Finch tons up, Carey continues run spree in England

Aaron Finch has blasted the seventh Twenty20 century of his career, hitting nine sixes in an unbeaten knock of 102 that kept his county side Surrey in the hunt for silverware.

Finch's knock came from just 53 balls in a six-wicket win against Somerset at The Oval in south London.

Surrey's South African import Imran Tahir took 4-25 to help restrict Surrey to 9-157 before Finch made short work of the total to secure the win with more than three overs to spare.

Surrey's hopes of making the quarter-finals of England's domestic T20 competition remain slim, but alive thanks to Finch's fireworks, while Somerset's hopes have taken a blow.

They were left to rue a missed opportunity when Finch was on 33, with Somerset's Craig Overton letting a catch on the midwicket boundary slip through his hands and over the fence for six.

That was his fourth six of the night, following two earlier monster straight drives and a six pulled off Overton's bowling.

One six saw Finch switch hands to strike a ball over what become the long-on fence in his left-handed stance.

Finch brought up his century by gliding a wide ball to the fence. 

Finch's knock came a night after Australian World Cup teammate Alex Carey blasted 61 from 30 balls as Sussex cantered to a seven-wicket win over Glamorgan to take top spot in the competition's South Group.

Carey, on his 28th birthday, was elevated to opener and put on 83 for the first wicket with Phil Salt.

The Australian gloveman took 33 runs from two overs by Marchant De Lange and raced to his 50 from 23 balls.

Glamorgan remained winless in the competition despite 52 from Shaun Marsh as opener.

It was his second fifty of the T20 competition, and comes the week after he hit twin fifties in his County Championship red-ball debut for the county playing as a specialist batsman.

The switching between formats has done little to quell Carey’s run-scoring feats of late as the left-hander, batting at No.5 in the first-class match against Middlesex, posted 56 in the first innings and then 69 not out from just 54 balls as Sussex won by seven wickets.

Carey had been a revelation with bat and gloves for Australia during the recent World Cup, and was named in the official team of the tournament.