Hitting a six is always one of the most exciting moments in cricket. Sometimes, the ball just clears the boundary, while other times it flies high into the stands and sends the crowd into a frenzy.
Vaayu Saxena from MyBettingSitesIndia.Com says, “Some sixes stand the test of time. Powerful shots from hard-hitting batsmen that send the ball into orbit and out of the stadium. Or big hits delivered at crucial moments in a match that change its course, like the one Virat Kohli produced against Haris Rauf at the MCG in the T20 World Cup.”
This article highlights the five longest and most memorable sixes in cricket history, focusing on the players, how far the ball travelled, and the size of the grounds.
1. Liam Livingstone
Liam Livingstone, the hard-hitting lower-order batsman, smoked a 122-meter monster off the bowling of Haris Rauf from Pakistan, sending the ball sailing over the stadium roof into one of the nearby rugby pitches. Known for his power hitting and aggressive brand of cricket, the English allrounder dealt with a rank hit-me delivery by clearing the front leg and taking a swipe at the ball to dispatch the ball out of the Headingley Cricket Ground, where the straight boundaries are longer (around 70-72 meters) than the square boundaries (around 66 meters).
Distance: 122m (400 feet)
Opposition Bowler: Haris Rauf (Pace)
Match: England vs Pakistan, 2021
Format: T20I
Ground: Headingley, Leeds.
2. Martin Guptill
The lanky Kiwi opener, known for providing his team with explosive starts at the top of the order, smashed a 127-meter six to officially enter the record books as one of the longest sixes in the history of the game. The flamboyant right-handed batsman capitalised fully on a full delivery from South African left-arm medium pacer Lonwabo Tsotsobe and lofted it over cow corner, with the ball clearing the stands and touching the roof before bouncing back onto the ground. While grounds in New Zealand are not renowned for being particularly large, a shot of this distance would have comfortably cleared the stands in any of the bigger grounds worldwide.
Distance: 127m (~417 feet)
Opposition Bowler: Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Pace)
Match: New Zealand vs South Africa, 2012
Format: T20I
Ground: Westpac Stadium, Wellington.
3. Tim David
Tim David, renowned for being a fierce hitter capable of giving the ball a proper whack, displayed his finest power-hitting skills with a massive six, measuring 129 metres and becoming the longest six in the history of T20 internationals to date. Unlike the other two batters on this list, Tim scored this enormous six off Axar Patel, a left-arm spin bowler from India. The ball was right in the slot for Tim to dispatch it anywhere, and he deposited it on the roof with a powerful shot straight over the sightscreen. He comfortably cleared the boundary multiple times that day at the Blundstone Arena, which features a shorter square boundary (around 68m) but a longer straight boundary (around 88m).
Distance: 129m (~423 feet)
Opposition Bowler: Axar Patel (Spin)
Match: Australia vs India, 2025
Format: T20I
Ground: Bellerive Oval, Hobart
As a globetrotting T20 specialist, Tim David is enjoying an excellent run and is already a top favourite on IPL betting sites to hit more sixes in the upcoming season.
4. Brett Lee
The allure of cricket is that even some bowlers can enjoy themselves and etch their names in the batting records, just like Brett Lee did back in 2005 against the West Indies in the Brisbane Test. Facing West Indian pacer Darren Powell, Brett Lee threw caution to the wind and unleashed a massive shot off a full toss, sending the ball soaring over mid-wicket into the roof of the stadium. Known for hitting long balls, Brett Lee effortlessly deposited the ball into the stands at The Gabba (Brisbane Cricket Ground), where the boundary dimensions both straight and square of the wicket are quite large, challenging even the biggest hitters out there.
Distance: 143m (~469 feet)
Opposition Bowler: Darren Powell (Spin)
Match: Australia vs West Indies, 2005
Format: Test
Ground: The Gabba, Brisbane
5. Shahid Afridi
Known widely as Boom Boom Afridi, the Pakistani batsman showed everyone that he still had the sheer power he was known for when he first burst onto the scene. Taking full advantage of a slot delivery sent down by South African medium pacer Ryan McLaren, Afridi teed off. He deposited the ball way over the roof into the nearby golf course, putting his name on the record books for arguably the longest hit ever across formats in international cricket. He went where the ball tends to travel faster due to the higher altitude. In terms of dimensions, this stadium is considered moderately-sized, but a shot this powerful would have been sufficient to clear the stands in even the biggest cricket stadiums of the world, like the MCG.
Distance: 153m (~502 feet)
Opposition Bowler: Ryan McLaren (Pace)
Match: South Africa vs Pakistan, 2013
Format: ODI
Ground: The Wanderers, Johannesburg
It’s worth noting that some of these sixes happened before advanced ball-tracking technology, so the exact distances may not be fully accurate.
