The Oval in London played host to a thrilling high-scoring encounter in the Vitality Blast T20 tournament between cross-London rivals Surrey and Middlesex, and nearly saw a piece of history being written in the process. Hosts Surrey were put in to bat, and were motoring along in their innings on a good batting pitch, with openers Will Jacks and Laurie Evans having already smashed 114-0 off the first 10 overs.
If that was a quick first 10 overs, the scoring rate would only become more and more brutal. Sky Cricket shared a video of the carnage that was to follow. Jacks took strike to face spinner Luke Hollman, who dragged his first delivery down and saw Jacks pull it over square for six. The next ball was an over-correction, over-pitched and smashed over the bowler’s head for six more. The third ball over was another drag down, tempting Jacks to smoke it over mid-wicket, which he promptly did. The crowd began to get a sense of what they could be witnessing, and an extra bout of energy hit the spectators.
ALSO READ: Robinson retaliates after Ponting's scathing 'slow learner' jibe; reveals Khawaja's 'Be careful' response to ugly spat
Middlesex captain Stephen Eskinazi took his time to set the field, recognizing Jacks might go for history with six sixes, but it wouldn’t matter as the English batter hit his best shot of the over, his stroke timed perfectly, off the back foot and over the extra-cover boundary for six more. His fifth six was a good old-fashioned slog, from one knee and a little bit mis-hit, but with enough power to send that over the boundary as well. 5 sixes were scored off the first 5 balls, and everyone watching knew what was coming next.
{{/usCountry}}Middlesex captain Stephen Eskinazi took his time to set the field, recognizing Jacks might go for history with six sixes, but it wouldn’t matter as the English batter hit his best shot of the over, his stroke timed perfectly, off the back foot and over the extra-cover boundary for six more. His fifth six was a good old-fashioned slog, from one knee and a little bit mis-hit, but with enough power to send that over the boundary as well. 5 sixes were scored off the first 5 balls, and everyone watching knew what was coming next.
{{/usCountry}}Jacks and Evans started trying to stir the crowd up and put the pressure onto the Middlesex team and bowler, and it worked out: Hollman tried something ambitious, but instead was only able to serve up a thigh-high full-toss. If Jacks would have asked for a delivery in that moment, that would have been it, but he missed out on the best offering of the over, swinging too early and only getting one in a comical moment, as he dragged his shot and immediately reacted with an anguished scream at missing out.
The innings and power-hitting from Jacks was also reminiscent of Rinku Singh’s scintillating match-winning performance for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Gujarat Titans in the 2023 IPL, where the Indian batter smashed 5 sixes in a row off the bowling of Yash Dayal with KKR needing 28 off the last 5 balls. Indian fans will also be reminded of Yuvraj Singh’s performance at the 2007 T20 World Cup against England, where the southpaw famously dispatched Stuart Broad for 6 consecutive sixes in one over. The rarity of the achievement can be seen in how it has only been accomplished by three men in international cricket — Yuvraj, Herschelle Gibbs, and Kieron Pollard.
The feat of six sixes eluded Jacks, with that only having been achieved once before in the Vitality Blast, by Worcestershire’s Ross Whiteley against Yorkshire’s Karl Carver. South African Rilee Roussow also scored 5 sixes in one over for Somerset, but those were split by a one-bounce 4 on the third ball of that over.
Jacks went from 56 to 87 in that Hollman over, but the young leg-spinner would find some sort of redemption as he hung on to the catch which dismissed Jacks on 96, denying him a century. Remarkably, there was far more hitting to come in the match: Surrey would post 252 after their 20 overs, but Middlesex’s chase would be just as fearsome.
186 runs were scored off boundaries as every Middlesex batter did his part to haul down the record chase, winning with 4 balls to spare, against a bowling attack of Sam Curran, Sunil Narine, Chris Jordan, Sean Abbott, and Jacks himself, who went for 30 off his 3 overs. It was a batting paradise, with even 252 runs being 10-15 short proving that it wasn’t a good day to be a bowler.