Probably not – but I have…
Focusing on test cricket (as it is the truest and purest form of the game) and using cricinfo’s table, which has hitting 30 sixes as the benchmark by which to be noticed, then here is a list of the best hitters of sixes in test history (where the numerical measurement is the number of sixes hit per innings – and so ‘best’ is defined here as most frequent which seems reasonable to me):
1. Shahid Afridi (1.08)
2. Chris Cairns (.837)
3. Adam Gilchrist (.730)
4. Andrew Flintoff (.631)
5. Craig McMillan (.593)
6. Virender Sehwag (.527)
7. Navjot Sidhu (.490)
8. Michael Holding (.477)
9. Chris Gayle (.472)
10. Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (.462)
11. Matthew Hayden (.446)
12. Imran Khan (.437)
13. Ian Botham (.420)
14. Brendon McCullum (.413)
Who will be the next person to join this list?
What’s more, if he keeps hitting at his current rate for just five more innings, he will join the list at number two – at around .920.
If you had twenty guesses I bet you wouldn’t get the right name. 🙂
He is a New Zealander which will mean the list has TWO from Australia, England, India, and Pakistan; THREE from the West Indies; and FOUR from New Zealand – confirming my suspicion that Kiwis cultivate good hitters of the ball, even if they are not known to stick around long enough to have the kind of averages needed to win test matches… (and I don’t think the smaller grounds is a complete enough reason for this over-representation of Kiwis in the list). Oh yes – and that name?! Tim Southee. Go figure.
nice chatting, always nice to chat about cricket
Paul
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
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After the recent tour of England by the New Zealand team (June 2013), Tim Southee has slotted in at #2 with a figure of .8372 – just squeaking ahead of Chris Cairns at .8365. Whichever way you look, it is a remarkable statistic for him to have achieved.
Now Southee needs to add some mental skill to his physical skill – put his head down a bit more – and get his Test average above Cairns as well.
Some serious changes to this list in 3.5 years, reflecting the growing aggression in Test cricket – and a little bit of bigger bats and boundaries being pulled in…
Southee has dropped to .790
McCullum has lifted to .583
Lots of newcomers: Misbah (.550); Sammy/Rafique (.540); Haddin (.482); Bravo (.463); Warner (.450); and Pieterson (.448)
Paul