James Vince on receiving end of a remarkable record-breaking Big Bash League century

Marcus Stoinis hammered a remarkable unbeaten 147 off 79 balls as group leaders Melbourne Stars rattled up 219-1 from their 20 overs.

They only lost their single wicket off the first ball of the last over when Hilton Cartwright was dismissed by Tom Curran for a 40-ball 59.

By then, Stoinis - who blasted 13 fours and eight sixes - and Cartwright had put on an astonishing 207 for the first wicket.

Curran took more punishment than most - his four overs costing 58 runs.

Stars skipper Glenn Maxwell - Vince’s former Hampshire colleague - had entered the game boasting a formidable run of T20 form.

In his previous three innings, he had scored 83 not off 45 balls v Melbourne Renegades, 59 not out off 37 balls v Sydney Thunder, and 40 not out off 32 balls against the Renegades.

With that in mind, the Sixers were probably glad he only faced two balls from Curran - scoring five runs.

Hampshire and England batsman Vince scored just 16 in reply before Clint Hinchcliffe had him caught by Maxwell for a run-a-ball 16 as the Sixers could only manage 175-7 in reply.

Stoinis’ innings established a new BBL best - beating the 122 not out scored by D’Arcy Short in January 2018.

It was also the highest individual T20 innings ever on Australian soil, and the third highest by an Australian in T20 history.

The only player to score more than Stoinis - who in 2012 played for Peterborough in the Northamptonshire League - is Aaron Finch.

First off, Finch blasted 156 for Australia against England at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl in 2013.

He topped that, though, with 172 in a T20 international against Zimbabwe in 2018.

Maxwell previously held the record for the third highest T20 innings by an Australian - an unbeaten 145 in a T20 international against Sri Lanka in 2016.

The record for the highest ever T20 innings is 175 - scored by West Indian Chris Gayle in an Indian Premier League game in Bangalore seven years ago.