During the third T20I between Afghanistan and Ireland, which was eventually won by the hosts, an all-time T20I record was broken and two players entered the top ten of an all-time list. Unfortunately, neither will take too much pride in their achievements as the record was the most expensive spell in T20Is.
Ireland's Barry McCarthy finished with figures of 4-0-69-0 and broke the previous record held by South Africa's Kyle Abbott after his figures of 1/68 in his four overs against West Indies in 2015. Unsurprisingly, like the previous record holder, McCarthy finished on the losing side as well.
One of the main reasons why Afghanistan were able to post the highest T20I total by an associate nation was because of how they hammered McCarthy to all corners of the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground.
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Abbott claimed the record in 2015 after he conceded 68 during eventually unsuccessful attempt to defend 232 in a T20I. After two years, he no longer has to worry about being the holder of this unwanted all-time T20I record.
England have three different bowlers who feature in the top ten. Stuart Broad, who was hit for six sixes by Yuvraj Singh during the inaugural World T20 features in this list but he is surprisingly the most economical of the three bowlers on the list. Broad’s spell that cost 60 is only the third-most expensive by an English bowler as James Anderson and Sajid Mahmood have bowled more expensive figures.
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With three players in the top ten, England unsurprisingly lead the pack when it comes to countries with most players in the top ten. Bangladesh are the only other country to have more than one player feature in this list.
Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Afghanistan all have one player while no player from India, Pakistan, West Indies or New Zealand feature in even the top 15 most expensive spells in T20Is..
Here are the top ten most expensive spells in T20 Internationals:
| No. | Player | Bowling Figures | Opposition | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry McCarthy (IRL) | 4 – 0 – 69 – 0 | Afghanistan | 2017 |
| 2 | Kyle Abbott (SA) | 4 – 0 – 68 – 1 | West Indies | 2015 |
| 3 | James Anderson (ENG) | 4 – 0 – 64 – 1 | Australia | 2007 |
| 3 | Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 4 – 0 – 64 – 0 | Pakistan | 2007 |
| 5 | Rubel Hossain (BAN) | 4 – 0 – 63 – 2 | West Indies | 2012 |
| 5 | Mashrafe Mortaza (BAN) | 4 – 0 – 63 – 0 | Pakistan | 2014 |
| 7 | Lameck Onyango (KEN) | 4 – 0 – 69 – 0 | Sri Lanka | 2007 |
| 7 | Sajid Mahmood (ENG) | 4 – 0 – 61 – 0 | South Africa | 2009 |
| 9 | Stuart Broad (ENG) | 4 – 0 – 60 – 0 | India | 2007 |
| 9 | Shapoor Zadran (AFG) | 4 – 0 – 60 – 1 | Ireland | 2017 |
NOTE: The list is updated as of March 14th 2017
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