Top three batters with most sixes in Test cricket
England, under the new leadership of captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, are on a mission to change the definition of Test cricket. Since appointing McCullum, the English side are dominating red-ball cricket with their newly-found attacking approach. England, in their latest Test match against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, scored 657 runs in the first innings at a run rate of 6.50 and smashed 15 sixes in the match.
It’s very rare to score that many sixes in a Test match for any team and only three players have smashed 100-plus sixes in Test cricket history so far. So, let’s take a look at the players who have smashed the most sixes in Test cricket so far.
98 Sixes – Chris Gayle
The Caribbean legend ended his career as one of the most aggressive and destructive batters across formats. Gayle’s natural attacking approach helped him score over 7000 runs in Test cricket at a strike rate of 60.26. He holds the record for hitting the most sixes in international cricket with 553 sixes from 483 matches. And in Tests, he scored over 1000 fours and smashed 98 sixes during his thrilling international career.
100 Sixes – Adam Gilchrist
The former Australian wicketkeeper was always on aggressive mode when it comes to give quick starts or needed a finishing across formats. He smashed four sixes to score unbeaten 102 runs off just 59 balls against England in the 2006 Ashes to record the second-fastest century at the time in Test cricket. He scored 100 sixes from 96 Tests while maintaining an impressive strike rate of 81.95.
107 Sixes – Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes*
Brendon McCullum smashed 11 sixes in an innings on two occasions and is the only player to score 10-plus sixes twice in an innings in Test cricket. He also holds the record for the fastest Test century when he took only 54 balls to reach the mark against Australia in 2015. This also helped him score 107 sixes from 101 Test matches for New Zealand.
Ben Stokes smashed the record 17 sixes in an innings in the County Championship for Durham in the recent season. He also approached the Tests with similar intent, having smashed 11 sixes against South Africa in 2016, during his famous 258-run knock. He has now smashed 107 sixes from just 88 Tests and is only a six away to surpass McCullum.
