Batting first after winning the toss at Trent Bridge, the England batsman were in no mood to waste any time. Pakistan bowlers looked helpless at the hands of Hales who notched up the highest ever individual score by an English cricketer, beating Robin Smith’s 167 run inning against Australia in 1993. Opening the batting Hales looked in command and scored at a strike rate of 140.16. Hales started off steadily scoring at run a ball but accelerated immensely right after reaching his half century.
Hales hit four sixes and 22 boundaries in his record breaking innings.
Previously Sri Lanka held the record of the highest ever score with a total of 443 against the Netherlands in 2006. England also notched up the highest ever total against a test playing nation, bettering South Africa’s 439 for two against West Indies in Johannesburg.
Joss Buttler and Eoin Morgan also scored quick fire half centuries to pile on the misery of the Pakistan bowlers. Buttler hit as many as seven sixes in his unbeaten inning of 90 off just 51 balls.
Almost all the the Pakistan bowlers went at more than seven runs per over with Wahab Riaz giving away 110 runs in his quota of 10 overs.