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South Group (N), Canterbury, July 20, 2018, Vitality Blast
(20 ov) 250/6

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Finch powers Surrey to third-highest English T20 score before rain arrives

Aaron Finch has been in devastating form for Surrey but Kent escaped with a point as rain prevented a pursuit of 251 to win

ECB Reporters Network
20-Jul-2018
Aaron Finch was in typically aggressive mood  •  Getty Images

Aaron Finch was in typically aggressive mood  •  Getty Images

Surrey 250 for 6 (Finch 83, Burns 50, Qayyum 3-40) vs Kent - no result
Scorecard
Kent Spitfires and Surrey shared a point apiece after their Vitality Blast South Group clash in Canterbury was abandoned due to heavy rain during the innings break and after Surrey had posted a mammoth 250 for six - the joint-third highest total in English domestic T20 and eighth highest worldwide.
Kent, with three wins from four starts, faced a pursuit at an asking rate of 12.6 an over but were spared the task once rain strengthened after the Surrey innings.
Batting first after winning the toss, which was made with a commemorative Queen Anne solid silver shilling from 1709 - the year these two clubs first met - Surrey hit a boundary from the first delivery and never looked back as Aaron Finch once again inspired their innings at the top of the order.
Rory Burns, Finch's fellow opener, also set the tone, both hitting quickfire 50s, making hay to short boundaries and against a Kent attack hamstrung by a soapy ball and a wet outfield - the result of constant light drizzle .
Finch bludgeoned off back-foot and front at every opportunity to post a 19-ball half-century with eight fours and a brace of sixes, while Burns, standing in for the injured Jason Roy, reached the milestone from 27-balls for his maiden 50 in the short-form game.
The pair posted 87 in the six-over Powerplay and had 119 on the board when Burns chased a wide, full delivery from Calum Haggett to edge through to keeper Sam Billings.
Surrey posted three figures after seven overs as Finch plundered on. The burly Aussie had 83 to his name after 38 balls faced when he heaved across the line to be bowled by left-arm spinner Imran Qayyum to make it 144 for 2.
Qayyum picked up a second scalp when he pegged back Ben Foakes' leg stump after the right-hander charged down the pitch to miss an attempted leg-side smear.
Rikki Clarke marched in with licence to thrill and reaped havoc, the all-rounder joined forces with Nic Maddinson to club three sixes in an over from Qayyum but, in looking for a fourth, Clarke holed out to long on to go for 16
Maddinson's fun ended to the very next delivery when he too chased a wide one from Haggett to feather one through to the keeper.
Surrey sailed past 217, their best ever score against Kent in the short-form game and, by the end of the 18th over had posted their best ever T20 total beating their 224 for five against Gloucestershire in Bristol in 2006.
Ollie Pope and Sam Curran continued to blaze away in the final four overs making Surrey the fourth side to post 250 or more in domestic T20 history before Pope holed out off the final delivery of the innings as Surrey added 50 in their last four overs.
Qayyum finished with three for 40 and Haggett two for 53, but Brathwaite, one of the world's highest paid T20 bowlers, leaked 55 from his three overs of Surrey onslaught

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Surrey Innings
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Vitality Blast
North Group
TEAMMWLPTNRR
WORCS1494190.595
DURH1494190.556
LANCS1485170.683
NOTTS1486160.073
YORKS147714-0.035
BEARS1467130.033
DERBS145712-0.047
LEICS145811-0.380
NHNTS142115-1.398
South Group
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SOM14104200.786
KENT1482200.627
SUSS1473180.737
GLOUC1484180.381
SURR1475160.989
GLAM147615-0.144
ESSEX14288-1.035
HANTS14297-0.824
MIDDX142124-1.128