Travis Head and Mitch Marsh break powerplay record in T20 win over Scotland | Australian Cricket Team

Travis Head and Mitch Marsh set a world record for a T20 international powerplay score with a brutal display of batting. Australia began their white-ball tour of the UK by beating Scotland with more than half the overs remaining.

Head made 80 in 25 balls and Marsh 39 in 12, giving the pair 113 in the six overs – a record that surpassed the 102 South Africa made against West Indies last year.

This allowed Australia to easily surpass the 155-run target set by the home side in the first of three T20s at The Grange in Edinburgh.

But the attack came after Jake Fraser-McGurk’s long-awaited debut ended in failure, with the youngster caught for a duck-hole on the third ball and driving the ball to midwicket.

Marsh fired Brandon McMullen’s next ball just past Gully’s outstretched right hand, but if that gave Scotland any hope of a surprise, those hopes were quickly dashed.

Head scored three boundaries in the next over, two fours and two sixes in the third over and two fours and a six in the fourth over to take his tally to 47 from 16 balls.

At this point Marsh, who replaced the rested Pat Cummins as captain, also entered the match, hitting 6, 6, 4, 6, 4, 4 in the sixth over.

Then it was Head’s turn again. He went 4, 6, 4, 4, 4, 4, equalling Marcus Stoinis’ Australian record for the fastest T20i 50, which he achieved on his 17th ball.

That was it for the duo who had thrown the ball to the nearby parks and tennis courts, when Marsh was caught by the next ball, thrown by Mark Watt.

Watt’s trick is to bowl from 25 yards, and the next ball he did, hitting the stumps as Josh Inglis stepped away. To the cheers of the crowd, a deadball was the verdict. The decision was later clarified as correct by MCC, but Inglis appeared to be ready and watching as Watt bowled.

Head was caught in the same over, after his fifth sixth, but the match was long over. Inglis (27 off 13) and Stoinis (eight off five) finished the match.

Earlier, the Australian pace bowlers, who had no experience at international level, quickly adapted to the conditions and slowed down the home side, who had made 46 runs after five overs with the loss of just one wicket.

Sean Abbott, who was named in the squad when Spencer Johnson was ruled out, took 3-39, although Xavier Bartlett was the favourite with 2-23 from his four overs.

Marsh opted to field first and used six bowlers. Adam Zampa (2-33) and Riley Meredith (2-34) also provided their full complement while Cam Green (1-12) and Stoinis (0-10) shared a quota.

Bartlett, who gained experience in the UK with Kent this season, made an early breakthrough when Oli Hairs mistimed a pull and was caught by Marsh.

But with George Munsey jumping three times over the ropes, Scotland had a challenging scoreline in sight when Inglis made a superb flying catch of Abbott to send him out on 28 from 25. Bartlett picked up Brandon McMullen (19 from 22), caught by debutant Fraser Jake-McGurk.

This is the first of 11 matches on the tour, which will see Australia take on England in three T20s and five ODIs.