Kemp: Two yards from equalling record Photo © CricInfo Ltd.

The crowd at the Eastern Province - North West SuperSport Series match at Port Elizabeth saw Justin Kemp fall agonizingly short of equalling one of the most famous records in first-class cricket, six consecutive sixes from a single over.

23 year-old Kemp, 53 not out overnight, had reached his century and was 125 from 239 balls when the 9th wicket fell, bringing Hayward to the wicket. He decided at this point to hit out, with spectacular effect. After hitting Lavine for four, six and four, he took a single from the final ball of the over to face the off-spin of Strydom.

CricInfo's commentator at the ground described the next over as follows:

128.1 Strydom to Kemp, SIX, a reverse sweep, clears point
128.2 Strydom to Kemp, SIX, a carbon copy of the previous
128.3 Strydom to Kemp, SIX, over mid wicket
128.4 Strydom to Kemp, SIX, over the bowlers head
128.5 Strydom to Kemp, SIX, and the 5th 6 in the over, over long off
128.6 Strydom to Kemp, one run, another attempt at a six, stopped on one bounce at deep square leg, 
2 metres short of Sobers' and Shastri's record

End of over 129 (31 runs) Eastern Province 427/9 (lead by 86 runs)
M Strydom 6-0-74-0 - Duckpond End
JM Kemp 171* (249b 15x4 8x6) M Hayward 3* (1b)

Kemp scored 88 runs from his last 38 balls, and 63 from 20 balls faced as part of the last wicket partnership of 70 with Hayward. He was eventually bowled by Thomas for 188. The fifty partnership between Kemp and Hayward took just 11 minutes from 12 balls.

The all time record of six sixes from a six ball over was set by Sir Garfield Sobers against Glamorgan at Swansea in 1968 off the bowling of Malcolm Nash. This was later equalled by Ravi Shastri for Bombay against Baroda in the 1984/85 Ranji Trophy from the bowling of Tilak Raj.

Mike Procter also managed the feat, off Dennis Breakwell, in 1979 but in different overs. AR Wellard matched Kemp exactly by hitting five consecutive sixes followed by a single off the bowling of Frank Woolley in 1938, having previously done the same thing in 1936 against Derbyshire off Armstong, both times at Wells.

Others to have managed five consecutive sixes are: DT Lindsay off WT Greensmith for S.A.Fezela's XI v Essex at Chelmsford 1961; MJ Procter off AA Mallett for Western Province v Australians at Cape Town 1969-70; HR Moseley off P Willey for Somerset v Northants at Northampton 1976; LK Germon off RH Vance for Canterbury v Wellington at Christchurch 1989-90 (contrived bowling); G Chapple off PA Cottey for Lancashire v Glamorgan at Manchester 1993 (contrived bowling, and in separate overs); R Paul off R Naik for Tamil Nadu v Goa at Madras 1995-96.

The South African record is 34, when in 1993/94 FB Touzel of Western Province B hit FJJ Viljoen of Griqualand West for 646666 (in contrived circumstances to expedite a declaration). IR Redpath hit N Rosendorf (Orange Free State) for 32 runs at Bloemfontein (666644) in 1969-70, and in the same year, Bowditch and Procter combined for 31 runs for Western Province against the Australian tourists (Bowditch took a single off the first ball of the over, and Procter hit the next five deliveries from Ashley Mallet over the ropes).

With additional reporting by Vic Isaacs

© CricInfo Ltd.