1 ball, 8 runs: How Andrew Symonds pulled off one of cricket’s rarest feats
In an extraordinary cricket moment, Andrew Symonds managed to score eight runs from a single ball during a 2008 Test matchup with New Zealand. This bizarre achievement happened when Symonds pulled the ball and capitalized on multiple overthrows by the New Zealand players. This instance stands out as one of the sport's rare scoring marvels, with few recorded cases of similar occurrences.
In 2008-09, Andrew Symonds achieved one of the most extraordinary scoring feats in Test cricket - eight runs from a single delivery at Brisbane's Gabba. The prodigious sequence involved an all-run four, followed by four overthrows, with New Zealand fast bowler Iain O'Brien at the center of the drama. The incident began with O'Brien delivering a bouncer, which Symonds ducked under.
The bowler then went short again, and Symonds pulled the ball towards mid-wicket. However, Aaron Redmond fumbled the catch. O'Brien responded with another short delivery outside off-stump, which Symonds attacked with a powerful pull. The Gabba outfield, slowing the ball down, allowed Symonds and Michael Clarke to complete three runs before Redmond got to the ball.
The New Zealand wicketkeeper, Brendon McCullum, moved in to collect the return but found Symonds had already taken off. The ball then traveled all the way to the boundary, with nobody positioned behind McCullum to stop the throw. Symonds scored eight runs, exceeding the commonly described maximum of seven runs from a single delivery and becoming only the fourth player to achieve such a feat in Test cricket.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
