There’s a moment in cricket that turns even hardened pros into excitable kids again: the rare, visceral shock of a batter launching six consecutive deliveries beyond the rope. Six sixes in an over. The scoreboard ticks like a slot machine and the bowler looks a little smaller with every strike. By the time the sixth ball disappears, the ground is roaring, the dressing room is standing, and the record books are whispering a new name. And yes, in the shorthand shout of the street and the schoolyard, it’s the dream: 6 balls 6 sixes.
I’ve stood on boundary edges when this possibility began to spark—four in a row, then a nervous pause, a deep breath, a field change, and another brutal arc over long-on. The best part is how different each instance feels: the context, the bowler, the ground dimensions, the wind, the angles, and the batter’s method. Strip the highlight reel sheen off the top and you’ll find calculation and craft. You’ll also find a particular subset of cricketing folklore that bridges formats, generations, and leagues.
This is the canonical, up-to-date guide to six sixes in an over—every known instance across international cricket and the professional game, what “36 in an over” really means, the bowlers who endured it, the venues that hosted it, and the strategy beneath the spectacle. Consider this a live archive and an expert’s field-notes rolled into one.
What “36 runs in an over” actually means
- Six legal deliveries, all hit for six = 36 runs.
- This is the purest, tidiest version of the feat: no wides, no no-balls, no extras, just six clean strikes.
- Can you score more than 36 in an over? Yes. Add a no-ball or wide (which do not count as one of the six legal balls) and the over grows longer. That’s how we get mind-bending overs worth 37, 38, 43, or even more. But “six sixes in an over” is strictly six legal balls, six sixes.
The complete list: six sixes in an over across formats
Across the professional game, this has happened a handful of times. The list is short, the details matter, and the story is richer when you know who bowled, where it happened, and what the stakes were. The entries below are grouped by international instances and professional domestic/league/first-class instances.
International cricket: who has hit six sixes in an over
This group is the sport’s blue-ribbon club. It’s one thing to do it in domestic cricket. Doing it with a flag on your chest is a different kind of pressure.
Herschelle Gibbs
- Team: South Africa vs Netherlands
- Format: ODI
- Bowler: Daan van Bunge (leg-spin)
- Venue: Basseterre (Warner Park)
- Competition: ICC global event
- Notes: The first in international cricket. Gibbs targeted length and flight, mostly across the leg-side arc with one blistered over cover. The small square boundaries at Warner Park were a factor, but the control was clinical. It was the day “36 in an over” walked into mainstream cricket consciousness.
Yuvraj Singh
- Team: India vs England
- Format: T20I
- Bowler: Stuart Broad (right-arm fast-medium)
- Venue: Durban (Kingsmead)
- Competition: ICC global T20 tournament
- Notes: The over that still trends daily. Wordless exhale after the sixth. It came just after a heated exchange with Andrew Flintoff; Yuvraj started on back-foot muscle, then expanded to straight and square arcs. He reached the fastest T20I fifty on the way. A perfect cocktail of tempo, bat speed, and fury.
Kieron Pollard
- Team: West Indies vs Sri Lanka
- Format: T20I
- Bowler: Akila Dananjaya (off-spin)
- Venue: Antigua
- Competition: Bilateral T20I
- Notes: A psychology lesson. Dananjaya had just claimed a hat-trick in the match. Pollard’s answer was maximal: pick the arc, clear the front leg, and turn length into a liability. Mostly straight or to the leg-side pocket beyond midwicket. The statement was as loud as the hitting.
Jaskaran Malhotra
- Team: United States vs Papua New Guinea
- Format: ODI
- Bowler: Gaudi Toka (medium pace)
- Venue: Al Amerat
- Competition: ODI series
- Notes: The finishing burst to a monumental personal innings. Clean swing, base still, and a calm reading of medium pace under pressure. It announced USA cricket on the highlight reels in a way no press release ever could.
