Who doesn’t love sixes? The excitement among the spectators when the ball flies over the boundary line and gets lost among the crowds is limitless. While drawing a list of the Batsmen who hit the most sixes in tests, there were some interesting observations. Among the top ten, Batsmen, there was only one batsman from India, whereas West Indies batsmen dominate the list. The top ten list is closely contested and we take a look at it here:
#1 Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) – 107 Sixes
Former captain of New Zealand Cricket team and one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world, Brendon McCullum has the distinction of scoring the fastest century in the history of test cricket. He was a wicket-keeping batsman of the New Zealand Cricket team and is one of the most successful captains and batsmen in the country.
McCullum started his Test career with a debut against South Africa in March 2004 and went on to play 101 tests for the Black Caps. He scored 6453 runs in total, had the highest score of 302 and ended with an average of 38.64. He scored 12 hundred and 21 Fifties, but what made him famous is the huge number of over-boundaries he hit in his innings. McCullum hit a total of 107 sixes during his test career and has the most number of sixes in test cricket till date.
#2 Adam Craig Gilchrist (Australia) – 100 Sixes
Gilly or Churchy as he is lovingly called, Adam Gilchrist is one of the greatest wicket-keeping batsmen in the history of the game. Gilchrist was famous for his hard-hitting style of play and for attacking the bowlers even in test cricket.
Gilly had his test debut for Australia in November 1999, against Pakistan and by the time he played his last test match against India in January 2008, he had appeared 98 times for the Australian side. He has 5570 test runs to his name and his highest score in test cricket is 204 not out. His average in Test Cricket was a healthy 47.60, and he also scored 17 centuries and 26 half-centuries. He has hit 100 test sixes and is the cricketer with the second most sixes in Test Cricket.
#3 Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 98 Sixes
The West Indies hard-hitting batsman has the record of being the first player to hit a six off the first ball in a test match, in 2012. Christopher Henry Gayle is perhaps the most dangerous batsman in T20 and ODIs, but the Jamaican also had his moments in Test Cricket.
Gayle played 103 matches for West Indies from 2000, when he earned his Test debut against Zimbabwe, up until 2014 when he played his last Test Match against Bangladesh. Gayle scored 7214 runs, with the highest score of 333 and an average of 42.18. He scored 15 Centuries and 37 fifties during that time, hitting 98 sixes, which makes him third in the list of the most sixes in test cricket.
#4 Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 97 Sixes
The South African is widely regarded as one of the finest all-rounders in cricket and was brilliant in Test Cricket. He has a record 23 man of the match awards in test cricket, which is the highest received by any cricketers till date.
Jacques Kallis first played for South Africa in December 1995, against England and went on to play 166 times for the Proteas. He scored 13289 runs in test cricket, with an average of 55.37, which is why he is considered one of the greatest of the game. His highest score in test cricket was 224 and he also has 45 centuries and 58 half-centuries to his name. Even though Kallis was never an ultra attacking batsman, he still is the player with the fourth most sixes in Test cricket – 97.
#5 Virender Sehwag (India) – 91 Sixes
The lethal Indian batsman has many accolades to his name in Test Cricket. He scored the fastest triple century in test cricket, utilizing 278 balls. He is also the only cricketer in the world to score two triple centuries and also gather 5 wickets in an innings. Virender Sehwag was famous for not switching from his destructive playing style in ODI, to a more conservative approach while playing test cricket and this brought him and Team India a lot of success.
Sehwag played 104 test matches for India from his debut against South Africa in November 2001 to his final test match against Australia in March 2013. He scored 8586 runs at an average of 49.34, while his highest score in Test Cricket was 319 runs. Sehwag scored 23 centuries and 32 fifties for India and hit 91 test sixes in his career, the fifth-highest in the history of test cricket.
#6 Brian Lara (West Indies) – 88 Sixes
The former West Indies cricketer has the highest individual score in a test inning in Test Cricket history. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of cricket, Brian Charles Lara also holds the record of scoring the most runs – 28, in an over in test cricket.
Lara had his test debut against Pakistan in 1990 and played 131 tests until his last match against Pakistan in 2006. He scores 11953 runs in test cricket and his highest score – 400 not out – is still an unbeaten record in test cricket. Lara had an impressive test average of 52.88, scoring 34 centuries and 48 half-centuries. He also hit 88 sixes in his Test career.
#7 Chris Cairns (New Zealand) – 87 Sixes
The New Zealand all-rounder played just 62 tests for the Black Caps from 1989 to 2004, scoring 3320 runs, with an average of 33.53. His highest score in test cricket was 158, and he hit 5 centuries and 22 fifties. However, what made Chris Cairns famous was that he hit 87 sixes in his Test career, which made him the cricketer with the seventh-highest sixes in test cricket.
#8 Sir Viv Richards (West Indies) – 84 Sixes
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards is considered one of the greatest batsmen of all times. Sir Richards was the first batsman to score a test century at a strike rate of above 150 in 1986. He played 121 Test Matches for West Indies, from November 1974, in his debut test against India to his last test match, against England, in 1991.
Sir Richards scored 8540 runs in test cricket, at an average of 50.23, with the highest score of 291. He has 24 centuries and 45 half-centuries to his name and has hit 84 sixes in his Test career.
#9 Andrew Flintoff (England) – 82 Sixes
The England all-rounder was primarily a fast bowler, yet he was quite handy with the bat in all forms of the game, a talent which saw him highly rated in the ICC rankings. Andrew Flintoff played 79 tests from 1998 to 2009 and fared quite well with the bat. He scored 3845 test runs, with an average of 31.77 and the highest score of 167. He has 5 centuries and 26 half-centuries to his name and has hit 82 test sixes in his career.
#10 Mathew Hayden (Australia) – 82 Sixes
There are few batsmen as menacing as the big Australian and Mathew Hayden was well known for opening as aggressively in tests as in ODIs. Hayden played 103 test matches for Australia, from his debut against South Africa in 1994 to his last test match against South Africa in 2009. He scored 8625 runs, with an average of 50.73 and his highest score in test cricket was a mammoth 380! Hayden hit 30 centuries, 29 half-centuries and a total of 82 sixes in his Test career.
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