Sixes in cricket is synonyms with the limited overs cricket, particularly the T20 format where we will see a plethorea of maximums being hit. On the other hand, we don’t see teams or players hitting boundary sixes in Tests as this is a format where runs are earned by grinding & stroke play, rather than power hitting.
But as the game progressed, we have seen players taking an aggressive approach even in the Test format. With the advent of T20s, the intent got rubbed into Tests as well and we now see many teams are willing to take risks in the format. Risk in Tests means taking the aerial route (hitting sixes) to score runs, in addition to playing it the traditional way.
Here are the teams who have hit the most number of sixes in a calendar in the longest format of the game.
Most Sixes by a Team in a Calendar Year in Test
| Team | Innings | Sixes in a Year | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 29 | 142 | 2024 |
| New Zealand | 24 | 113 | 2024 |
| England | 32 | 102 | 2024 |
| England | 29 | 89 | 2022 |
| India | 27 | 87 | 2021 |
| New Zealand | 17 | 81 | 2014 |
| New Zealand | 21 | 71 | 2013 |
| Australia | 29 | 70 | 2005 |
| India | 18 | 70 | 2016 |
| India | 11 | 70 | 2019 |
Key Stats:
2024 is the year in which the most number of sixes a team (India) has hit in Test cricket in calendar year.
India eclipsed England’s six-hitting mark of 89 that they set in 2022. They had batted 29 innings during that calendar year.
33 – Brendon McCullum had struck 33 maximums in 2014, the most by any batter in a single year. He is closely followed by Yashasvi Jaiswal who has hit 29 sixes in 2024 thus far and likely to pip the former.
4 – This is the number of times, India has amassed 70 or more sixes in a year in the Test format, the most any side. New Zealand comes in second with two instances of hammering more than 70 sixes in a calendar year.
6.46 – Thus far, India has batted 15 innings and has hit more than 6 sixes on an average (6.46) per innings. The next best sixes per innings (6.36) was also achieved by India in the year 2019.
77.03 – It is the highest strike rate by a team in a calendar year in Test cricket and it was achieved by England back in 2023.