Dipendra Singh Airee
- Team: Nepal vs Qatar
- Format: T20I
- Bowler: Kamran Khan (right-arm pace)
- Venue: Al Amerat
- Competition: ACC T20 event
- Notes: Sheer power meets ruthless intent. Airee’s rise as a finisher had been clear for a while; this was the exclamation point. A mix of straight hitting and whip through midwicket turned the over into a crowd chant.
Professional domestic, T20 leagues, and first-class: six sixes in an over
Sir Garfield Sobers
- Team: Nottinghamshire vs Glamorgan
- Format: First-class
- Bowler: Malcolm Nash (left-arm medium trying spin)
- Venue: Swansea (St Helen’s)
- Competition: County Championship
- Notes: The original myth made real. Nash experimented with spin; Sobers punished the experiment. The final stroke famously involved a catch on the boundary that became a six because the fielder’s momentum carried him over. It set the template and the legend.
Ravi Shastri
- Team: Bombay vs Baroda
- Format: First-class
- Bowler: Tilak Raj (left-arm orthodox)
- Venue: Mumbai (Wankhede)
- Competition: Ranji Trophy
- Notes: Force with a metronome’s rhythm. Open bat face when needed, heavy downswing when offered length. It also connected to another record that day—a double century reached in a blur.
Ross Whiteley
- Team: Worcestershire vs Yorkshire
- Format: T20
- Bowler: Karl Carver (left-arm orthodox)
- Venue: Leeds (Headingley)
- Competition: T20 Blast
- Notes: Brutality with range. Whiteley is a long-ball specialist; Carver missed his margins and length. The arc was mostly deep midwicket to long-on, typical of a left-hander’s leverage zone, with one extinguished over long-off.
Hazratullah Zazai
- Team: Kabul Zwanan vs Balkh Legends
- Format: T20
- Bowler: Abdullah Mazari (left-arm orthodox)
- Venue: Sharjah
- Competition: Afghanistan franchise league
- Notes: If Sharjah had a soundtrack for big hitting, Zazai wrote a verse that night. The distances aren’t immense, but the clarity was. Once he picked up the bowler’s trajectory, he didn’t let the line wobble dislodge him.
Leo Carter
- Team: Canterbury vs Northern Districts
- Format: T20
- Bowler: Anton Devcich (left-arm orthodox)
- Venue: Christchurch (Hagley Oval)
- Competition: Super Smash
- Notes: Not brute force so much as smart shape and timing. Carter got deep in the crease to turn good length into hitting length. Every ball was sent over the leg side; the method felt repeatable, which might be the scariest part.
Thisara Perera
- Team: Sri Lanka Army Sports Club vs Bloomfield
- Format: List A
- Bowler: Dilhan Cooray (spin)
- Venue: Colombo
- Competition: SLC domestic one-day
- Notes: A veteran’s clarity. Perera’s bottom hand has always been thunder; when spin missed full-and-wide, he hammered angles through midwicket and long-on.
A simple at-a-glance table
International instances
| Player | Team vs Opponent | Format | Bowler | Venue | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herschelle Gibbs | South Africa vs Netherlands | ODI | Daan van Bunge | Basseterre (Warner Park) | ICC global event |
| Yuvraj Singh | India vs England | T20I | Stuart Broad | Durban (Kingsmead) | ICC global T20 |
| Kieron Pollard | West Indies vs Sri Lanka | T20I | Akila Dananjaya | Antigua | Bilateral T20I |
| Jaskaran Malhotra | USA vs Papua New Guinea | ODI | Gaudi Toka | Al Amerat | ODI series |
| Dipendra Singh Airee | Nepal vs Qatar | T20I | Kamran Khan | Al Amerat | ACC T20 event |
Domestic, leagues, first-class
| Player | Teams | Format | Bowler | Venue | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Garfield Sobers | Nottinghamshire vs Glamorgan | First-class | Malcolm Nash | Swansea (St Helen’s) | County Championship |
| Ravi Shastri | Bombay vs Baroda | First-class | Tilak Raj | Mumbai (Wankhede) | Ranji Trophy |
| Ross Whiteley | Worcestershire vs Yorkshire | T20 | Karl Carver | Leeds (Headingley) | T20 Blast |
| Hazratullah Zazai | Kabul Zwanan vs Balkh Legends | T20 | Abdullah Mazari | Sharjah | Afghan franchise league |
| Leo Carter | Canterbury vs Northern Districts | T20 | Anton Devcich | Christchurch (Hagley Oval) | Super Smash |
| Thisara Perera | Sri Lanka Army SC vs Bloomfield | List A | Dilhan Cooray | Colombo | SLC List A |
How six consecutive sixes actually happen: the anatomy of a 36-run over
This is not blind slogging. The best six-sixes overs have a coherent plan that evolves ball by ball. Watch closely and you’ll see the batter reading release points, anticipating fields, and pre-empting corrections. On a whiteboard, the blueprint is clean; in the middle, it’s noise and nerve.
