LONDON – While the cricketing world was concetrating on England teamexploits against India during the 2nd T20I in Cardiff, an English playerwas busy setting one of the most amazing records in cricket historyelsewhere.

Last Friday was a day of tumbling records in the T20 Blast competition inEngland as Joe Denly and Australia’s Dan Christian etched their names inthe history books.

Denly became the first man to make a hundred and then take a hat-trick in aT20 match. The England player, who has played 14 international matchess forEngland, helped his side Kent Spitfires beat Surrey by six runs.

He scored 102 off 63 balls as Kent scored 173/6 batting first at The Oval.In reply, when Surrey were 135/3 in the 13th over, he took three wickets ofthree balls with his part-time leg-spin.

The day was also memorable for Daniel Christian’s hundred. Christian, theAustralia all-rounder, scored the second-fastest century in England’sdomestic T20 competition. Christian smashed a 37-ball 100- it was the jointseventh-fastest in all T20s.

He finished on 133* from 40 deliveries, which included nine sixes and sevenfours, as Nottinghamshire Outlaws post 219/6 and beat NorthamptonshireSteelbacks by 58 runs.