Matthew Wade continued his staggering form on the Australia A tour of the UK with a record-breaking 155 in a comfortable seven-wicket win over Derbyshire.
Wade smashed 155 off just 71 balls to help Australia A stroll to their target of 284 in just 35.2 overs. He set a new record for the fastest List A century by an Australian, reaching the milestone in just 45 balls after passing 50 in just 20. He eclipsed the previous record held by former Victoria teammate David Hussey.
Wade also posted the second fastest 150 in List A cricket. He took 68 balls to get there, four slower than AB de Villiers‘ effort against the West Indies at the SCG in the 2015 World Cup.
Wade clubbed 14 fours and 11 sixes, just three days after scoring 117 from 67 balls in Australia A’s win over Northamptonshire.
It was not Derbyshire’s first choice attack though, with 18-year-old James Taylor opening the bowling on List A debut while Fynn Hudson-Prentice was playing just his third List A game. But Wade has monstered attacks of all experiences at domestic level over the past 12 months.
“I’m happy with the way I’m striking the ball, that’s for sure,” Wade said. “Any time you can go out and get a hundred is nice. To strike it like that in the first two games is certainly satisfying. I know that I can improve in areas of my game.
“Any attack that I’ve come across in the short formats over the last 12 or 18 months, I’ve been pretty positive. I know that if I’m positive in the mind I’ll certainly perform at my best rather than just looking to get in and build and innings. That probably hasn’t worked for me over a period of time now.”
Wade played as a batsman only in the first two games, with Peter Handscomb taking the gloves, but he is set to keep wickets in the next upcoming matches, against Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.
Earlier, Andrew Tye claimed 6 for 65 to help restrict Derbyshire. The hosts were in a strong position with Leus du Plooy making 115, his fifth List A century, while Wayne Madsen added 48 to propel them to 4 for 202 with 11.3 overs remaining. But Tye took six of the last seven wickets to give the visitors a comfortable target to chase.
“I haven’t played a 50-over match since October last year,” Tye said. “It took me a little bit of time to find my feet but once I got going it was pretty good for me. I’ve been trying to be more consistent with my stock ball.
“The feedback I’ve got from the selectors with my one-day cricket is I need to be able to be more of a useful weapon in the powerplay and through the middle overs. Just to be able to get that consistency working and that’s something I’ve been working hard on throughout the IPL and leading up to this tour.”
Sean Abbott picked up 2 for 40 and Michael Neser 1 for 48.
Wade made light work of the chase despite the early loss of D’Arcy Short. Skipper Travis Head played a nice supporting role making 68 in a partnership of 205 in just 21.2 overs.