Moeen pummels record 50 as Bairstow, England go big

Jonny Bairstow's golden summer has continued with another match-winning knock as his career-best 90 and Moeen Ali's 16-ball half-century ushered England to victory in the first T20 international against South Africa.

England feasted on the short boundaries at Bristol's Seat Unique Stadium as they smashed 6-234, their second-highest total in the 20-over format and enough for a 41-run win.

They rained down a record 20 sixes, with Bairstow and Moeen (52) doing the bulk of the damage during a domineering fourth-wicket stand of 106 in 37 balls.

Bairstow has hit four centuries in his last five Test innings but fell just short of registering his maiden T20 ton, holing out off the penultimate delivery of the innings as he looked to take 10 off two balls.

The Yorkshireman needed some luck along the way, dropped on 12, 57, 72 and 77 in a ragged fielding display, but there was nothing fortunate about the ball-striking ability that allowed him to cash in.

In his first T20 innings in eight months, Bairstow fell just short of becoming the fifth Englishman to score a T20 century but Moeen's sixth maximum saw him shave one off the England record for fastest T20I 50 set by Liam Livingstone last summer.

With tension rising late on, Chris Jordan's precise death bowling saw England safe and Richard Gleeson claimed three wickets in the night's penultimate over.

With 54 needed off the last three overs, Jordan's yorkers killed things off as he conceded just three off the 18th and five off the 20th. Gleeson (3-51) cashed in with three wickets in between as the tourists finished well short on 8-193.