What the batter is calculating
Match-up bias
Right-hander vs left-arm orthodox is a classic: natural swing toward midwicket/long-on, with the option to open the face over long-off. Left-hander vs leg-spin similarly unlocks the midwicket pocket if the bowler is slow through the air. Against pace, the playbook shifts to leverage straight: clear the front leg, hit the “V”, and punish any miss in length.
Length control
Six hitters at this level are length hunters. Back-of-a-length into hip? Whip. Slot? Launch. Try a yorker and miss by an inch? It’s a 95-meter reminder of margins. After ball one disappears, bowlers tend to go fuller. Ball two invites either the same swing or a lofted straight strike.
Field mapping
Most six-sixes overs begin with two fielders out on the leg side: deep square and long-on. After two maximums, a captain usually drags another to long-off. That’s when elite hitters drag a length ball inside-out over long-off or carve it over extra cover. Yuvraj Singh’s third and fourth sixes in Durban came from exactly this cat-and-mouse. If fine leg is up, the pick-up over backward square is on. If midwicket is deep but square is not, the target shifts.
Crease work
Deep in the crease against spin to get under and lift. Advance against a bowler who’s gone too full. Stay leg-side of the ball to free arms. These are micro-adjustments you barely notice until slow-motion reveals the footwork.
What the bowler is fighting
Panic of correction
After one six, the next ball often goes fuller and straighter. If the batter steps leg-side early, that fuller ball becomes the slot. Change of pace works only if the release disguises it. Telegraphed slower balls get sent to the grass banks.
Field paralysis
There’s no perfect field for a hitter in this mood. But small changes can matter: short third goes back, point comes up, long-off deepens five yards. If these changes don’t match the plan—say the bowler intends to bowl wide yorkers—disaster follows.
The wind
More decisive than most admit. At venues like Warner Park and Sharjah, a cross-breeze turns mis-hits into minor miracles.
Case studies: ball-by-ball patterns that created 6 sixes
Yuvraj Singh vs Stuart Broad, Durban
The set-up:
A heated exchange with Flintoff fired Yuvraj’s focus. The release valve was immediate—Broad bowled at a pace and length that matched Yuvraj’s arc.
Ball one:
Hip-high, just back of length. Picked up with that famous flick-into-a-whip to backward square. It told Broad the leg side was open.
Ball two:
Fuller. Yuvraj’s base remained still; a clean downswing lofted straight. Long-on watched overhead.
Ball three:
Around off stump, length-ish. Yuvraj opened his shoulders, hitting with a high-elbow carve over extra cover. This was the brain shot—telling England he could go off-side too.
Ball four:
Slower ball variation. Yuvraj saw it early and waited. Midwicket swallowed another.
Ball five:
Short. The pull was automatic. The scoreboard, now genuinely absurd, forced field panic.
Ball six:
Fuller under pressure. Yuvraj cleared the front leg and split straight long-on/long-off again. The roar felt like a release across a country.
Herschelle Gibbs vs Daan van Bunge, Basseterre
The set-up:
Leg-spin with generous flight into a small square ground. Gibbs was already set.
Mixed arcs:
Three into the leg side, one over long-off, one straight. Notice that when van Bunge pushed wider to avoid the swing, Gibbs went with hands open to carve through cover.
