Moeen Ali reacts to setting England T20 record in thrilling South Africa win: ‘I’m proud, but it will be broken again soon’

Moeen Ali says he is ‘proud’ to have scored England’s fastest-ever half-century in T20 cricket but does not expect to hold the record for very long.

Moeen smashed a 16-ball fifty and shared a 106-run partnership with Jonny Bairstow to propel England to 234-6 in the first T20 international against South Africa in Bristol.

Bairstow was dismissed off the penultimate ball for a brilliant 90 from 53 balls as his stunning summer continued.

England lost openers Jos Buttler and Jason Roy in the powerplay but recovered superbly to post their second-highest T20 score, with Dawid Malan also contributing with 43 from 23.

South Africa slipped to 7-2 and 136-5 in reply before Tristan Stubbs briefly threatened to take the game down to the wire with a brutal 28-ball 72, including eight sixes.

But England were always ahead in the game as the expensive Richard Gleeson took three wickets, Adil Rashid and Reece Topley both claimed two and Chris Jordan conceded just 30 runs from his four overs.

‘It means a lot, there are guys in our changing room who score quickly and now I can brag about having the fastest fifty in T20 cricket for England. I’ll go in the dressing room and give it the big one,’ Moeen said with tongue in cheek.

‘It’s something great to be proud of, but I’m sure it will be broken soon. This was a nice-sized ground for someone like myself, who isn’t the most massive hitter of a ball like some of the boys.

‘You can hit sixes here, you pick the bowlers you fancy and go after them. I just had a look at a couple of balls then played my shots.’

Moeen was quick to praise Bairstow’s efforts, with the Yorkshireman taking advantage of three dropped catches to make 90 and continue his brilliant form.

‘Jonny is someone I’ve always enjoyed batting