Sports

South Africa set new record of most sixes in World Cup

Proteas achieve benchmark of 83 sixes it in just seven innings in ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

By Sports Desk
November 01, 2023
South Africa´s Quinton de Kock (L) celebrates with teammate Rassie van der Dussen after scoring a century (100 runs) during the 2023 ICC Men´s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between New Zealand and South Africa at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on November 1, 2023. — AFP
South Africa´s Quinton de Kock (L) celebrates with teammate Rassie van der Dussen after scoring a century (100 runs) during the 2023 ICC Men´s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between New Zealand and South Africa at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on November 1, 2023. — AFP

Continuing their prolific six-hitting spree, South Africa have set a new target of smashing the most sixes at a single edition of ICC's ODI World Cup.

The ruthless side broke the record for the highest number of maximums at an ODI World Cup, previously held by England, on Wednesday as they pounded New Zealand with 15 sixes, which pushed their overall tally to 83 sixes for the ongoing competition.

With the outstanding feat, the Temba Bavuma-led side surpassed England's record of 76 sixes, set in 2019 when the Englishmen were crowned champions.

While England took 11 innings to establish this benchmark, South Africa achieved it in just seven innings.

West Indies secured the third position on the list with 68 sixes during the 2015 World Cup, followed by Australia in the fourth spot in the 2007 edition.

In the meantime, South Africa compiled another total exceeding 300 runs in the 2023 World Cup, thanks to outstanding centuries from Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen.

De Kock has continued his remarkable performance with his fourth century in seven innings. He is now only one century away from equaling the all-time record of five centuries in a single World Cup, held by India's Rohit Sharma, which was achieved in 2019.

De Kock is also the first batter in the ongoing tournament to surpass the 500-run mark, with a total of 545 runs from seven innings at an average of 77.85.

“I am feeling really good lately,” De Kock told the broadcasters during a mid-innings chat. “Nice that everything is coming together at an important time for us."

He said New Zealand were quite impressive with the new ball and he did struggle to get into a rhythm.

“They bowled really well upfront, especially (Trent) Boult . I felt quite scratchy upfront, I couldn’t find my rhythm, I was getting a couple of messages from the guys on the bench to bat through. I just want to keep batting. My career is coming down to a finish, trying to bat as much as I can,” De Kock said.