Lesson:
Once a hitter sees flight and repeatable length, the safest place for the ball is actually in the stands.
Kieron Pollard vs Akila Dananjaya, Antigua
The set-up:
Dananjaya’s hat-trick had West Indies reeling for a beat. Pollard refused passivity.
Sequence:
Front-leg cleared, head stable, bat face presenting full face down the ground or to cow corner. A spinner without confidence in length has no hiding place; the quicker variation also sat up.
Key detail:
Pollard did not overhit; he simply repeated a movement pattern that his frame makes frighteningly efficient.
Sir Garfield Sobers vs Malcolm Nash, Swansea
The set-up:
Nash tried spin. Sobers smelled blood.
The over:
Early strikes convinced Nash to push fuller and flatter. Sobers rode the corrections. The final ball’s boundary catch-turned-six is part of cricket’s living lore.
Element hardly discussed:
Sobers’ back lift was high but compact; the swing arc allowed him to hit over mid-on even when slightly mistimed. That reduces risk under pressure.
Hazratullah Zazai vs Abdullah Mazari, Sharjah
The set-up:
Sharjah’s short boundaries, left-arm spin, and a batter who frames everything leg-side dominant.
The arc:
Deep midwicket, long-on, deep square—three repeating destinations. When Mazari tried wider angles, Zazai reached and pulled anyway. Hands of steel.
Leo Carter vs Anton Devcich, Christchurch
The set-up:
Devcich is a savvy operator but went a little too straight. Carter set deep.
Method:
No frantic heave. Controlled swing, strong base. Every ball gone into the leg-side bleachers. This was a masterclass in picking length, not a demonstration of raw power.
Ross Whiteley vs Karl Carver, Leeds
The set-up:
Carver didn’t land his variations. Whiteley’s bat path is built for destruction when the ball sits.
Key swings:
Whiteley’s top hand gives the bat face a late flourish, turning flat hits into soaring ones. Even mis-hits traveled.
Jaskaran Malhotra vs Gaudi Toka, Al Amerat
The set-up:
Final overs with medium pace. Malhotra calculated that Toka’s lengths would aim at the blockhole and miss occasionally.
Execution:
Strong base, little head movement. Midwicket and straight boundaries bore the brunt. The sixth was defiant.
Dipendra Singh Airee vs Kamran Khan, Al Amerat
The set-up:
Late-overs assault in a T20I. Airee has fast hands; the bat comes through the arc like a whip.
Execution:
A blend of whipped leg-side rockets and brute-force straight hits. The field had no time to react between balls.
Patterns and insights only the replays don’t tell you
Bowler type skew
Left-arm orthodox and leg-spin dominate the concede list. Flight presents risk, and defensive lengths are harder to land under duress. Pace concedes too, but it usually takes a perfect storm: a slot ball chasing an overcorrected yorker, or a telegraphed slower ball.
Venue bias
Sharjah, Warner Park, and certain New Zealand grounds with inviting square pockets have more six-hitting events per game. Factor in wind channels and you get more outliers. High altitude helps, but very few six-sixes overs have happened at elevation; it’s mostly coastal venues with winds and modest boundaries.
Batters’ favored arcs
Right-handers tend to clean out midwicket/long-on when facing spin angled into leg stump, then jump to long-off when fields adjust. Left-handers mirror the arc, but watch for an extra gear at deep square. Lefties often roll the wrists late to keep it in play even on poor connection.
The psychology of ball five
After five sixes, you see one of two things: the batter plays the most conservative version of their six shot, or they try to “finish with a flourish” and bring a new risk into play. The great ones keep it boring on ball six—meaning they repeat the highest-probability swing. That’s why Yuvraj and Gibbs look almost nonchalant on the last strike. The extraordinary is handled as ordinary.
6 sixes vs 7 sixes in an over: the rules, the reality, and the famous 43
The clean feat we’ve covered is six sixes in an over. Then there’s the curio: seven sixes in an over. It can only happen with a no-ball that goes for six, which opens a “free hit,” plus six more legal balls each hit for six. That’s 43 runs.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad’s List A eruption captured this perfectly: one over, 43 runs, seven balls dispatched for six. The bowler, a left-arm spinner, overstepped, and the over spiraled from there. The visual is a masterclass in composure under a number avalanche.
