Former New Zealand captain Southee came into his final Test, at the Seddon Park, with 95 sixes to his name. He came to bat at 272-8 amidst a guard of honour with about half an hour’s cricket left on day one.
He missed the first ball he faced, from Ben Stokes, the leading six-hitter in the history of Test cricket. That concluded the over. In Stokes’s next over, Southee hit two towering sixes, over mid-wicket and deep square-leg, before taking a single off the fifth ball. He dismissed the first ball of the next over, from Gus Atkinson, for six as well, over mid-wicket, and quasi-edged the next ball to the point boundary.
Read more: England line up for Tim Southee guard of honour in seamer's final Test
However, Atkinson had his revenge when Southee mistimed a slog off the next ball and Brydon Carse held the skier. Southee walked back for a 10-ball 23. The strike rate of 230 made it the third-fastest Test innings by a New Zealand batter with a 10-ball cut-off. At second place is another Southee blitz – the 10-ball 24 not out against Sri Lanka in 2019.
The second of his three sixes today took Southee to 97 sixes, at par with Jacques Kallis at fifth place. The third helped him draw level with Chris Gayle at fourth place. Two more sixes – he still has that second innings – will make him the fourth cricketer to the landmark, while a third will take him past Adam Gilchrist’s tally.
Three things make Southee’s figures even more astonishing. One, he has never batted in the top seven. Two, he has hit sixes more often than anyone with than anyone. And three, he has not hit a lot of fours.
Matthew Potts has an incredible record against Kane Williamson 😳
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 14, 2024
He’s dismissed the Kiwi legend in four out of five Test innings, conceding only 11 runs.
Read here ➡️ https://t.co/2HvvKpjRQm pic.twitter.com/ZdIm2ADadt
Most sixes in Test cricket (up to December 14, 2024)
BF = balls faced, PCT6 = percentage of career runs in sixes, R46 = ratio of fours to sixes
| Player | Team | Runs | BF | 4s | 6s | Balls/6 | PCT6 | R46 |
| Ben Stokes | England | 6,692 | 11,208 | 773 | 133 | 84 | 11.9% | 5.8 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 6,453 | 9,989 | 776 | 107 | 93 | 9.9% | 7.3 |
| Adam Gilchrist | Australia | 5,570 | 6,796 | 677 | 100 | 68 | 10.8% | 6.8 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 7,214 | 11,970 | 1,046 | 98 | 122 | 8.2% | 10.7 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 2,243 | 2,710 | 215 | 98 | 28 | 26.2% | 2.2 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 13,289 | 28,903 | 1,488 | 97 | 298 | 4.4% | 15.3 |
| Virender Sehwag | India | 8,586 | 10,441 | 1,233 | 91 | 115 | 6.4% | 13.5 |
| Brian Lara | West Indies | 11,953 | 19,753 | 1,559 | 88 | 224 | 4.4% | 17.7 |
| Angelo Mathews | Sri Lanka | 8,042 | 16,604 | 820 | 88 | 189 | 6.6% | 9.3 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 4,279 | 7,466 | 471 | 88 | 85 | 12.3% | 5.4 |
- Rohit and Mathews and, for this Test match, Southee, are active Test players
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
