Test cricket has undergone a major change and captains have preferred to pick more and more attacking players on their side. Take the example of David Warner, who has blasted more than 15 hundreds in the longest form in the past five years.
Also read: 5 batsmen with most centuries in Tests
He came into the Australian national team as a T20 specialist but is one of their best Test batsmen currently. There are many such examples to show how Test cricket has transformed. In a way, it is as if the players have taken it upon themselves to help viewers maintain their interest in the game.
In this context, it is interesting to note that the number of sixes per game has also been on the rise. In the last five years, the most number of sixes in Tests was tonked by former Kiwi skipper, Brendon McCullum, who has 66 to his name since 2012. The next five are all players who are still active.
Take a look at the list of current players who have smashed the most number of sixes in the last five years.
#5 Ben Stokes and Younis Khan - 33
The England all-rounder is quickly earning a reputation as a fearsome stroke maker in all forms of the game. A vital part in the lower middle order for England, Stokes’ role is to be aggressive and take the attack to the bowlers.
Stokes has 33 sixes in the format in the last five years despite having made his debut only in 2013. Interestingly, 11 of those sixes came in a scintillating knock of 258 against the South Africans in Cape Town.
Younis Khan, the veteran Pakistan middle order batsman, is a surprise name on the list with as many sixes as Ben Stokes. He has always been an aggressive batsman but has never been considered a six hitter. Despite that, Younis has 33 sixes since 2012 in Tests, with a maximum of four in a game against England at the Oval last year.
#4 Angelo Mathews - 34
The Sri Lankan all-rounder has been prolific in Test cricket in recent times and has 3354 runs in 43 matches since 2012 at an average of 48.60. He has revelled in the additional responsibility of holding together the middle order but that has not curbed his attacking tendency.
Mathews has 34 sixes in Tests since 2012, but unlike the others, has a maximum of only three sixes in a game. A majority of his career sixes have come during this period with his overall tally sitting at 44.
He has scored as many as six centuries in the last five years, but has hit a total of only three sixes in these games.
#3 Tim Southee - 35
The New Zealand tail ender is a surprise entry on this list. His batting ability, though, has never been in question ever since his career-best 77* on debut against England which included nine hits out of the ground.
Since then, he has always been an aggressive batting option down the order for the Kiwis. He has, however, taken that to another level in the past five years, despite getting only one half-century. More often than not, New Zealand can bank on him to get a few handy runs lower down the order.
Most of his runs during the period have come at a pretty good strike rate of around 92. The strike rate might very well explain the huge number of sixes he has in the format in recent years.
#2 David Warner - 44
The Australian opener is no surprise on a list of six hitters, whatever the format. He has, however, been at his best in Test cricket, a format that was initially thought to be outside his realm.
Warner has given Australia attacking starts more often than not, with his ability to go on the attack right from the word go. He has not changed his natural instincts in Tests and this has made him a dangerous batsman, that opposition dread bowling to.
Warner has 44 sixes in the five-year period with only three of his 16 hundreds being six-less. He hit four each in games against South Africa in Adelaide and Cape Town in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
#1 Misbah-ul-Haq - 53
The Pakistani skipper emerged onto the international scene as a big hitter, but later developed into one of the most dependable batsmen in the middle order.
He has excelled with the bat in a rather fruitful period for Pakistan in Tests with 2906 runs at 45.40 in the period under discussion. 53 of his 73 sixes have come in the last five years.
The middle order batsman smashed five sixes in a terrific hundred against Australia in 2014 in Abu Dhabi, the fastest hundred in the history of Test cricket. He hit another five sixes against England in Dubai in yet another hundred in 2015.
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