Top 10 Longest Sixes Ever Hit in International Cricket

Brett Lee’s Gabba hit is estimated at 130–135 metres, while Tim David’s Hobart six was reported as a 129-metre projection and Martin Guptill’s Wellington shot at 127 metres. Those numbers make compelling cricket history, but they do not establish a certified all-time world record. [1] [15] [16]

No complete, standardized all-history international six-distance dataset was verified for this review. The ten cases below are ordered by their reported figures, with estimates and projections labelled. They are not ten independently certified measurements from one tracking system.

The distinction is important when comparing a modern broadcast figure with an older reconstruction. The table keeps the method beside each number, and the individual accounts explain what the sources can actually establish.

This is one of the historical guides in the Cricket Insights hub. It concerns the distance of a single hit in senior international cricket—not career six totals, domestic hitting or a player’s general reputation for power.

Ten source-qualified reported cases

The positions are a practical ordering of the published numbers, not a claim that a 120-metre reconstruction is physically longer than a 119-metre broadcast reading. Waugh’s and Afridi’s approximately 120-metre reconstructions cannot be distinguished confidently from one another or from nearby reported figures at this precision. The table is best understood as ten traceable historical cases with different evidence labels.

How distance claims were evaluated

A case needed a named batter, a single six, a senior men’s or women’s international match, a source that actually discussed the distance, and enough match detail to identify the event. Domestic, club, franchise, exhibition and youth matches were excluded. A scorecard verifies the innings and the number of sixes; it does not, on its own, measure a ball’s flight.

The article uses “distance” for the reported airborne or unobstructed-equivalent range, not a post-contact roll. A roof, stand or net can interrupt a ball before it reaches the ground. A specialist may then reconstruct where the ball would have gone, while a broadcast system may publish a rounded estimate without leaving a public calibration record. Venue context is useful, but a source-checked stadium guide cannot turn boundary geometry into a certified distance.

That distinction also separates single-hit distance from overall batting danger: power and impact are not the same as one isolated six, as the most dangerous batsmen comparison makes clear. The figures below are not silently upgraded to “world records” simply because they are famous.

1. Brett Lee — approximately 130–135 metres at the Gabba

During Australia’s first Test against West Indies at Brisbane’s Gabba, played from 3 to 6 November 2005, Brett Lee made 47 and hit one six. The full scorecard confirms the Test, venue, innings and six count. [2]

Charles Davis’s specialist analysis in The Cricket Monthly gives the hit an unimpeded-equivalent estimate of 130–135 metres and separately discusses the ball lodging in netting about 135 metres from the bat. The source flags the unusual carbon-fibre-reinforced bat, possible roof contact and uncertainty around bounce or rollout. [1]

The responsible wording is therefore “approximately 130–135 metres in a specialist reconstruction”, not “Lee officially hit 135 metres in the air”. The popular 143-metre version is not used: no authenticated primary metre reading was located for it. The scorecard also does not prove which bowler delivered Lee’s six, so the bowler should not be supplied as fact merely because a later dismissal involved that player. [2]

Evidence label: strongest high-end specialist estimate in this review, but not a certified airborne measurement.

2. Tim David — approximately 129 metres projected beyond the sign

In Australia’s third T20I against India at Hobart on 2 November 2025, Tim David scored 74 from 38 balls and hit five sixes. Cricket Australia’s innings video and contemporary reporting describe a six off Axar Patel that struck a stadium sign and was calculated at approximately 129 metres had it not hit the sign. [15] [16]

This is included because the figure is a documented, attributable broadcast/reporting claim rather than an anonymous listicle number. It is also labelled honestly: 129 metres is a projected unobstructed distance, not a surveyed landing point. The sign interrupted the actual flight, and the accessible sources do not expose raw tracking data or a calibration method. [15] [16]

It belongs in a source-qualified record-check list alongside reconstructed older hits, but it must not be described as an official all-time record. The five sixes and match context are verifiable; the projected distance remains a reported estimate.

Evidence label: reported projection; not a physical landing-distance measurement.

3. Martin Guptill — 127 metres at Wellington

Martin Guptill’s famous hit came against South Africa in the first T20I at Wellington on 17 February 2012. The contemporary match report identifies two huge sixes off Lonwabo Tsotsobe, measured at 102 and 127 metres; the scorecard records Guptill’s unbeaten 78, four sixes and the senior international context. [3] [4]

Reuters, republished by Rediff, described the second shot as hitting the roof and being measured at 127 metres “on the fly”. Davis’s specialist explanation treats it as a trajectory-tracked, unimpeded-equivalent distance: the roof was roughly 105 metres horizontally from the bat, while 127 metres represented its estimated unobstructed range had the ball continued to ground level. [1] [5]

That makes the claim more useful than a bare “127 m” listicle entry, but it does not make it a tape-measured landing distance. The match was a T20I, not an ODI, a mistake repeated by some secondary pages. [3] [4] [5]

Evidence label: reported trajectory/tracking estimate with specialist context; raw calibration unavailable.

