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David Warner

PERTH. — Merciless Australia hit the highest Cricket World Cup score in tournament history yesterday when they piled-up 417-6 against Afghanistan while Pakistan continued their revival with a 129-run win over the UAE.

At the WACA in Perth, four-time champions Australia went past the previous World Cup best of 413-5 made by India against Bermuda in 2007.

It was also the third 400-plus total in the last six days after South Africa twice went through the barrier — 408-5 against the West Indies and 411-4 in the game with Ireland.

David Warner made Australia’s highest World Cup individual score of 178, beating the 158 of Matthew Hayden against West Indies at Antigua in 2007.

He was just seven short of Shane Watson’s national record in all ODIs of 185 not out against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2011.

Warner’s 260-run second-wicket partnership with Steve Smith, who went on to make 95, was also an Australian ODI record beating the 252 of Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson against England at Centurion in 2009.

Glenn Maxwell hit a rapid 88 off just 39 balls with six fours and seven sixes on another record-shattering day which will prompt more calls for an overhaul of the regulations which many believe are too heavily-weighted in favour of batsmen.

“We just went out there to try to get a good total. When a guy gets nearly 180 you’re always going to get a pretty good score,” said Smith.

“It was easy for me with Dave going so well and it was a nice little partnership we had there. When you get 400 on the board you’re always in a pretty good position. Hopefully we can have a complete performance and bowl pretty well to finish the job.”

Australia went into the game on the back of a one-wicket loss to New Zealand in Auckland last weekend which followed an opening win over England and a no-result washout against Bangladesh in Brisbane.

Afghanistan lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka before edging Scotland by one wicket for their first World Cup win.

Australia made two changes for the match, with Watson left out, along with paceman Pat Cummins.

All-rounder James Faulkner was recalled after injury, with Josh Hazlewood also back into the team.

Afghanistan promoted opener Usman Ghani at the expense of Gulbadin Naib. In Napier, Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad fell seven short of his maiden World Cup hundred while Haris Sohail (70) and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq chipped in with 65 as the 1992 champions posted 339-6 on a flat McLean Park pitch.

They then restricted the UAE to 210-8 with Shaiman Anwar continuing his fine form by scoring 62, his third half century of the tournament.

The win gives Pakistan four points in as many games as they continued their fight for a place in the quarter-finals.

“That was a much needed win for us. We won by a margin so we can relax now. We have a good net run rate now also,” said Misbah.

Shehzad and Sohail restored Pakistan with a second wicket stand of 160 after they lost out-of-form opener Nasir Jamshed for four in the fourth over.

Man-of-the-match Shehzad hit eight boundaries and a six off 105 balls but ran himself out while taking a sharp single. Sohail clubbed five boundaries and a six.

Sohaib Maqsood helped Misbah add another rapid 75 for the fourth wicket, hitting four boundaries and two towering sixes during his 31-ball 45.

Misbah reached his 41st ODI half-century off just 39 balls. He hit four boundaries and two sixes before holing out off Guruge.

Shahid Afridi hit two sixes and a four in a seven-ball 21 not out and when on two became the fourth Pakistani, and 27th batsman in the world, to cross 8 000 runs. Pakistan next play South Africa in Auckland (March 7) and Ireland in Adelaide (March 15) while UAE face South Africa in Wellington (March 12) and the West Indies in Napier (March 15). — AFP.