walked in. First ball, Dennis Lillee struck him on the head. The wise thing to do for a lower-order batsman facing the world’s best fast bowler is to show a little respect. No?
Not when you’re Lance Cairns, father of Chris, and one of the most bad-ass power-hitters in cricket history. Cairns got up, told his partner, “Bugger this, Warren!” and started teeing off.
He hit six sixes in 10 balls. One of them was this one-handed monstrous hit off Lillee which cleared midwicket comfortably.
Remember that the MCG didn’t have today’s small, wimpy boundaries.
This was an astonishing display of power at one of the biggest grounds in the world. Cairns’ 21-ball fifty notwithstanding, New Zealand lost by 149 runs.
April 18, 1986 — Miandad Stuns India:
India were in striking distance of a hard-fought win in the Australasia Cup final in Sharjah when old foe Javed Miandad caught up with them. The game boiled down to Chetan Sharma’s last ball off which Miandad needed to hit a four for the win. Chetan went for the yorker but bowled his second full-toss of the over. Miandad swung it savagely over midwicket for six. This remains one of the greatest games of cricket.
Miandad reaped huge rewards for his unbeaten 116. Psychologically scarred by the blow, India would lose 12 of their next 13 games to Pakistan at this venue
July 31, 1899 — One Flew Over Lord’s:
England’s Albert Trott was considered among the greatest all-rounders of his time. His finest achievement was taking 8-43 and scoring 38 & 72 on Test debut in Adelaide in 1894-95.
But he is more famous for being the only batsman to clear the Lord’s pavilion with a six. He did this off the bowling of Monty Noble on July 31, 1899.
Despite his huge cricketing gifts, Trott suffered from alcoholism and dropsy. In poverty, he committed suicide aged 41 shortly after writing his will behind a laundry ticket.
September 19, 2007 — Yuvraj Slays Broad:
We don’t know the words used in the exchange, but Andrew Flintoff wound Yuvraj Singh up by saying something about his poor form. The next over, young Stuart Broad would suffer every ball.
The first six of the over cleared the roof at midwicket. The second was a flick over square-leg. The third flew over extra cover. The fourth – a full-toss – was carved over point. The fifth was pounded over midwicket again. The sixth was an emphatic drive wide of long-on.
You have probably seen those images many times, so we’ll leave you with this exchange between bowler and batsman at the end of the game which India won. Why is this different from Sobers, Shastri and Gibbs? Yuvraj did it to an established front-line international-class bowler.
September 1, 1968 — Sobers Rewrites Records:
Poor Malcolm Nash. The Glamorgan slow-left armer took 993 wickets in First Class cricket, 324 more in limited overs games. But all that everyone remembers him for is this one over when the great Garry Sobers (playing for Nottinghamshire) hit him for six sixes, the first such occurrence in recognised forms of cricket.
Speaking of the over in 2008, Nash said of the half-tracker he bowled on the sixth ball: “It was the first ball I bowled all day that deserved to be hit for six.”
Grainy footage of the incident shows Sobers smiling sheepishly, raising his bat to receive the sparse crowd’s applauses.
July 28, 1990 — Kapil Smashes Hemmings:
Before this game, Raj Singh Dungarpur had riled Kapil Dev by saying to the press that he plays for himself. At Day 3 in the Lord’s Test, India were 24 runs from the follow-on mark when Kapil was joined by last-man Narendra Hirwani.
Smarting from Dungarpur’s remark, Kapil pounded Eddie Hemmings four consecutive times in the small arc between the sight-screen and long-on.
It is the most sixes hit in an over in Test cricket. It equalled the record for most runs in an over. And it averted the follow-on in a manner so frighteningly simple, only Kapil could have done it.
November 20, 2004 — Pigeon Soars:
Glenn McGrath was a legend with the ball and a joke with the bat. So imagine his joy when he finally managed to hit a six — his only in international cricket — at the Gabba. New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori was the bowler.
The delivery was tossed up and slogged over mid-wicket. Understanding what he’d achieved, McGrath held his pose with a huge grin for the cameras. In the dressing room, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn were on their feet, not believing what they had just seen.
McGrath made 61, his highest in all cricket, adding 114 for the last wicket with Jason Gillespie. The Australian side came down to applaud McGrath off the park.
January 31, 1903 — Trumper’s Window:
Till Bradman’s arrival, Victor Trumper was considered Australia’s greatest. He’s still a big deal. A sticky wicket genius, he had tremendous technique. But he was equally capable of the really big hits.
