Head's 75-ball hundred sets up huge Australia total

Travis Head hit the fastest hundred by an Australian against Zimbabwe, off 75 balls, and the eighth of his career as the visiting batters posted their highest total against their hosts in this format. Mitchell Marsh struck his 21st ODI fifty, Cooper Connolly recorded his third fifty-plus score in as many innings and Ollie Peake smashed an 18-ball 41 to collectively give Zimbabwe's bowlers one of their toughest tests.

Sikandar Raza chose to put Australia in and might have brought success immediately when Marsh drove Blessing Muzarabani to Wessly Madhevere at backward point but he could not hold on to a tough chance. It was all Australia from there with Zimbabwe's senior seamers unable to apply consistent pressure. Murazabani and Brad Evans bowled four and five overs respectively upfront, by which time Australia had already motored to 62 in eight overs. They struck nine fours and two sixes in that time in what was a sign of things to come. The innings ended with 27 and 12 sixes.

Marsh was the more watchful of the opening pair and was on 27 off 33 at the end of the powerplay while Head had smashed 48 off the 27 balls he faced. His fifty came when Raza brought himself on, and somewhat riskily as Head drove at Raza's second ball but got a top-edge. With no slip in place, the ball raced away for his eighth four and things just kept going Australia's way. Head and Marsh brought up Australia's hundred - and just their second century opening stand against Zimbabwe in ODIs - in the 13th over, when Head whipped Newman Nyamhuri through mid-on.

The introduction of left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza stemmed the tide slightly as two boundary-less overs followed but Marsh broke the tension when he pulled Masakadza for six to bring up his fifty off 52 balls. However, Masakadza had the last word when, in his next over, he spun one past Marsh's outside edge and bowled him to give Zimbabwe their first wicket. The dismissal had no impact on the scoring rate, though, as Head continued aggressively and reached his hundred on the stroke of the innings' halfway mark. It came with a single but more boundaries were to follow.

They conceded 39 runs off the next six overs, closer to six runs an over than the seven Australia were going at, and were rewarded when Josh Inglis gifted Masakadza a return catch off a delivery which held in the surface. The next three overs brought only eight runs as Zimbabwe continued to pull Australia back but Alex Carey moved things along when he reverse-swept Raza for four.

Connolly got in on the action and pulled Masakadza onto the grass banks before reaching a run-a-ball fifty to continue an impressive run of form. Australia were on 255 for 3 after 40 overs and set for a big finish. Connolly showed intent and sent Masakadza down the ground for six and drove Raza off the back foot for another, but Carey was unable to keep up. He sliced an Evans slower ball to Ben Curran at backward point to depart for a 30-ball 20.

Evans initially looked like the major beneficiary of the last passage of play as Connolly top-edged a short ball and Brendan Taylor took a good catch. He had Matt Renshaw dropped at short fine leg then caught at deep square leg off successive balls. But his final over was smacked for 24 runs and Evans will want to consider whether back-of-a-length was the right idea as Peake, on 18 at the start of the over, more than doubled his score. He hit three sixes in the over, all off short ball, with the yorker evading Evans and the runs flowing for Australia.