In the entire recorded history of cricket, there has only been four instances of six sixes in a legitimate 6-ball over in first-class and international cricket. Here are the details about the batsmen and bowlers involved.
The first instance was in a 1968 first class match in Swansea where Sir Garfield Sobers playing for Nottinghamshire butchered Malcolm Nash of Glamorgan. Sobers almost did not make it as he was caught off the 5th ball, but the fielder fell over the rope while holding onto the ball. This feat was only one exploit in a great career as an all-rounder with 8032 runs and 235 wickets in 93 Tests. His Test record of 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958 stood for over 3 decades before Lara bested it with his 375 against England.
As for Nash, he continued playing first-class cricket till 1983, taking almost a thousand wickets at 25.87 and also 324 wickets in List A matches, in addition to being a useful batsman. He almost repeated his feat again by being hit for five sixes and one four (whew!) by Lancashire’s Frank Hayes. In an interview with the Times, he recalls the game:
The subject is never left alone. I have given talks about it several times a year for 40 years. People have said to me, ‘Why did you not give up the game after that?’ yet why should I mind? It was just another day and I moved on. Garry Sobers has a certain amount of respect for me and I have the utmost respect for him. When I go to the Caribbean, I make a point of trying to see him.
I was absolutely silly – I should have been bowling over, not round the wicket. I do not replay the over, although I might have bowled that last ball slower rather than attempt a seamer. I did not bowl slow left arm for a long time after that, but the following year we were county champions and I was to get Garry out a few times.
The second instance was Ravi Shastri taking Tilak Raj to the park in his 1985 game for Bombay against Baroda in India’s Ranji Trophy league match. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any video or photos of that game. Ranji Trophy matches were never big crowd pulling games, and this was no exception. Shastri started his career as a bowler, but graduated into a top order batsman who was asked to bowl at times.
The irony of Shastri being in this list is that the end of his career was partly brought about by his inability to score quick runs in one day internationals, at a time when cricket audience was exploding in the Indian subcontinent. India’s loss to Australia in the 1992 World Cup by a solitary run (a match where Shastri scored 25 off 67 balls) destroyed his standing among Indian cricket fans. He would retire at the age of 31 as knee injuries kept him out of cricket, and a new Indian team was shaping under Azharuddin.
As for Tilak Raj, he played 26 first-class matches scoring 936 runs and taking 5 wickets, which essentially means that he was only a part-time bowler. He was in the news recently when Gibbs replicated Shastri’s effort (see the third instance):
On Saturday, Tilak Raj sympathised with van Bunge.
“It will feel bad,” Tilak Raj told Reuters. “I felt terrible back then. All I can say is that it’s destiny.”
Tilak Raj said he had prayed to God before delivering the last ball, which Shastri still smashed for a straight six.
“I am a relieved man now, someone else has joined me after over 20 years,” he said.
Tilak Raj, now 47, an occasional spinner, was playing his first game for Baroda after moving from Delhi. Primarily a batsman, he had already scored 70 in his debut.
The third instance, as we just mentioned, was by South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs against the Dutch Daan van Bunge in a ODI match in the 2007 World Cup. Gibbs has had a long Test and ODI career, though with averages of 42 and 36, he has not done enough justice to his potential. His best innings would be the incredible 175 off 111 balls in South Africa’s victory chasing Australia’s massive 434.
Daan van Bunge, being from a non-Test playing nation, had very little experience with a few ODIs under his belt before the SA match. He is an allrounder with actually a pretty good ODI bowling average (25.90). He seemed to have been very affected by the mauling, as he announced his retirement from international cricket at the tender age of 24. But he recently decided to come back and wants revenge!
“It would be great to play Herschelle again in England next year and I wouldn’t mind if he tries to repeat that feat again,” van Bunge said. “But I am sure, whatever he does, he wouldn’t be able to hit me again for 36 runs in an over,”
The fourth and latest instance was the T20 match between India and England, in which Yuvraj Singh took on Stuart Broad. Yuvraj also scored the fastest fifty in a T20 international match off just 12 balls. Yuvraj had some personal business to take care of against England, whose Dimitri Mascarenhas hit Yuvraj for 5 sixes in an ODI over a few months before. India would go on to keep their nerve in some tense matches to win the tournament under their new captain Dhoni.
Yuvraj’s success in the limited overs game helped him to break back into the Test team, where he celebrated his return with a big century against Pakistan. Unfortunately, he was in poor form in the subsequent series in Australia and was one of the factors behind their defeats in the first two matches. He was dropped, but soon found his way back, with a recent innings being a consequential unbeaten 85 to aid Sachin Tendulkar in a successful chase of a large 387 4th innings target.
Stuart Broad continues to be an important member of the English team with his all-round skills. His batting has been particularly impressive and his bowling has been improving, though perhaps not good enough for England at the Test level