CRICKET; World Twenty20 2014: Alex Hales century one of best ever - Broad

England captain Stuart Broad described Alex Hales' unbeaten 116 in the World Twenty20 victory over Sri Lanka as one of the best innings he has ever seen.

The 25-year-old opener hit England's first T20 century as they chased 190 to win by six wickets in Chittagong.
"On the biggest stage in a World Cup, in conditions that are a bit foreign for us, it's one of the best knocks I've ever seen," said Broad.

Highest T20 scores by England player

116*: Alex Hales v Sri Lanka, Chittagong, 2014
99*: Luke Wright v Afghanistan, Colombo, 2012
99: Alex Hales v West Indies, Trent Bridge, 2012
94: Alex Hales v Australia, Chester-le-Street, 2013

"To take responsibility and win it with a few balls to spare is very special."

England slipped to 0-2 in the first over of their reply after Michael Lumb and Moeen Ali fell in successive balls.
But Hales and Eoin Morgan, who made 57, shared a 152-run partnership for the third wicket to carry England to the brink of victory.
Hales hit 11 fours and six sixes in his 64-ball innings, eclipsing the 99 he made against West Indies in 2012 and Luke Wright's 99 not out against Afghanistan in the same year.
"It's the best we've seen this winter in an England shirt because it was match-winning," added Broad, a team-mate of Hales at Nottinghamshire.
"He showed calmness to keep us up with the rate all the way through and skill to clear the ropes at the end."

"I don't think Alex Hales will ever match that in the rest of his career. The way he paced the innings was superb. It was a fantastic innings and I don't think anyone else in the world could even have done that. The way England stayed calm with the bat and paced it. At 0-2, no-one felt England would get there."

England dropped four catches and missed a run-out in a ragged fielding display, with Mahela Jayawardene spilled twice in his 89 off 51 balls and Tillakratne Dilshan put down on his way to 55.

"We really messed up on that," added Broad. "We've got away with it today with an unbelievable knock from two of our guys.
"It's extremely wet out there; the seam is virtually impossible to dry. It's very slippy.
"We've been fielding with wet balls in practice but we'll have to make them wet balls of soap.
"We'll have to raise our standards with the catching. Our next game is under lights again and we can't afford to drop key players like that."
England, who are second from bottom in Group One, play South Africa at the same venue on Saturday after New Zealand face the Netherlands.