4. Liam Livingstone — 122 metres at Headingley

Liam Livingstone hit the six for England against Pakistan in the second T20I at Emerald Headingley, Leeds, on 18 July 2021. ESPNcricinfo’s contemporary report records his enormous hit over the new stand, while BBC Sport independently describes the two sixes, including the second off Haris Rauf that reached the rugby ground. [6] [7]

A later ESPNcricinfo profile states that the Haris Rauf six was measured at 122 metres. The ECB preserves official match-video context, but the accessible page does not provide the underlying Hawk-Eye readout, calibration or uncertainty margin. [8] [9]

The precise claim is consequently “a reported measured 122-metre six”, not “the longest six ever”. The match and batter are well established; the measurement is attributed but not independently auditable.

Evidence label: contemporary reported measurement with independent match/video corroboration.

5. Mark Waugh — about 120 metres at the WACA

Mark Waugh’s six against New Zealand in the second Test at Perth’s WACA, played from 20 to 23 November 1997, reached the roof of the Lillee–Marsh Stand. Cricket Australia’s official footage identifies the shot and Daniel Vettori as the bowler; the scorecard records Waugh’s 86 and one six. [10] [11]

The Cricket Monthly reconstructs an unimpeded distance of about 120 metres, publishing the cautious wording “120m, perhaps”. It is a venue and map reconstruction, not trajectory tracking or a tape measurement. The distance represents an estimated return of the ball’s path to ground level, not a verified landing point. [1]

The November New Zealand Test matters: a frequently circulated February 1997 WACA match is a different event and does not contain Vettori. The relevant case is the one identified above. [10] [11]

Evidence label: specialist venue reconstruction; approximate and method-dependent.

6. Shahid Afridi — approximately 120 metres, not the viral 153

Shahid Afridi’s roof-clearing shot against South Africa at Johannesburg on 17 March 2013 is a real match event: the scorecard records his 88 and seven sixes, and contemporary reporting describes the ball hitting the Centenary Stand roof. [1] [30] [31]

The 153-metre figure is not accepted as a settled measurement. The specialist reconstruction reviewed places the shot at about 120 metres unimpeded, with a careful explanation of the no-ball/free-hit sequence; that estimate is included on the same explicitly qualified basis as the older Lee and Waugh reconstructions. It is not a certified 153-metre record. The safe wording is “a spectacular roof shot with disputed distance claims”.

Evidence label: specialist venue reconstruction; the widely repeated 153-, 158- and 160-metre claims are not accepted measurements. [1]

7. Yuvraj Singh — 119 metres in the 2007 World Twenty20 semi-final

In India’s second semi-final against Australia at Kingsmead, Durban, on 22 September 2007, Yuvraj Singh scored 70 from 30 balls and hit five sixes. The ICC says a flick off Brett Lee was measured at 119 metres, while contemporary ESPNcricinfo reporting attributes the tournament’s distance figures to ICC broadcast-partner technology. [12] [13] [14]

This is one of the clearest official-source claims in the set, but its scope is narrow. “Longest hit of that competition” does not mean “longest six in all international cricket”, and the accessible sources do not provide raw calibration or a margin of error. The scorecard verifies the match and participants, not the individual delivery’s distance. [12] [13] [14]

Evidence label: ICC-reported broadcast-technology figure; no public raw telemetry.

8. Chris Gayle — reported 116 metres against India

Sportskeeda reports that one of Chris Gayle’s seven sixes in his 98 from 66 balls travelled 116 metres, hit against Yusuf Pathan during West Indies’ match against India at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, on 9 May 2010. The ESPNcricinfo scorecard confirms the senior World Twenty20 match, Gayle’s 98, five fours and seven sixes, India’s bowling entry for Yusuf Pathan, and West Indies’ 14-run win. [17] [18] [19]

The scorecard does not identify which delivery produced the reported distance, and no raw tracking record or measurement protocol is exposed. The number is therefore retained as a prominent reported figure, not a certified record. It should also not be mixed with separate domestic claims of 119 metres in the IPL or 120 metres in the Big Bash.

Evidence label: attributed secondary report with strong match corroboration; distance method unavailable.

9. Mitchell Marsh — 115 metres at the MCG

Cricket Australia’s official video, dated 22 November 2022, says Mitchell Marsh hit an “enormous 115-metre six” off England’s Olly Stone at the MCG in the final over of Australia’s third ODI innings. The associated CA match report confirms the Australia–England ODI, the MCG, Marsh’s 30 from 16 balls and Australia’s 221-run victory in a rain-shortened 48-over match. [20] [21]

This is a board-hosted figure and is therefore more traceable than an unattributed social post. It is still a broadcast/reporting estimate: no raw telemetry, measurement method or certified all-time ranking is shown. The match report’s score and the video’s 115-metre wording should be kept together rather than treated as a laboratory result. [20] [21] [22] [23]

Evidence label: official board-reported figure; method and uncertainty not disclosed.

