Cricket is a stats-driven sport, and there are some stats which are mind-boggling. In this article, we will talk about one such stat that is very interesting, and it is about the longest sixes in cricket history. Just like scoring runs is a habit, hitting sixes is also an art.
But it takes a lot of power and good timing to clear the boundary and send the ball a long way. In the era where the size of the boundaries is around 65–70 meters, we have players who have hit the sixes double of the boundary size. The longest six was a record over 150 meters in the game. Here, we will talk about the top ten longest sixes in the history of cricket.
Table of Contents
173 Meter Six: What’s the truth behind this stat?
Longest six in cricket history 173 meters truth behind this? Fans love to watch batters hitting big sixes, and such videos go viral on the internet very fast. One such video went viral a few years ago, where a batter hit the ball, which landed on the golf course. It is said to travel for 173 meters. But officially, the actual distance covered was 130 m, and it was hit by Aiden Blizzard off the bowling of Nathan Bracken at the WACA cricket ground during the BBL game. But the actual distance was 130 meters. So let’s talk about the top ten longest sixes in the international cricket history.
List of Top 10 Longest Sixes in Cricket History
10. Ijaz Ahmed (Pakistan) – 115 Meters
Former Pakistani batter Ijaz Ahmed, who played 60 Tests and 250 ODIs for his country, was a conventional batter. But he has the tendency to hit the spinners out of the park. He played international cricket between 1986 and 2001. In the game against India during the Pepsi Cup 1999, he played an important role in helping his team win. In that match, he hit a 115-metre six off Virender Sehwag, which is one of the longest sixes in cricket history.
9. Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 116 Meters
It will be a surprise to many that the man who is a six-hitting machine comes at no. 10 on this list. We are talking about Chris Gayle, who is certainly the best white-ball hitter that the game has ever seen. The West Indian opener has sent many balls out of the stadium, but his biggest six came in the game against India during the 2010 T20 World Cup. It was the game at Kensington Oval where he smashed Yusaf Pathan for a six of 116 meter.
8. MS Dhoni (India) – 118 Meters
The former Indian captain MS Dhoni came onto the scene; he was one of the biggest six-hitters on the domestic circuit, and he lived up to the expectations very well. The Indian captain hit 359 sixes in his international career, and a number of them went out of the ground. No one can forget his six to take India to a 2011 World Cup win at Wankhede Stadium. But his longest six came at a crucial time in the ODI against New Zealand in 2009 in Auckland. He hit a 118-metre six, which landed in the top tier and is one of the biggest sixes by an Indian.
7. Yuvraj Singh (India) – 119 Meters
No Indian fan can forget the beast mode of Yuvraj Singh during the 2007 T20 World Cup. He smashed England’s Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in an over. In the same tournament, he recorded the longest six by an Indian batter. It came in the semi-final against Australia, where he scored 70 off 30 balls. He hit five sixes in his innings, and his longest came off Brett Lee. It was a pacy delivery by Lee, and Yuvraj just flicked the ball, which was 119 meters long. That knock helped India qualify for the finals.
6. Mark Waugh (Australia) – 120 Meters
Steve Waugh was the second Australian captain to take his country to win the ODI World Cup in 1999. His brother Mark was also a gifted cricketer, but he always lived under the shadow of Steve Waugh. Mark was more of a flamboyant cricketer, registered one of the longest sixes in cricket. He did it during a test at WACA ground against New Zealand when he stepped down the ground and hit Daniel Vettori for a 120-metre-long hit. That hit got recorded in the record books.
5. Corey Anderson (New Zealand) – 122 Meters
Former Kiwi all-rounder and current USA player Corey Anderson also makes an entry on this list with one of his massive hits. The all-rounder made his name as one of the hardest hitters of the ball and has the record for the second-fastest ODI ton off just 36 balls. During an ODI against India in 2014, Anderson registered one massive six. It was a ball from Mohammad Shami at the Napier Cricket Ground which was 122 meters long. He scored 68 off 40 balls in that game, and New Zealand won the game by 24 runs.
4. Liam Livingstone (England) – 122 Meters
Liam Livingstone has established himself as one of the most powerful strikers in cricket. He used to play a lot of T20 cricket, which demands more sixes from the batter. That’s where he recorded the biggest six by an English player. It was the third and final T20I against Pakistan at Headingly in 2021. In that inning, he recorded his maiden international century while chasing a 200+ total. He scored 103 runs. In that inning, he hit Haris Rauf for a six, which travelled 122 meters and became the longest six by an English batter.
3. Martin Guptill (New Zealand) – 127 Meters
Martin Guptill was one of the most aggressive openers of his time. He was very destructive in white-ball cricket and is the only Kiwi batter with an ODI double hundred (237*). Guptill recorded the third-longest six in cricket history. He had it during a T20I game against South Africa. New Zealand were chasing 148 runs, and Guptill made 70 off 55 to help his team win by six wickets. In the 5th over of the chase, he hit the pacer Lonwabo Tsotsobe for a 127-meter six over mid-wicket. The ball hit the roof of Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
2. Brett Lee (Australia) – 143 Meters
Brett Lee was one of the best fast bowlers that played the game. He was a fearsome pacer who was always in the face of the bowlers. He is one of the few bowlers who has recorded a ball at a speed of 100 mph. But not many would know that he was more than capable with the bat and has played many important innings for Australia. One of his batting highlights was the second-longest six ever. He hit a 143-metre-long six in a game against West Indies off Darren Powell at Gabba, which went over the ground and landed at the practice nets. Lee himself was surprised after hitting the ball that long.
1. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) – 153 Meters
If there is someone who can hit the very first ball for six, it is the biggest superstar from Pakistan, Shahid Afridi. He was a genuine six-hitting machine from Pakistan who retired with 476 international sixes, and some really big sixes were there from his bat. So it is not a surprise that he holds the record for the longest six in cricket history. He hit a six, which travelled 153 meters. It came against South Africa in 2013 from Ryan McLaren, which went out of the ground at Wanderers. Interestingly, just the ball before that, McLaren dismissed Afridi, but it was a no-ball, and the pacer celebrated aggressively. But it turned out to be a no-ball, and Afridi sent the ball very long on a free hit.
