Why Martin Guptill gestured with two fingers after hitting a six

Martin Guptill gestures to Craig McMillan

There are a lot of rumours going around that Martin Guptill had gestured with two of his fingers during his innings today because he has only two toes on his left foot after being involved in a forklift accident during his younger days. But from what we gather, that piece of information is wrong.

The 28-year-old was actually gesturing to Craig McMillan, who is the current batting coach of the New Zealand cricket team.

He was pointing two fingers to McMillan because on the previous ball, he became only the second batsman to hit the top of the roof at the Westpac Stadium, Wellington. The only batsman to have done it before was McMillan.

Guptill’s six, which came off the bowling of Andre Russell in the 50th over, was measured at a distance of 110m, which is easily the biggest six hit in the ongoing cricket World Cup. The stadium known as 'Cake Tin' has some of the shortest boundaries in international cricket, but it would be fair to say that this hit would have cleared any boundary in the world.

The New Zealand opening batsman finished his innings on 237* from just 163 deliveries to record the highest individual score in an innings in the history of the World Cup. He slammed 24 fours and 11 sixes during his knock.

Riding on Guptill’s innings, New Zealand defeated West Indies by 143 runs to qualify for the semi-finals of the quadrennial event. They take on South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland on Tuesday.

You can watch Guptill’s six here.