When Brendon McCullum catches fire, all the bowlers can do is pray that the assault will end soon.
Unfortunately for Derbyshire, that assault went into overdrive, with the New Zealand captain only stopping because the innings ran out of balls.
McCullum was in his T20 this-man-is-unstoppable elements again, hitting 158 not out – the joint second highest T20 score of all-time – for Birmingham in the Natwest T20 Blast.
The ridiculous 158 came in a more ridiculous 64 balls, with 13 fours and 11 sixes flowing off the belligerent opener's blade. The obvious result of the McCullum onslaught was a massive score of 242/2 in 20 overs posted by Birmingham.
Derbyshire's reply was not too bad, as they finished on 182 all out in 19.4 overs, which, though, still meant a massive win for Birmingham by 60 runs.
"Every defeat hurts but the game was won by an individual and one of the best who has ever played this version of the game," Derbyshire captain Wes Durston told ECB's official website. "It was special.
"We just had a discussion about what we could have done differently and we were scratching our heads. He barely mishit a ball, he didn't offer any chances at all and hit fours and sixes all around the wicket.
"Some days you just have to say 'well played' and this was one of them. We can't have 15 fielders and you can only have two men out on the Powerplay. Once he got a few away, you could just see him licking his lips and enjoying what he was doing.
"At no point was he taking the mickey, he was just playing the way he plays and away from the fact I was captaining the opposition, I have to say I enjoyed watching it. It was an exhibition."
Warwickshire director of cricket Dougie Brown was also all praise for McCullum for his stunning century.
"Brendon McCullum's innings was brutal, it was measured and it was world-class," he said. "It was everything we knew we were getting when we signed him for seven games. He is a world-class player."
