Mitchell Owen scored a blistering fifty in a 2025-26 One-Day Cup match between Tasmania and Victoria in Brisbane on Friday (September 19).
Batting first, Tasmania got off to a roaring start, single-handedly from the bat of Owen, who scored a fifty off 20 balls. When he reached his landmark with a four off the last ball of the fifth over, Tasmania were 56-2, with the other batters yet to get off the mark. He was particularly brutal against Victoria quick Mitchell Perry, who conceded 48 runs off his opening three overs. Owen's 53 off 21 balls consisted of five fours and four sixes, and the team score was 58-3 when he fell.
Owen's innings was the 100th instance of a List A fifty scored in 20 or fewer balls. The record for the fastest List A fifty is held by Kaushalya Weeraratne, who achieved the feat during the 2005/06 Sri Lanka Premier Limited Overs Tournament. Owen also features much higher on that list for his 17-ball effort against South Australia in the same tournament last season. He went on to make a 69-ball 149. On that occasion, he scored the fastest List A fifty and the second-fastest List A hundred on Australian soil.
Match 3, Victoria vs Tasmania
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Owen extends hot form after stellar BBL season
Owen’s penchant for scoring quickly has been evident in T20 cricket as well. In the 2024-25 Big Bash League final, he struck the joint-fastest century in the tournament's history, off just 39 balls, helping the Hobart Hurricanes beat the Sydney Thunder. He finished that season with 452 runs at a staggering strike rate of 203.60, all while maintaining an impressive average of 45.20. Among players with a minimum of 100 runs, no one scored quicker that season.
He was rewarded with his maiden international call-up for Australia’s five-match T20I series against the West Indies this year. On debut, he scored a fifty, becoming only the third Australian to achieve that feat.
However, unlike in domestic competitions, where he opens mostly, most of his international outings so far have been lower down the order at No. 6, with a single outing at No. 5. He was in line for an ODI debut against South Africa last month before being ruled out by concussion.