On that day, he made 335 runs in three hours for Paddington. One of his big hits broke a window on a building outside the Redfern Oval in hometown Sydney. The window was said to be three storeys up.
As a mark of respect for the great batsman, the window was left unrepaired for 70 years. Trumper died aged just 37 of Bright’s disease.
March 16, 2007 — Minnows Slaughtered:
South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs became the first man to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket. Young Netherlands leggie Daan van Bunge’s respectable figures (3-0-20-0) were ruined after the barbaric act.
South Africa posted 353 in 40 overs (there were 18 sixes in that innings), winning by 221 runs. Unknowingly, Gibbs claimed a million-dollar reward for his effort — only to be told it had to be donated to charity.
May 26, 2006 — Pietersen Switch-hits Murali:
In 2002, Jonty Rhodes had reverse-swept Darren Lehmann for six in an ODI in Potchefstroom. So there was a precedent for such hits. But Kevin Pietersen took it further.
In the Birmingham Test against Sri Lanka, on a wicket where only two others passed fifty, KP made an imperious 142 off 157.
The highlight? On 136, facing Muttiah Muralitharan mid-delivery, he changed his grip to left-handed and slogged him over midwicket for six. Murali picked his jaw up from the floor, and promptly dismissed him with a doosra.
The cricket world descended into a debate over the ethics of the shot. But KP didn’t mind. The cricket rulebook has nothing against bursts of insanely good batsmanship.
April 2, 2011 — Dhoni wins the World Cup:
Four were needed as Nuwan Kulasekara ran in. The length ball landed around off and middle. Dhoni swung across the line. Commentators bellowed. A country-wide celebration erupted. Dhoni stood still, twirled his bat in his left hand. Yuvraj Singh was in tears. The ball ended in the crowd.
It was the first time a World Cup win had been sealed with a six.
January 30, 2005 — Afridi Hits a 12:
Everything in this photo is still. But the ball is a blur. You know why? Afridi channelled every bit of his awesome pathan power behind that shot. It flew off the bat so fast and so far, it would have fetched him 12 runs had the rules allowed it. Andrew Symonds was the bowler.
Tom Moody, whose home-ground the WACA is, said, 'It's a 12. That's probably gone 45-50 metres beyond the boundary, and it looked like if the stand wasn't there, it would have kept going. Moody said he'd never seen a hit reach the first tier of the Prindiville Stand.
June 23, 1979 — Viv’s Invention:
Collis King’s fiery 86 had revived the West Indies in the World Cup final. Viv Richards, out of form till now, had moved past 100. But there had been another mini-collapse and he had to protect the tail. Last ball of the innings, Richards was batting on 132.
He expected a full ball on the stumps. He was right. Mike Hendricks bowled a full-toss. Richards swivelled towards off, got front-on to the ball, and swung it over mid-wicket for a massive six. It was the exclamation mark to end an epic innings. England never had a chance thereon.
“I left the field thinking, 'That shot is my invention’”, Richards later said of the shot.
December 17, 2006 — Sreesanth Embarrasses Nel:
The Jo’burg Test was a hard-fought one. Emotions ran high. Andre Nel was proving tough to handle for Sreesanth. When he backed away to a short one, Nel told him, “Show me some heart” wanting him to get in line.
Sreesanth’s response? He danced down to the next ball, an off-cutter, and tonked it into the sight-screen.
This isn’t all. Sreesanth came running down the pitch, swinging his bat around like a madman. He then stood next to Nel and twirled his bat around and started an impromptu celebration dance. Lots of hip-thrusting was done.
Nel didn’t know where to look.
Reader’s Choice] September 30, 1997 — Chauhan Stuns Karachi:
Rajesh Chauhan featured regularly in the Indian side of the early 1990s. But his career never quite took off. In 1997, he made a comeback.
India made their first tour to Pakistan in eight years. Having lost the first ODI comprehensively, India were within striking distance of leveling the series in Karachi.
In near darkness, Chauhan kept out a yorker from Waqar Younis and then took strike to Saqlain Mushtaq. Eight were needed off six balls. The man from Bhilai spotted a yorker coming. He stepped out, took it on the full, and swung it with all his might over mid-wicket.
Silence descended over the National Stadium. It was Chauhan’s finest moment in cricket.
