6 batsmen who have hit 6 sixes in consecutive balls
The art of hitting the ball out of the park for six runs is something most batsmen look to master. Despite cricket being more biased towards the batsmen these days, hitting sixes at will, that too six straight in a row is certainly a difficult task. And that is why, very few players over the course of time have achieved this feat.
Here, we present to you some of the finest batsmen of the game who hammered and swung their way into the 'six consecutive sixes' list:
Note: There have been others like Kieron Pollard and Jordan Clark who have smashed six consecutive sixes, but those came at a level lower than first-class or international level. Hence, they have been excluded from the below list.
1. Sir Garfield Sobers – Nottinghamshire, 1968
Arguably one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game of cricket, Sir Garfield Sobers, became the first to achieve this historic feat on August 31, 1968. Once described as a 'five in one cricketer' by Donald Bradman himself, Sobers became the first cricketer to smash 6 sixes in a single over in First-Class cricket.
He managed the feat against Malcolm Nash of Glamorgan while playing for Nottinghamshire as captain. The over consisted of five clean hits for six and one six where the ball landed in the hands of Roger Davis but was carried over the boundary rope. Before this feat, Ted Alleston held the record of scoring most runs in an over, which was 34 runs.
#2 Ravi Shastri – Bombay, 1985
It took 16 years for someone to match Sir Gary’s achievement and it was Indian allrounder Ravi Shastri, who, in the year 1984, hit six sixes in an over against left-arm spinner Tilak Raj in a Ranji Trophy match between Bombay and Baroda. He also went on to score the fastest ever double century in First-Class cricket in the same match.
With that, Shastri became only the second batsman in the history of cricket to smash six sixes in an over.
#3 Herschelle Gibbs – South Africa, 2007
South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs was the first batsman to hit 6 sixes in an over in a One-Day International (ODI) match. His feat came in the 2007 World Cup at St. Kitts, Basseterre, as he bludgeoned Daan van Bunge of Netherlands all around the park for six sixes in an over.
Gibbs became the third batsman to hit six sixes in an over and the first in international cricket. With that innings, Gibbs went on to raise $1 million for charity as there was a contest run by the sponsors.
#4 Yuvraj Singh – India, 2007
India southpaw Yuvraj Singh is known to be one of the most flamboyant cricketers in the modern era. Yuvraj went all guns blazing when he sent Stuart Broad for six ruthless maximums in an over during the World T20 in 2007 against England.
A somewhat ugly spat with Andrew Flintoff in that very game spurred Yuvi on as he dispatched the England fast bowler to almost all corners of the park.
Yuvraj amazed cricketing fans worldwide with his six sixes in an over as he became the second batsman in international cricket and the fourth overall to reach this feat. India went on to win the World T20 that year thanks to some other similarly brilliant knocks by Yuvi.
#5 Alex Hales – Nottinghamshire, 2015
Alex Hales, while playing for Nottinghamshire in the Natwest T20 Blast against Warwickshire last week, gave a gentle reminder to the England selectors of his ability as he smashed six consecutive sixes to help his side to victory.
Off the 4th ball of the 11th over from Boyd Rankin, Hales hit a gigantic six, and he replicated that off the last two balls as well. He got the strike on the second ball of the next over and hit three more sixes off consecutive deliveries to complete his unique feat of six consecutive sixes but in two different overs.
#6 Hazratullah Zazai - Kabul Zwanan, 2018
Hazratullah Zazai smacked six sixes in an over for Kabul Zwanan against Balkh Legends during the 14th game of the Afghanistan Premier League 2018.
Balkh Legends were defending a gigantic total of 244, and left-arm spinner Abdullah Mazari came on to bowl the fourth over of the innings. The then 20-year-old Zazai took him apart by blasting six sixes in the over, which yielded 37 runs in total because of a wide.
Zazai went on to register the joint-fastest fifty in T20 history, off just 12 balls. He was eventually dismissed for a 17-ball 62.