STAT: In farewell match, Tim Southee equals Chris Gayle’s Test sixes tally, two short of 100 maximums | Cricket News
In his potentially penultimate walk to the crease, Tim Southee smote three maximums against England at the Seddon Park in Hamilton to move up to joint-fourth on the all-time Test six-hitting charts on Saturday.
Walking in at No. 10 in his farewell Test, Southee equalled West Indies legend Chris Gayle’s tally of 98 sixes with his third maximum during a 10-ball 23 cameo for the Kiwis. His third strike over the fence also took him past Jacques Kallis on the all-time charts. Southee walked out to cheers and a guard of honour from the English side led by Ben Stokes. New Zealand reached 315 for nine at stumps on the opening day of the third and final Test.
9️⃣8️⃣* Test Sixes 💥
Playing his last Test, #TimSouthee equals the Universe Boss #ChrisGayle, for the 4th most sixes in Test cricket 🔥 😲#SonySportsNetwork #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/aUL16ynOwU
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) December 14, 2024
The 36-year-old, playing in his 107th Test, is on the cusp of an unlikely Test record with potentially another innings left in his career. Southee could become only the fourth batter after his former captain Brendon McCullum, Adam Gilchrist and Stokes to slam 100 sixes in Test cricket. In all likelihood, Southee will become the fastest batter to hit the century mark, after boasting a jaw-dropping six-hitting ratio in whites.
Southee’s balls-per-six ratio stands at a staggering 27.65 deliveries per maximum in Tests, the best for all batters with at least 50 sixes. To put into context, it took the mighty Gayle 11915 deliveries to reach 98 maximums, a mark Southee reached in only 2708 balls on Saturday!
Most Test sixes
| Player | Inns | Balls faced | SR | 6s | Balls per six |
| Ben Stokes | 192 | 10974 | 59.65 | 131 | 83.77 |
| Brendon McCullum | 176 | 9989 | 64.6 | 107 | 93.35 |
| Adam Gilchrist | 137 | 6796 | 81.95 | 100 | 67.96 |
| Tim Southee | 155 | 2710 | 82.76 | 98 | 27.65 |
| Chris Gayle | 182 | 11970 | 60.26 | 98 | 122.1 |
| Jacques Kallis | 280 | 28903 | 45.97 | 97 | 297.96 |
| Virender Sehwag | 180 | 10441 | 82.23 | 91 | 114.736 |
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