- In domestic one-day cricket in New Zealand, Joe Carter and Brett Hampton once cobbled together 43 runs off one over, sharing strikes with multiple no-balls. Not a single batter’s six-sixes feat, but a crucial record for “most runs in one over.”
So is 36 the maximum? Only off six legal balls. With extras, the ceiling is higher. In T20 leagues and high-pressure ODI slog overs, once control goes, an over can stretch into an eternity.
Six sixes in a Test match over
This remains unconquered in official Test cricket. Tests have their own record—most runs in an over stands at a number north of 30, powered by an over rich in no-balls and boundaries—but no batter has yet delivered six consecutive sixes against the red ball. The reasons are obvious: bigger outfields, longer formats where risk tolerance is different, bowlers who hunt the blockhole with a new ball, and captains who adjust fields obsessively the moment a batter swings hard.
The spinner’s lament and the bowler’s counter
When you stand at mid-off and watch the arc keep repeating, the game can feel suddenly small. The look on bowlers’ faces varies: rueful smile, clenched jaw, deadpan stare. But there’s a counter-strategy that reduces the chances of a six-sixes cascade.
Commit to a plan, not to panic
The quickest path to a 36-run over is changing the plan every ball. If the idea was to go wide yorker with third man back and long-off deep, stick to it. Live by the margins you trained for.
Use the crease and angles as a bowler
Over the wicket to a right-hander, angle it across with full length at the tramline. Around the wicket if you must to cramp the swing. Most bowlers concede when they miss by inches, not by meters.
Change the pace, not the action
Disguise is everything. If your change-up is visible at the seam or the arm is slower, a hitter sees it early and treats it like a bowling machine feed.
Trust the field you set
Put your best boundary catchers in the hot zones—long-on, deep midwicket, and long-off. Communicate. The worst boundary fielding moments often happen in these overs because adrenaline spikes and calls are late.
Bat technology, boundary sizes, and the modern six
There’s an uncomfortable truth in modern power-hitting: the bat does more work than it used to. More edge thickness, fuller sweet spots, and better pick-up mean a slightly mistimed hit still sails. Pair that with grounds that often have one side shorter than the other to accommodate TV sight screens and you get a different outcome profile than the era of Sobers.
Yet technique still rules. Yuvraj’s rapid fifty wasn’t just a big bat. It was a still head, a stable base, and a swing that arrived on time. Pollard’s economy of movement is why the ball seems to trampoline off his blade. Zazai’s hands work like levers. Carter’s choice to go deep in the crease turned would-be length into slot.
International vs domestic: where six sixes appears most
- Internationally, the club is exclusive. ODI and T20I cricket have a small number of entrants; pressure, scouting, and quality of bowling are higher.
- Domestic T20 and List A cricket present more opportunities:
- More overs against spin variations that miss.
- Wider variance in venues and boundary sizes.
- A calendar stuffed with matches means more outlier events.
- First-class records have the romance. Sobers and Shastri are etched in memory precisely because they did it with a red ball in long-form cricket.
A note on video intent and memory
Some overs are watched so often they’ve become daily ritual. Yuvraj vs Broad still drives an ocean of searches for the clip, as does Gibbs’ over. Pollard’s six-sixer has that perfect dramatic arc—hat-trick conceded by your team, followed by maximal payback. And if you live in South Asia, searches for 6 गेंदों में 6 छक्के surge every time a league match lights up, because those three words break language barriers.
Conceding six sixes: the bowlers’ list and why it matters
The concession list is part of the story. Cricket isn’t a sport where all pain is avoidable. The names below remind us that even very good bowlers can be caught in the gears of a perfect storm.
