Sports Inquiry: Cricketers who hit six sixes in the same over

Cricket is a game of record. There are many records in this game. Every day many new records are being created. Old records are being broken and replaced by new ones. Some records have been created as a team effort while the others have been made as individual performance. Of these, hitting six sixes in a single over is perhaps the most difficult one. This trend has been set by Sir Garfield Sobers and till now, it has been carried forward by a selected number of cricketers.

Sir Garfield Sobers:

West Indies all-rounder, Sir Garfield Sobers, was the first cricketer to do this impossible task in the history of the cricket game. On August 31, 1968, the Caribbean hard-hitter astonished the cricket world by hitting six successive sixes in an over bowled by Malcolm Nash who despite being a genuine pace bowler tried his arm at spin bowling. The bowler had to pay the price for his wrong choice of bowling action.

This record took place in a first-class county cricket match where Garry Sobers led Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at St. Helen’s in Swansea. Of these six sixes, five were massive while the sixth one was caught by Roger Davis, but it was unfortunately carried over the boundary rope. Scoring 36 runs in the same over, he broke the record for the most runs, 34, in a single over, a record held by Ted Alletson for 57 years.

Ravi Shastri:

This trend pioneered by Sir Garry Sobers could have been achieved by very few cricketers till now. Of them, Indian all-rounder, Ravi Shastri, became the second player to include his name in this elite club 16 years after the West Indian legend set this record. On January 10, 1985, he made this record while playing for Bombay against Baroda in Ranji Trophy. He smashed six deliveries for gigantic sixes off the left-arm spinner, Tilak Raj. In the same match, he scored a 123-ball double century that required him only 113 minutes, which became the fastest ever double century in first-class cricket history. Despite his brilliant performance, the match finished without any result.

Herschelle Gibbs:

South African opening batsman, Herschelle Gibbs, became the third cricketer to repeat this history, but his one deserves more appreciation because he achieved this feat in international cricket, unlike the previous two players who did this in domestic cricket. On March 16, 2007, he equaled the record after bludgeoning the Dutch leg-spinner Daan van Bunge hitting for maximum on all six deliveries in an over in a match between South Africa and the Netherlands at the 2007 World Cup at St. Kitts in Basseterre. He remains the only batsman to hit six sixes off an over in ODI cricket format. He dispatched sixes around the park.

Yuvraj Singh:

Indian all-rounder, Yuvraj Singh, entered his name in the record book with his aggressive display of batting against England. He achieved this feat in a match at the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa. The unlucky bowler was Stuart Broad. The flamboyant cricketer sent all balls off an over cleanly outside of the boundary. Before this performance, he had a heated argument with Andrew Flintoff and that might prompt him to punish the English pace bowler Stuart Broad. The interesting thing is that when Yuvraj was in action at the field, Ravi Shastri was on the microphone to call the action, and who could be better than him who has done the same thing 22 years ago. He played some brilliant innings that helped India win the trophy that year.

Ross Whiteley:

English all-rounder, Ross Whiteley, became the second cricketer in the T20 format and the fifth overall to reproduce this record. On July 23, 2017, he took 37 runs, including six over boundaries and one wide, off Karl Carver in a match between Worcestershire Rapids and Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley. Despite his heroic effort, his club Worcestershire Rapids could not win the match in the T20 Blast.

Hazratullah Zazai:

Afghanistan's left-handed batsman, Hazratullah Zazai, included his name on the record book as the sixth cricketer to hit six sixes in the same over. On October 14, 2018, he reached the feat in the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) while playing for Kabul Zwanan against Balkh Legends. He smashed six sixes off Abdullah Mazari. He also became the third player to share this record with Yuvraj Singh and Ross Whiteley in T20 cricket format. Despite scoring 62 runs off 17 balls, his franchise could not win the match.

Kieron Pollard:

The Caribbean all-rounder, Kieron Pollard, added his name to the record book by hitting six consecutive sixes in an over against Akila Dananjaya of Sri Lanka. On March 3, 2021, he earned this feat in the first of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. After Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh, he became the third cricketer to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket.

Naeem Islam:

Very few cricket lovers are aware of his achievement. Even his name cannot be found in any record list. It might be because he is a Bangladeshi player and he made this record in a domestic cricket match. On November 13, 2009, Naeem Islam struck six sixes while batting for Gazi Tanks against Mohammedan at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in a Dhaka Premier League match. The bowler was Marshall Ayub who gave 36 runs in the 49th over of the innings. Till now, no Bangladeshi player could touch this record either in domestic or international cricket.