It’s only the third time in the history of a game that a six has been scored in the first over of a Test match. The first two occurrences happened in the same over; Chris Gayle hitting Sohag Gazi for two sixes in a Test between West Indies and Bangladesh in 2012. Given that Gazi is a spinner, Crawley is the first batter in the game’s history to hit a six off a seamer in the first over of an innings.
The sixth ball of the first over in the first innings of the match is the earliest any England player has ever hit a six in a men’s Test. The previous earliest six was hit my Arthur Milton in 1959, who cleared the rope off the second ball of the second over. Michael Vaughan also hit a six off the second ball of the second over, taking down New Zealand’s Chris Drum in Christchurch in 2002. After that, Herbert Sutcliffe hit a six off the fifth ball of the third over of a Test against South Africa at Trent Bridge in 1935.
Following two runs off the subsequent delivery, Crawley waited for his next scoring chance on Southee’s final ball. He struck it powerfully straight back over the bowler, managing sufficient height to clear the long-off boundary for six.
It’s only the third time in the history of a game that a six has been scored in the first over of a Test match. The first two occurrences happened in the same over; Chris Gayle hitting Sohag Gazi for two sixes in a Test between West Indies and Bangladesh in 2012. Given that Gazi is a spinner, Crawley is the first batter in the game’s history to hit a six off a seamer in the first over of an innings.
The sixth ball of the first over in the first innings of the match is the earliest any England player has ever hit a six in a men’s Test. The previous earliest six was hit my Arthur Milton in 1959, who cleared the rope off the second ball of the second over. Michael Vaughan also hit a six off the second ball of the second over, taking down New Zealand’s Chris Drum in Christchurch in 2002. After that, Herbert Sutcliffe hit a six off the fifth ball of the third over of a Test against South Africa at Trent Bridge in 1935.
