Andrew Symonds once produced one of the rarest scoring feats in Test cricket, collecting eight runs from a single delivery during Australia’s Test against New Zealand at the Gabba in Brisbane in 2008-09.The bizarre sequence involved an all-run four followed by four overthrows, with New Zealand fast bowler Iain O’Brien at the centre of the drama. There was an added twist to the incident, as O’Brien had seen Symonds dropped off the previous delivery before eventually dismissing him just two balls later.
How Symonds ran eight off one ball
Australia were 124 for four in the 46th over after Ricky Ponting had decided to bat in Brisbane.O’Brien opened the over with a bouncer, which Symonds ducked under. The bowler went short again with his next delivery, and this time Symonds pulled the ball towards mid-wicket.However, Aaron Redmond put down the chance.O’Brien responded as fast bowlers often do after a missed opportunity, sending down another short delivery. This time, the ball was outside off-stump and Symonds attacked it ferociously with a pull.The enormous Gabba outfield slowed the ball down, but Symonds and Michael Clarke had already completed three runs by the time Redmond got to it.The pair then decided to push for another run, hoping to take advantage of the throw.That decision produced chaos.New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum moved across to collect the return. He gathered the ball, turned and threw it towards the stumps, only to discover that Symonds had already made his ground.There was another problem for New Zealand. Nobody was positioned behind the wicketkeeper to stop the throw.The ball therefore continued all the way to the boundary. Symonds had effectively turned a pull shot into an extraordinary eight-run haul.Umpire Rudi Koertzen then signalled the total by raising eight fingers, meaning eight runs were added to Australia’s score and Symonds’ tally.It was two more than the figure commonly described as the maximum possible from a single delivery and even one more than the total India received in a penalty-run incident against Bangladesh at Chattogram.
Symonds was not the only batter to score eight
Symonds’ eight-run delivery was only the fourth known instance of eight runs being scored from a single ball in Test cricket at that point.The first recorded example came in Melbourne during the 1928-29 series, which was also the final Test of Don Bradman’s first series.England’s Patsy Hendren scored eight after completing four runs and then benefiting from four overthrows off Australian debutant Percy Hornibrook.Another unusual eight-run delivery occurred in Melbourne during the 1980-81 season.New Zealand’s John Wright was the beneficiary on that occasion. He ran four before four overthrows followed after Rod Marsh collected the fielder’s return and threw the ball towards the stumps. The throw escaped and Wright picked up the additional runs off Lenny Pascoe’s delivery.The other known instance before Symonds came in Port-of-Spain during the 2004-05 season.
Brian Lara
Brian Lara glanced a delivery from South Africa’s slow left-armer Nicky Boje for three. South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher chased the ball and threw it back towards the field.However, Boucher’s return struck a fielder’s helmet that had been left on the ground.That resulted in five penalty runs being awarded, taking Lara’s total from the delivery to eight.Under the rules at the time, those five runs would previously have been credited to Lara. Following a recent rule change, they were instead recorded as penalty extras.Lara, who was on his way to a huge score, would eventually be dismissed for 196.
Nine runs from one ball is even rarer
Eight runs from one delivery are extraordinarily unusual, but first-class cricket has witnessed an even greater number.There have been 14 recorded instances of a batter running nine runs from a single ball in first-class cricket. Remarkably, none of those instances came after 1949.Only one of those 14 was achieved without the help of overthrows. Frederick Ponsonby of the MCC managed it against Cambridge University at Parker’s Piece in Cambridge in 1842.Even that record was surpassed in unusual circumstances by Samuel Wood of Derbyshire against Cuthbert Burnup of the MCC at Lord’s in 1900.That match was played during an experimental period involving the ‘revised net system’. Boundaries were removed at some first-class matches and replaced by high nets surrounding the playing area.With no boundaries to end a run, batters had to keep running for every scoring opportunity.It was a completely different approach to scoring, but it also produced one of cricket’s most extraordinary statistical records.Symonds’ eight at the Gabba, meanwhile, remains one of the game’s most memorable examples of how a single delivery can turn into complete chaos, combining a powerful shot, aggressive running and a disastrous throw into one remarkable sequence.