India won the game, but lost the decider in Lahore, where Chauhan again batted beautifully for 32.
[Reader’s Choice] February 26, 2003, Tendulkar Pulls Caddick:
India were on a roll in the World Cup and began well against England in Durban. Driven for four after pitching full, Andrew Caddick tried to adjust his length by bowling short outside off.
The ball bounced off a length and should have been left alone. But Tendulkar was waiting for it.
With ferocious power, Tendulkar pulled it from about three feet outside off-stump, over the stands at midwicket and outside the stadium. In the photo you can see his eyes closed, an indicator of the effort that went into the shot.
On air, Ian Botham (who knows much about ferocious pulls) said, “I’m amazed that ball has come back.”
[Reader’s Choice] March 1, 2003, Tendulkar Cuts Akhtar:
In a high-pressure World Cup game, India were set 274. Tendulkar got going. Shoaib Akhtar ran in menacingly, every inch of him meaning to propel the ball forward as fast as humanly possible.
The first ball was patted to cover. The second was a short wide one. Tendulkar threw his bat at it. Time moved slowly. The ball’s split-second journey over the deep point fence felt like an eternity.
Shoaib had been instantly deflated. India were on their way to a famous win.
February 28, 2010 — McCullum's Scoops:
This is perhaps the only shot in cricket where a batsman directs the ball at his own body, and has to quickly get out of the way to avoid getting him. Brendon McCullum must be a mad man to even consider scooping bowlers of the pace of Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes.
In his innings of 116 in a T20 against Australia, McCullum hit eight sixes - the last two being scoops off Tait. Short boundaries at the AMI Stadium helped the ball go the distance. A minor deflection off the bat could have gone flying into his face or ribs and who knows what damage that might have caused.
Reader's Choice] March 9, 1996 — Jayasuriya Tames England:
Phil DeFreitas wasn't the only bowler whose career Sanath Jayasuriya ended during the World Cup. There's Manoj Prabhakar too.
Chasing England's 235, the dangerous opener smashed 82 off 44 balls (a rate unheard of on those days). His third six off DeFreitas landed on the roof of the Iqbal Stadium. It bounced off a satellite dish, an image that will remain with whoever saw it.
March 9, 1996 — Jadeja Goes Berserk:
In a high-pressure quarterfinal against arch rivals India, the feared Waqar Younis had kosher figures of 8-1-27-1 when he started his final spell. Ajay Jadeja then played one of the great cameos of the game.
Waqar's last two overs went for 40 runs. Jadeja took two fours and two astonishing sixes - one was a yorker ploughed over midwicket by staying back in the crease (a milder version of Dhoni's helicopter shot). The second was flat-batted over long-off. Both were massive hits. Waqar's reputation had been instantly shredded. India went on to win the game.
March 29, 2004 - Sehwag's Triple:
[Reader's Choice] Few batsmen are crazy enough to even think of hitting a six when they're in the 90s. And there's probably nobody who has thought of doing it in the 290s. Then there's Virender Sehwag.
Batting on 295 in the Multan Test, he charged down the pitch to Saqlain Mushtaq and muscled the ball over cow-corner. It was India's first triple hundred in Tests, and set up their first Test win in Pakistan.Reader's Choice] November 13, 1998 — Ganguly Attacks Flower:
Sourav Ganguly's surgically precise footwork against spinners has helped him launch many balls into the orbit. For some Yahoo! readers, the most memorable ones he has hit are the three in the Coca Cola Cup final against Zimbabwe.
India were in command with Tendulkar crushing Zimbabwe's bowlers to pulp while Ganguly was approaching a slow fifty. Grant Flower came on to bowl in this hopeless situation. Ganguly walked down to him thrice. Each time, the ball landed on the roof and a replacement ball had to be called for. Chasing 196, India won by 10 wickets.
[Reader's Choice] November 13, 1998 — Ganguly Attacks Flower:
Sourav Ganguly's surgically precise footwork against spinners has helped him launch many balls into the orbit. For some Yahoo! readers, the most memorable ones he has hit are the three in the Coca Cola Cup final against Zimbabwe.
India were in command with Tendulkar crushing Zimbabwe's bowlers to pulp while Ganguly was approaching a slow fifty. Grant Flower came on to bowl in this hopeless situation. Ganguly walked down to him thrice. Each time, the ball landed on the roof and a replacement ball had to be called for. Chasing 196, India won by 10 wickets.
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