10. Shane Watson — 114 metres at Manuka Oval

After reaching his seventh ODI century against West Indies at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on 6 February 2013, Shane Watson clubbed Kemar Roach for a six reported by News24 as 114 metres (374 feet). The same report says he struck a four next and was dismissed two balls later off Roach. [24]

ESPN’s full scorecard corroborates the third ODI, the venue and date, Watson’s 122 from 111 balls with two sixes, Roach’s bowling and the match result. ESPNcricinfo’s player profile establishes Watson’s extensive senior international career. The scorecard does not provide the distance or measurement method, so 114 metres remains a contemporary reported estimate rather than an official scorecard statistic. [25] [26]

Evidence label: contemporary attributed report with full match corroboration; measurement protocol unavailable.

Other well-known sixes and disputed claims

MS Dhoni — 112 metres in Adelaide

MS Dhoni’s final-over six off Clint McKay at Adelaide on 12 February 2012 is documented by Cricket Australia, ESPNcricinfo, The Guardian and Wisden. Those sources attach a 112-metre figure to the shot and identify the dramatic limited-overs finish. [27] [28] [29]

The figure is included under the same standard used for the other broadcast or contemporary reported cases. None of the accessible sources explains whether 112 metres came from telemetry, a broadcast estimate or another method. The scorecard and match reports establish the six and its context; they do not certify the number. [27] [28]

Evidence label: widely reported historical figure; method not disclosed.

Corey Anderson and Jacob Oram — plausible events, unverified numbers

Corey Anderson’s roof shot against India at Napier in January 2014 is a credible event, but the 122-metre number appears in later listicles without a primary measurement trail. Jacob Oram’s 2007 WACA innings and huge sixes are also documented, while the often-repeated 130-metre number lacks an identified measurement method. They are not promoted into the ten source-qualified cases. The player’s height is irrelevant to the distance claim.

What this list proves—and what it does not

It shows ten international six-distance claims that can be tied to a named batter, match and attributable reporting or reconstruction. It does not establish a permanent world record. The methods differ, the old figures are often rounded, and the public sources do not expose a single historical calibration standard.

The most honest ranking language is therefore “reported”, “estimated”, “projected” or “reconstructed”. A projected 129 metres beyond a sign, a specialist 130–135-metre equivalent and a broadcast 112 metres are all meaningful evidence, but they are not interchangeable measurements. Distance here means the reported unobstructed or airborne-equivalent range, not trajectory arc length plus bounce and rollout.

FAQ

What is the longest reported six in international cricket?

The largest cautious figure in this review is Brett Lee’s approximately 130–135-metre specialist estimate at the 2005 Gabba Test. It is a reconstruction with roof, bat and rollout caveats, not an official world record. Tim David’s reported 129-metre figure is a projection beyond a stadium sign. [1] [2] [15] [16]

Was Martin Guptill’s 127-metre hit an ODI record?

No. It came in a senior T20I against South Africa at Wellington in 2012. The scorecard and contemporary reporting identify the format as T20I. [3] [4] [5]

Did Shahid Afridi really hit a 153-metre six?

The roof shot happened, but 153 metres is not verified in the reviewed evidence. The strongest specialist reconstruction puts the unobstructed distance at about 120 metres, so 153 metres should be described as disputed folklore, not fact. [1] [30] [31]

Are these distances measured to where the ball landed?

Not consistently. Guptill’s 127 metres and Waugh’s approximately 120 metres are described as trajectory-equivalent or unimpeded estimates. A roof or sign can stop the actual flight, and a final bounce or roll is not the same as airborne carry.

Are broadcast six distances official world records?

Not automatically. A broadcaster or board may publish a distance for a particular shot without certifying an all-time record. Compare the source, measurement method and match context before treating a number as a record.

Does a scorecard prove a six’s distance?

No. A scorecard proves the match, batter, runs and often the number of sixes. Distance needs a source tied to the particular hit—such as a broadcast report, board video, contemporary account or specialist reconstruction.

Conclusion

Long-six history is most useful when the number and its method travel together. Lee, David, Guptill, Livingstone, Waugh, Afridi, Yuvraj, Gayle, Marsh and Watson provide ten traceable cases, but the list is not a universal measuring registry. Afridi’s larger viral numbers and the Anderson and Oram claims remain disputed; Dhoni’s well-reported 112-metre Adelaide six is covered separately rather than displacing a higher reported figure.

The result is a practical source-qualified guide: impressive distances, identifiable matches and clear limits, rather than a false promise that every historical six was measured on the same scale.