Tim Southee equals Chris Gayle’s six-hitting record in farewell Test – Times of India

Tim Southee bats against England at Seddon Park in Hamilton. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: In his final Test match at Seddon Park on Saturday, New Zealand pacer Tim Southee tied the six-hitting record held by former West Indies batsman Chris Gayle.
After Adam Gilchrist (100), Brendon McCullum (107), and Ben Stokes (133), Southee and Gayle now have a same total of sixes (98) in Test cricket.
On the first day of the third Test match against England, Southee entered to bat at 272/8 in the first innings. In his final Test match, England players presented him with a guard of honor.
On the opening ball of his innings, Southee faced Ben Stokes and missed it entirely.
But Southee hit two huge sixes over mid-wicket and deep square-leg in Stokes’ next over, and then he hit a single off the next ball. In keeping with his explosive play, Southee edged the next delivery to the point boundary after hitting the opening ball of Gus Atkinson’s next over for six over mid-wicket.
When Southee mistimed a slog and Brydon Carse made the catch, Atkinson finally got his retribution. With a strike rate of 230 and a scorching 10-ball 23, Southee left the game after what was the third-fastest Test innings by a New Zealand batsman with a 10-ball cut-off.
Surprisingly, Southee’s 10-ball 24 not out against Sri Lanka in 2019 earned him the second position on the list.
With his second six during his innings, Southee equaled Jacques Kallis for sixth place on the all-time Test six-hitting record with 97 sixes. He tied Chris Gayle for fourth place with the third six.
He may break Adam Gilchrist’s record with one more six and become the fourth player to notch 100 Test sixes with just two more.
Southee’s exceptional numbers are highlighted by three distinct factors: he has never batted in the top seven, he hits sixes more frequently than anybody else, and he scores more runs with sixes than fours.