 58 balls, becoming the fastest team to gun down a 150-plus target in the T20 format.