In an astonishing exhibition of power batting, San Francisco Unicorns’ Finn Allen hit a record 19 sixes during his breathtaking 151-run innings from just 51 balls against defending champions Washington Freedom. This high-intensity match was the first game of the new Major League Cricket (MLC) season at Oakland Coliseum on Thursday evening.
Allen’s dazzling display set a new record in the league, claiming the largest individual score since its first season in 2023. His capability to hit sixes was the one that shattered the T20 record of 18 sixes, previously held by West Indies legend Chris Gayle and Estonian Sahil Chauhan of the European Cricket League.
The Unicorns made 269 runs in 5 wickets, a new MLC team record. Allen scored his century off just 34 deliveries while playing against an extremely talented bowling unit of Ben Sears, Rachin Ravindra, and Glenn Phillips of New Zealand. His innings was brought to an end in the 18th over as Phillips had him out off Mitchell Owen’s bowling.
In response, the Freedom, led by Australian star Glenn Maxwell, performed poorly, losing a comprehensive match as they were bowled out for 146 runs in 13.1 overs, short by 123 runs.
Player of the Match awarded, Allen has made a mark on T20 international cricket itself with two hundred and five half-centuries in just 52 innings, with a strike rate of 163. In domestic T20 leagues, the match was his 22nd fifty, and two hundred, where he has a strike rate of 173.
Despite his success, the Auckland-born cricketer has so far not represented New Zealand in a Test match but has played 22 one-day internationals for the nation, five of which resulted in fifties.
