Top 10 Longest Sixes in Cricket History
To hit the biggest six, you need power and perfect timing, today we will look at the top 10 batters who smashed the biggest sixes in cricket history. Spectators adore the excitement of witnessing balls soar past the boundary ropes. Sixes being hit over ninety meters or more are a common sight in the thrilling modern era of Twenty20 cricket.
Longest Six in Cricket History: Top 10 List
There have been some incredibly big sixes hit in cricket history even before power hitting became recognized as a crucial ability.
1) Shahid Afridi — Reported ~153m (disputed)
Pakistan vs South Africa, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg — March 17, 2013
Facing Ryan McLaren in the 35th over of a run chase, Afridi picked a length ball early and sent it over the grandstand roof. The shot is almost universally cited as the longest in international cricket, with widely reported figures ranging from 153m up to an inflated 158m in some retellings.
Complicating the legend: several sources report that the ICC’s own record book lists the shot at a considerably shorter 120m, and no broadcast tracking data from the match has been published to settle the gap. High altitude at the Wanderers one of the reasons Johannesburg produces so many big-hitting records is often cited as a contributing factor regardless of the exact distance.
2) Brett Lee — Reported ~130–143m
Australia vs West Indies, the Gabba, Brisbane — 2005 (Test match)
Brett Lee, one of the fastest bowlers of his generation, hit Darren Powell over the stadium roof and into the Gabba’s practice nets during a Test innings, on his way to 47. It’s frequently called the longest six ever recorded before Afridi’s 2013 shot, though sources disagree on the exact distance, with figures ranging from 130m to 143m depending on the outlet. It remains one of the most replayed moments of a bowler out-hitting specialist batters.
3) Shahid Afridi — Reported ~118m
Pakistan vs Australia, Johannesburg — 2005 (ODI)
A separate, earlier Afridi six, also at a Johannesburg ground, off Shane Watson. It’s a genuinely distinct event from the 2013 McLaren six and is sometimes conflated with it in less careful listicles — worth noting since Afridi produced enough big hits over his career that different sources occasionally mix up the details of which six belongs to which match.
4) Yuvraj Singh — Reported ~119m
India vs Australia, T20 World Cup semi-final, 2007
Part of the innings that made Yuvraj a household name — the same tournament in which he hit six sixes in an over against England. His 119m six off Brett Lee remains the most cited “longest six by an Indian batter” in the T20 format, in a match India went on to win en route to the title.
5) Martin Guptill — Reported ~127m
New Zealand vs South Africa, T20I, Wellington — 2012
Widely cited as the longest six recorded in T20 international cricket. Guptill went after Lonwabo Tsotsobe over the mid-wicket boundary, the ball reportedly striking the roof of the stand before dropping back onto the field.
6) MS Dhoni — Reported ~118–121m
India vs New Zealand, ODI — 2009
Dhoni’s short-arm jab produced one of the most replayed sixes of his career, generally cited around 118–121m depending on the source. Different listicles attach this figure to different matches and bowlers across Dhoni’s career — a reminder that even for a player as heavily documented as Dhoni, six-distance claims aren’t consistently sourced from one authoritative record.
7) Adam Gilchrist — Reported ~122m
Australia vs England, World Cup group stage — 2007
During his destructive 149 off 104 balls, Gilchrist hit seven sixes, one of which — off Liam Plunkett — is commonly cited at around 122m, landing well back in the stands. Gilchrist’s aggressive, minimal-backlift style made him a fixture on “biggest hits” lists throughout his career.
8) Corey Anderson — Reported ~122m
New Zealand vs India, Napier — January 2014 (ODI)
Hit during the innings that also produced, at the time, the fastest century in ODI history — a 36-ball hundred in the same match. Anderson’s six off Mohammed Shami reportedly cleared the Napier ground boundary by a wide margin, in a match New Zealand won by 24 runs.
9) Liam Livingstone — Reported ~122m
Pakistan vs England, T20I, Headingley — 2021
One of the more recent entries on this list, and among the better-documented given modern broadcast tracking. Livingstone hit Haris Rauf over the newly built Emerald Stand, with the ball reportedly landing on the adjacent rugby ground.
10) Mark Waugh — Reported ~120m
Australia vs New Zealand, WACA, Perth — Test match
One of the earliest entries still commonly cited on “longest six” lists, from an era before any real tracking technology existed — meaning the distance is essentially an eyewitness estimate. Waugh came down the pitch to Daniel Vettori and drove the ball a reported 120m down the ground, in a match Australia won by an innings.