print icon
Stats Analysis

33 sixes in a year, 26 runs in an over

Stats highlights from a frenetic day in Christchurch, where New Zealand scored at a run rate of 5.32 per over

S Rajesh
S Rajesh
26-Dec-2014
Brendon McCullum has struck 33 sixes in Tests in 2014; the next best in any year is 22  •  AFP

Brendon McCullum has struck 33 sixes in Tests in 2014; the next best in any year is 22  •  AFP

429 Runs scored by New Zealand in a day, which equals the fourth highest in a day in a Test match in New Zealand. The highest is 442, in a Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Wellington in 1932. This is also the second-highest for New Zealand in a single day's play - they'd made 452 for 9 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2005. Click here for a list of most runs scored in a day in Tests.
195 Brendon McCullum's score, which is his fifth highest in Tests, and his fourth highest in Tests in 2014. Had he scored five more runs, he would have become only the second batsman - after Michael Clarke - to score four double-centuries in a year. He would have also almost certainly snatched the record for fastest double-century: the current record is Nathan Astle's 153 balls, while McCullum scored 195 off 134.
145.52 McCullum's strike rate over his entire innings, the fastest for a 150-plus innings in Tests (among innings for which balls-faced data is available).
74 Balls taken by McCullum to get to his century, the fastest in Tests by a New Zealand batsman. He broke his own record of 78 balls in the Test against Pakistan in Sharjah last month.
11 The number of sixes McCullum hit in this innings, which is the joint second-highest in a Test innings, after Wasim Akram's 12 during his unbeaten 257 against Zimbabwe. McCullum also struck 11 sixes in his 202 against Pakistan in Sharjah last month, which makes him the only batsman with two innings of ten-plus sixes.
140.7 McCullum's strike rate against Shaminda Eranga, which was his lowest among bowlers off whom he faced at least ten balls in this innings. He saved his best for Suranga Lakmal, against whom he scored 45 off 23 balls (SR 195.65).
33 The number of sixes for McCullum in Tests in 2014, easily a record in a year. The next best is 22, by Adam Gilchrist (in 2005) and Virender Sehwag (2008).
1164 Test runs for McCullum in 2014, which is by far his best in a year; his previous highest was 764 in 2008. This year, McCullum has scored those runs at an average of 72.75, and a strike rate of 72.56.
26 Runs scored by McCullum in the 55th over of the innings, off Lakmal (the sequence was 4,6,6,0,4,6). It's the joint fourth best in Tests, and two runs off the record: Brian Lara had scored 28 off Robin Peterson in Johannesburg in 2003-04.
7.84 The run rate during the 153-run stand between McCullum and Jimmy Neesham, which is the third quickest among all 150-plus stands in Test cricket.
7.22 The economy rate for Tharindu Kauchal in his debut Test so far. Among bowlers who have bowled at least 12 overs in an innings on debut, only two have a poorer economy rate.

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. @rajeshstats