Thanks to Twenty20 cricket, sixes are dime a dozen these days. But in the past, sixes were rare and had a special appeal – comparable to sex appeal. Well, almost!
Two people have hit the maximum six sixes in an over: Gary Sobers, while playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at Swansea in 1968 (the bowler was Malcolm Nash), and the Indian Test all-rounder Ravi Shastri, who struck Tilak Raj for six sixes for Bombay v Baroda at Bombay in 1984-85.
Seeking quick runs, Sobers began the over by hitting the first two balls over the heads of the mid-wicket fielders in front of the Cricketers Inn. He then charged down the wicket for the third ball and drove into the pavilion enclosure. For the fourth, he pulled Nash over the scoreboard before hitting the fifth ball into the hands of Roger Davis on the long-off boundary – who accidentally fell back over the rope.
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Sobers completed the landmark moment when he hit the final ball out of the ground and into the street.
It was recovered by an 11-year-old boy who handed it back to Sobers a few days later.
In 2006 the ball smashed around Swansea by the West Indies legend was sold for a world-record price at the reputed auctioneer Christie’s in London.
Check out the full video here.