- Malcolm Nash (experimenting with spin against Sobers)
- Tilak Raj (left-arm orthodox, punished by Shastri)
- Daan van Bunge (leg-spinner in an unforgettable ODI moment)
- Stuart Broad (pace, key lesson in length under white-ball pressure)
- Karl Carver (left-arm orthodox in T20 Blast)
- Abdullah Mazari (left-arm orthodox in Sharjah)
- Anton Devcich (left-arm orthodox in Super Smash)
- Dilhan Cooray (spin in Sri Lankan List A)
- Akila Dananjaya (off-spin in T20Is)
- Gaudi Toka (medium pace, USA vs PNG)
- Kamran Khan (right-arm pace, Qatar vs Nepal)
Bowler types most commonly targeted in six-sixes overs tilt toward orthodox spin. It’s not that spin is easier; it’s that flight and length are safety nets until they’re not.
Six sixes and the fastest fifties
The 6 sixes phenomenon often piggybacks on another record: the quickest half-century. When a batter compiles 36 in six balls, that’s 36 of the 50 in a matter of seconds. Yuvraj’s sprint to a landmark T20I fifty is the obvious example. In league cricket globally, the fastest fifties cluster around overs where at least four go the distance. An over like this is the oxygen tank that lets a batter scale the mountain in time.
Related records and context
- Most runs in a T20I over: 36 is the clean benchmark via six sixes; it can be surpassed with no-balls and wides.
- Most runs in an ODI over: Also 36 via six sixes, courtesy of the Gibbs moment; extras can push it higher in other games.
- Most runs in a Test over: The record sits higher than 30 thanks to a heap of extras and boundaries in a single over; still, no Test batter has struck six out of six for maximums in one over.
- Most runs in one over in franchise T20: Several overs climb into the forties with no-balls and wides; a famous example includes a 37-run assault in a marquee league, featuring five sixes, one four, and penalty runs from a front-foot fault.
How to read a six-sixes over like an analyst
Next time a batter is three in, don’t just watch the ball. Watch the bowler’s hand, the seam, and the field.
- Before ball four, look for the captain’s tell. Is long-off jogging deeper? Has a finer third man gone back? It hints at where the next ball is aimed.
- Check the batter’s stance. If the front leg opens early, expect a route through long-on/long-off. If the batter shuffles leg-side, the wide yorker is coming, and the hitter is preloading for an inside-out.
- Listen for the stump mic. Short calls from the keeper give away plans: “wide,” “yorker,” “slow.” At the highest level, the chatter is code, but you catch enough to predict.
Why this list stays short
Cricket is still a game of risk management. Even for the cleanest strikers, probability is a ruthless accountant. Six in a row is as much about the bowler failing to reset as it is about the hitter finding a groove. It means margin stacked on margin, like balancing six coins on edge. That it happens at all is the magic.
FAQ: everything fans ask about six sixes
Who has hit six sixes in an over in international cricket?
Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa, ODI vs Netherlands), Yuvraj Singh (India, T20I vs England), Kieron Pollard (West Indies, T20I vs Sri Lanka), Jaskaran Malhotra (USA, ODI vs Papua New Guinea), and Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal, T20I vs Qatar).
How many players have hit six sixes in an over overall?
In professional cricket across formats, a small group has achieved it: the five international instances listed above, plus domestic and first-class feats by Sir Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Ross Whiteley, Hazratullah Zazai, Leo Carter, and Thisara Perera.
Who was the first to hit six sixes in an over professionally?
Sir Garfield Sobers, playing first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan, with Malcolm Nash bowling.
Is 36 runs the maximum in an over?
Off six legal balls, yes. But with no-balls and wides extending the over, totals can exceed 36. That’s how overs of 37 and 43 have happened.
Has anyone hit six sixes in a Test match over?
No. Not in official Tests. The Test record for runs in an over is a mixture of boundaries and extras, not six consecutive sixes.
What’s the difference between six sixes and seven sixes in an over?
Seven requires a no-ball six, creating an extra delivery and a free hit, followed by six more sixes. That totals 43. It has occurred in high-level domestic one-day cricket, including a marquee List A feat where one batter struck seven in a single over.
Which format has the most instances of six sixes?
