Eight runs from one ball: Andrew Symonds pulls off one of Test cricket’s strangest feats, but it still wasn’t the highest

Andrew Symonds’ eight-fold madness at the Gabba Andrew Symonds once produced one of the rarest scoring performances in Test cricket when he picked up 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 a quad followed by four pitches, with New Zealand fast bowler Iain O’Brien at the center of the drama. There was another twist to the incident as O’Brien saw Symonds drop the previous delivery before finally dismissing him just two balls later.

How Symonds ran out for eight off one ball

Australia were 124 for four in the 46th over after Ricky Ponting elected to bat in Brisbane.O’Brien opened through the bouncer under which Symonds ducked. The bowler failed again with his next delivery and this time Symonds pulled the ball towards mid-wicket.However, Aaron Redmond threw away the chance.Responding as fast bowlers often do after a missed opportunity, O’Brien sent another short delivery. This time the ball was outside the off stump and Symonds attacked it furiously with a pull.A huge Gabba pitch slowed the ball but Symonds and Michael Clarke had already completed three runs before Redmond got to him.The pair then decided to push for another run, hoping to take advantage of the throw.This decision caused chaos.New Zealand keeper Brendon McCullum moved to concede the turn. He picked up the ball, turned and threw it towards the stumps, only to find that Symonds had already made it through.Another problem arose for New Zealand. No one was positioned behind the goalkeeper to stop the throw.So the ball continued to the boundary. Symonds effectively turned the pull shot into an outstanding catch for eight runs.Umpire Rudi Koertzen then signaled the total by holding up eight fingers, meaning eight runs were added to Australia and Symonds’ score.It was two more than the figure commonly described as the maximum possible from one delivery and even one more than India conceded in the penalty incident against Bangladesh in Chattogram.

Symonds was not the only batsman to score eight

Symonds’ eight-run innings was only the fourth known instance of eight runs being scored in one ball at that point in Test cricket.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 benefited from Australian debutant Percy Hornibrook’s four kills.Another unusual eight-series delivery came in Melbourne during the 1980–81 season.New Zealand’s John Wright was the recipient on the occasion. He ran for four before four pitches followed after Rod Marsh collected the fielder’s return and bowled the ball towards the stumps. The throw eluded and Wright picked off more runs from Lenny Pascoe.The next known case before Symonds came in Port-of-Spain during the 2004-05 season.

Brian Lara

Brian Lara looked at a delivery from South African slow left-armer Nicky Boj for three. South African goalkeeper Mark Boucher chased the ball and threw it back onto the pitch.However, Boucher’s return hit the fielder’s helmet, which remained on the ground.This resulted in five penalty runs being awarded, bringing Lara’s total from serving to eight.Under the rules at the time, those five runs would have been credited to Lara earlier. Following a recent rule change, they were recorded as extra penalties instead.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 a single delivery is extremely unusual, but first-class cricket has witnessed even more.In first-class cricket, there have been 14 instances of a batsman scoring nine runs from a single ball. Remarkably, none of these cases occurred after 1949.Only one of these 14 was achieved without the aid of flips. Frederick Ponsonby of the MCC accomplished this against Cambridge University at Parker’s Piece in Cambridge in 1842.This record was also broken in unusual circumstances by Derbyshire’s Samuel Wood against MCC’s Cuthbert Burnup at Lord’s in 1900.This match was played during an experimental period involving a “revised grid system”. In some first-class matches, the boundaries have been removed and replaced by high nets surrounding the field of play.With no run-ending boundaries, batsmen had to keep running for any scoring opportunity.It was a completely different approach to scoring but 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 one delivery can turn into utter chaos, combining a powerful shot, aggressive running and a disastrous throw into one remarkable sequence.