England have recently adopted the Bazball approach to batting in Test cricket, inspired by their coach Brendon McCullum. It has seen the Three Lions’ batters bat with attacking intent from the start, taking on the opposition bowlers from the get go.
So, it hardly came as a surprise when Harry Brook became the first English batter to smash six fours in an over in a Test match. The former U19 captain slammed the record against Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel at Rawalpindi in England’s 2022 tour of Pakistan.
The Yorkshire-based Brook, England’s fourth centurion in the first Test against Pakistan, played a combination of drives, pulls and cuts, displaying peak bottom-handed batting in the 68th over of the first innings to score 24 runs.
However, four other batters before Brook had hit six fours in an over in the longest format - the record for most fours in an over in Tests.
Indian opener Sandeep Patil was the first batter to hit six fours in an over in Test cricket. In 1982, when Test batting was defensive and classical, Patil took on Bob Willis at Old Trafford in Manchester, accumulating 25 runs in the over. Although the fourth ball was a dot, the opener had smashed a boundary of the previous delivery, which was a no-ball. Patil smashed 129 runs in the innings.
In 2004 against England, West Indies legend Chris Gayle became the first batter to smash six-consecutive fours in an over in Tests. The left-hander thrashed four balls on the off-side and two on the leg-side, leaving Matthew Hoggard perplexed.
Another West Indian, Ramnaresh Sarwan, etched himself in the history books when he smashed six fours off Munaf Patel’s over in a Test against India in 2006. Apart from an inside edge off the fourth ball, Sarwan was in complete control, stroking the Indian bowler on all parts of the ground to complete his set on the sixth ball.
Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya smacked James Anderson of England for six back-to-back fours in 2007. Jayasuriya lofted Anderson over covers on the first and last ball of the over to help him get his six fours.
Meanwhile, England opener John Edrich holds the record for most fours in a Test innings, smashing 52 fours against New Zealand in 1965.
Most fours in an over in a Test match
|
Year |
Batter |
Country |
Bowler (Opposition) |
Fours |
|
1982 |
Sandeep Patil |
India |
Bob Willis (England) |
6 |
|
2004 |
Chris Gayle |
West Indies |
Matthew Hoggard (England) |
6 |
|
2006 |
Ramnaresh Sarwan |
West Indies |
Munaf Patel (India) |
6 |
|
2007 |
Sanath Jayasuriya |
Sri Lanka |
James Anderson (England) |
6 |
|
2022 |
Harry Brook |
England |
Saud Shakeel (Pakistan) |
6 |
Featured photo: Alamy