Domestic T20 and List A cricket collectively features more instances than international cricket. Internationally, only a handful exist.
Who bowled the overs that went for six sixes?
Malcolm Nash, Tilak Raj, Daan van Bunge, Stuart Broad, Karl Carver, Abdullah Mazari, Anton Devcich, Dilhan Cooray, Akila Dananjaya, Gaudi Toka, and Kamran Khan.
Where have these overs most often happened?
A spread across world venues, with several at grounds known for inviting leg-side pockets and wind influence: Sharjah, Basseterre (Warner Park), Durban (Kingsmead), Antigua, Al Amerat, Christchurch, Leeds, Mumbai, and Swansea’s St Helen’s.
Can a batter plan for six sixes?
Plan, yes. Guarantee, never. Great hitters build the probability: pick the right bowler type, read length early, stay in their preferred arc, and force the bowler to miss margins. Once three or four land, the odds for five and six grow because the bowler’s plan often unravels.
What about videos—where can I watch them?
Broadcasters and board channels host official highlights. Clips of Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes, Pollard’s response to Dananjaya, and Gibbs’ ODI moment are ubiquitous on licensed platforms. Search by batter name and opponent for the swiftest route.
Beneath the headlines: six sixes as a craft
For players who have done it, the memories aren’t of crowd noise so much as snapshots: the seam rotating a fraction slower, a long-on fielder a step too square, the wind nudging from left to right. Ask them and you’ll hear about a brain gone quiet. The swing, the pose, the polite trot back to guard while the ball is still airborne.
For bowlers who endured it, there’s a strange pride too. The sport leaves marks. The higher you play, the more likely you’ll sit on the wrong end of history once. What matters is what comes next. Deliver a perfect yorker next over and you’ve already written the response.
For fans, it’s freedom. There are no caveats in the roar when that sixth ball clears the rope. Whether you call it six sixes in an over, 6 sixes in an over, 6 balls 6 sixes, or the local chorus—6 गेंदों में 6 छक्के—the feeling is the same. Cricket, for a glorious over, becomes very simple: see ball, hit ball, fly.
Appendix: quick-reference list of six-sixes instances, no dates by design
International
- Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa, ODI) vs Netherlands; bowler Daan van Bunge; Warner Park, Basseterre
- Yuvraj Singh (India, T20I) vs England; bowler Stuart Broad; Kingsmead, Durban
- Kieron Pollard (West Indies, T20I) vs Sri Lanka; bowler Akila Dananjaya; Antigua
- Jaskaran Malhotra (USA, ODI) vs Papua New Guinea; bowler Gaudi Toka; Al Amerat
- Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal, T20I) vs Qatar; bowler Kamran Khan; Al Amerat
Domestic, leagues, and first-class
- Sir Garfield Sobers (Nottinghamshire) vs Glamorgan; bowler Malcolm Nash; St Helen’s, Swansea
- Ravi Shastri (Bombay) vs Baroda; bowler Tilak Raj; Wankhede, Mumbai
- Ross Whiteley (Worcestershire) vs Yorkshire; bowler Karl Carver; Headingley, Leeds
- Hazratullah Zazai (Kabul Zwanan) vs Balkh Legends; bowler Abdullah Mazari; Sharjah
- Leo Carter (Canterbury) vs Northern Districts; bowler Anton Devcich; Hagley Oval, Christchurch
- Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka Army SC) vs Bloomfield; bowler Dilhan Cooray; Colombo
A closing thought
Cricket keeps its most explosive records in small boxes. Six names here, a handful there. Blink and the next one arrives from an unexpected corner of the world: Al Amerat under hard desert light, a T20 league night at Sharjah, a county afternoon with a sea breeze at Swansea. Every time it happens, the game resets what we think is possible in an over. And if you’re the one facing up on ball six, hands steady and breath held, the weight of the idea doesn’t matter. There’s only the bowler, the seam on release, and a swing you’ve practiced a million times that suddenly feels beautifully inevitable. That’s the essence of six sixes in an over—the rare cricketing minute when destiny can be measured in exactly 36.