Sean Abbott’s 34-ball century leads Surrey to victory over Kent in T20 Blast tournament

Surrey’s Sean Abbott Sets T20 Blast Record with Blistering Century

Sean Abbott, the talented all-rounder from Surrey, has written his name in the history books of cricket’s T20 Blast competition. The Australian international equalled Andrew Symonds’ record for the fastest century by smashing a sensational 110 off just 41 balls against Kent at The Oval.

Abbott came to bat when Surrey was struggling on 64/4 and proceeded to deliver an extraordinary display of hitting, blasting 11 sixes and finishing unbeaten on a career-best score. His explosive innings helped take his team’s total to an imposing 223/5.

A Night of Thrilling Cricket Action

The match between Surrey and Kent was just one of eight games played on a pulsating Friday night in the opening week of the 2023 T20 Blast campaign. Fans witnessed some exhilarating performances as teams battled it out across both North and South groups.

• • The Worcestershire Rapids clinched back-to-back wins in the North Group with a dramatic last-over victory over Yorkshire Vikings.
  • Graham Clark starred with an unbeaten century as Durham raced home to a ten-wicket triumph against Northamptonshire Steelbacks
  • Notts Outlaws comfortably chased down their target against their East Midlands rivals Derbyshire Falcons thanks to half-centuries from Joe Clarke and Matt Montgomery.
  • Birmingham Bears rode on Sam Hain’s brilliant knock (65* off 42)to beat Leicestershire Foxes by five wickets at Grace Road.

A Record-Breaking Performance by Sean Abbott

Abbott’s remarkable performance was all the more surprising given his modest T20 record, with an average of just 10.91 in 76 innings before this game. However, he showed no signs of nerves and brought up his maiden half-century off just 22 balls.

He then took apart Kent’s bowling attack in sensational style, smashing thirty runs off Kane Richardson in one over alone. Abbott reached his century off only 34 deliveries after hitting successive sixes against Michael Hogan.

The Australian international joined the exclusive club of Chris Gayle (30 balls), Rishabh Pant (32 balls) and Wihan Lubbe (33 balls) as the only players to have scored a century quicker than him in T20 cricket.

Kent Falls Short Despite Positive Start

Kent had started their chase brilliantly courtesy their opening stand between Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye who put on a hundred-run partnership inside nine overs. However, once Bell-Drummond fell for a well-made fifty, wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals as they lost six wickets for just twenty-two runs. The visitors eventually finished on182/7 falling short by forty-one runs chasing Surrey’s mammoth total.