Top 5 SA batsmen with most Test sixes

Now Test cricket is not known for being a format of the game in which batsmen are particularly concerned about hitting sixes and only in exceptional circumstances do batsmen take the aerial route. The hook against the fast bowlers is a well-known shot that fetches a lot of sixes in Test cricket, while the majority of other sixes are hit against the spin bowlers. Needless, there are exceptions of course.

South Africa have produced some of the best batsmen in the world over the course of their cricketing history and many of them have been an exceptional attacking batsman, who have hit their fair share of sixes in Test cricket. Here is a look at some of the most prolific six hitters in South African Test cricket history.

---

#5 Dale Steyn – 34

This may come as a surprise to many but in reality, it is not really a surprise, considering the way in which South Africa's fast bowling ace Dale Steyn goes after the bowlers when he bats in Test cricket. He is, by no means an accomplished batsman and although he can block for some time, his first instinct is to slog. That made him an entertaining batsman and over the course of his career spanning 86 Test matches, he has never been known for plodding around with the bat.

He is generally known for hitting sixes straight down the ground or over square leg and midwicket and has hit 34 sixes in his career so far, which is the 5th highest in the history of South African Test cricket history. Hopefully, he would add to his tally, if he gets to play for a few more years.

#4 Shaun Pollock- 35

He will go down in South African history as one of the best fast bowlers to have ever played for the country but what is perhaps often forgotten is the fact that Shaun Pollock was also one of the world's leading all-rounders. He batted in the lower middle-order for most of his career and was known for adding valuable runs.

Pollock was an accomplished batsman and had the ability to really quicken up the scoring if he felt that the team were in need of quick runs ahead of a declaration or he felt that he was in danger of running out of partners. He could take the spin bowlers to the cleaners if he wanted to and was also a decent player of the horizontal bat shots, which also fetched him some of the 35 sixes that he hit during the course of his 108 Test career. Pollock is the 4th most prolific six-hitter for South Africa in Test cricket.

#3 Herschelle Gibbs- 47

The former South African batsman was one of the most aggressive opening batsmen in the world in the late 1990s and early 2000 and it is not a surprise that Herschelle Gibbs is the third most prolific six-hitter in the country's Test cricket history. Gibbs went after the bowlers at every given opportunity and tried to dominate them from the outset.

His flourishing strokes on both sides of the wicket, particularly the short arm pulls made him a very dangerous batsman to bowl to and in addition to that, he could use his feet against the spinners as well and hit them for sixes. He played in 90 Test matches throughout the course of his Test career that lasted around 12 years and hit 47 sixes in total. Needless to say, he would probably have hit many more had he batted in the middle-order.

#2 AB de Villiers- 60

He has been one of the best batsmen in the world for more than a decade and over the course of his nearly 14-year long career, AB de Villiers has become a pillar of the South African middle-order in Test cricket. He can be the most difficult batsman to dismiss if he decides to dig in and play for time, while on the other hand, De Villiers can be one of the most devastating stroke-makers in the game.

More importantly, the right-hander can play all the strokes in the book and even those which are not even in the book, making him such a difficult player to bowl against. When he decides to go for a six, it almost always lands beyond the boundary and he is equally at ease taking on the fast bowlers or the spinners. In his 110 Test match career so far, he has hit 60 sixes and it is expected to hit many more during the rest of his career.

#1 Jacques Kallis – 96

Six-hitting is not something that one could really associate with Jacques Kallis when it came to his batting in Tests but when a batsman plays 165 Test matches (over a span of 18 years from 1995 to 2013) then it is natural that he would get some records without even trying much.

The former South African great was known for his solid defensive technique, ability to bat for long hours and for grinding the opposition down to dust. He was an excellent stroke-maker as well and could play a vast range of shots, but six hitting was not something that he particularly chose to do in Test cricket. Even then, he did have his fair share of sixes and in a long career, he hit 96 of them. When he decided to clear the ground, Kallis could be one of the most effective six hitters in the game and that shone through at different times in Test cricket.