How many runs can be taken by a batsman by running?

A six is considered to be the most fruitful shot in cricket. At times, commentators and writers even use the word ‘maximum’ for it. It gives an impression that this is the highest number of runs one can score off a single ball. If it’s a no ball, the number can be stretched to seven.

Nevertheless, a cricket frenetic or an expert can easily explain that practically, eight runs is the maximum score a batsman can fetch off one delivery. It's rare, but such incidents did take place in the past, with overthrows playing a key role on all such occasions.       

Four such unusual incidents of a batsman collecting eight from a single ball are quite infamous.

If a few cricket historians are to be believed, then the most recent batsman to achieve the feat is Australia’s Andrew Symonds. He managed eight runs while playing in Brisbane facing New Zealand bowler Iain O'Brien in November 2008. He ran four runs before the ball was thrown back over the wicket keeper's head for a boundary.

England's Patsy Hendren (in 1928-29 against Australia) and New Zealand's John Wright (in 1980-81 against Australia) are also in that exclusive list of batsmen who are listed alongside Symonds.

There is also one scarcely believable cricket tale, according to which 286 runs were scored off one ball. An English newspaper – Pall Mall Gazette – first reported this fascinating story.

According to the newspaper, the match was played in Western Australia between Victoria and ‘scratch XI’. When the Victorians went in to bat, the first ball of their innings was hit into the branches of a tall jarrah tree which was inside the ground. The fielders appealed for a ‘lost ball’, but the umpires could see the exact spot where the ball was stuck and refused to declare the ball ‘lost’.

The Victorian openers kept running between the wickets all the while. After some time an axe was called for bringing down the tree. But they failed to procure the axe and the batsmen didn’t stop.

Then, the fielding unit brought out a rifle to dislodge the ball from its position. Finally, after many mis-fires, the ball was shot down and brought to the ground. But by the time the batting pair had run 286 runs.

However, there is no official record of this captivating story, and it could well be a myth.

A claim which one could believe is of 17 runs off one ball, which happened during a club match in Australia. The ball was lost in a patch of long grass and by the time the fielders found it, the batsmen had run 17 runs between the wickets. According to the Guinness Book of Records (1992), this is a world record.

As far as the answer of the tricky question – how many runs can be taken by a batsman by running? – is concerned, a pair can run as many runs as it can, till the time the ball is in play. There is no limit to it as per the cricket laws.

Barring a few exceptions – running during the bowler's run-up, disallowed leg-byes, hitting the ball twice – two batsmen in the middle can run as many runs they can, without getting out.