Six-fest has Broad questioning Bellerive

Australia and England gave the record for sixes in a Twenty20 international a nudge at Bellerive.

English captain Stuart Broad speaking to the media

England's Stuart Broad questioned the dimensions at Bellerive after 22 sixes in Australia's T20 win. (AAP)

Twenty-two sixes in Australia's opening Twenty20 international victory had England skipper Stuart Broad wondering about the dimensions at Bellerive.

Australia and England hit 11 over the boundary rope each, the total just two shy of the T20I record of 24.

Englishman Ravi Bopara hit seven himself in his 65 from 27 balls, while Cameron White topped the homes side's count.

Broad said the boundaries on either side of the wicket had been measured at 61 yards and a skinny 52.

"For grown men, 52 yards is not a big hit, is it?" Broad said.

"It was maybe a little bit weighted in the batsman's favour.

"We've seen a lot of entertainment and I think the MCG might be slightly bigger, touch wood."

The position of the pitch could have something to do with the construction of a new western grandstand at Bellerive in time for the 2015 World Cup.

Twenty20 cricket has run into a problem all summer with balls being smashed into the construction site.

Despite hi-viz vested staff in the area, balls have been lost and taken lengthy amounts of time to find.

Australia made 4-213 and were right on top with England 6-100.

Bopara's fireworks restricted the home side to a 13-run win and White, who made 75, said the short boundary had kept Australia on their toes.

"With a short boundary, and they always seemed to have a batsman there, the pitch was unbelievably good," he said.

"So although it always seemed we had it under control, at times you can go for two big overs in a row and you're somewhere back in the game."

The dimensions could have been particularly tough on debuting legspinner James Muirhead but the 20-year-old managed the respectable figures on 1-34 from his four overs.

"Especially for a legspinner to debut in this format under a fair bit of pressure, with batsmen coming hard at him, I thought he did a really good job," said former leggie White.

"It was a very promising debut from a very talented young legspinner."


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Source: AAP


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