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Adam Gilchrist’s monstrous hit off Mohammad Rafique, on the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Fatullah, made him the man with most over the boundary hits in Test cricket on the planet. This was his 88th six in Test cricket eclipsing the previous record holder, Chris Cairns’, tally of 87 sixes. At the end of series, Gilchrist has now smashed 93 sixes in the 123 innings of his 85 Tests. The accompanying table has the complete details.

Just for record, the first six in Test cricket (without the aid of overthrows) was the work of Australia’s Joe Darling when he clubbed England’s slow left-armer Johnny Briggs out of the Adelaide Oval in the Ashes Test of January 1898. Darling was on 98 when he hit to square leg as the ball disappeared outside the ground. Interestingly, in those days, a batsman would only score six if he hit a ball out of a ground, while a conventional ‘six’ a shot over the boundary rope would only earn him five. Wisden adds, “prior to 1910 the ball had to be hit out of the ground for six runs to be awarded, otherwise it was a four (although for a while the custom in Australia had been to award five runs for a hit over the ropes, with the batsman losing the strike)”.

According to this scribe’s research, in the 129 year history of Test Cricket there have been 6678 references of sixes (over the boundary) by all batsmen so far.

Players with most sixes in Test cricket
[Qualification: 50 or more sixes] [17]

most-test-sixes

- All statistical research has been updated to April 25, 2006

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