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Greg got in touch to ask about the most sixes hit by a Derbyshire player. We’ve been through the records and compiled the top-five six-hitters in Twenty20 cricket for the club, since the format’s inception in 2003.
Following three knockout-round matches in as many seasons and a fine run of form in the Vitality Blast, a trio of current squad members make the top five.
Since joining Derbyshire in 2017, Luis Reece has impressed with bat and ball in all formats, establishing himself as a clean-hitting opener and tricky left-arm seamer. A career-best 97 not out against former club Lancashire Lightning in 2017 kick-started a run in short-format cricket which sees him head straight into fifth spot.
Captain Billy Godleman, who holds the record for the slowest half-century in English cricket, perhaps typifies batting diversity within the club, with a style successfully adapted across all three formats, culminating in finishing as Derbyshire’s leading run-scorer last season.
He contributed 1,982 runs across County Championship and one-day cricket last summer, including 453 in Twenty20 cricket at an average of 41. His 37 sixes in the format put him fourth on the list, with the chance to move into third in coming seasons.
Memorable for powerful slog sweeps and accelerating the rate in the middle-order, Chesney Hughes struck four Twenty20 half-centuries for Derbyshire and claimed 21 wickets, including best figures of 4-23. A regular in the Derbyshire side from 2010 – 2016, his 46 sixes puts him third on the all-time club list.
Unsurprisingly, with a club-record 19 fifties in the format, Wayne Madsen makes the top five on the six-hitting list, with 56 in 113 matches. Although his sixes per game ratio is the least of the top few, his average of 31.17 runs per match is the highest of that quintet and his 526 runs at an average of 48 in 2017 earned him the coveted PCA Most Valuable Player award.
Top of the pile is former captain and all-rounder, Wes Durston, with 63 sixes in 81 matches. Able to clear the ropes with an upper-cut on the off-side or a slog sweep over mid-wicket, Durston established himself as a supporter-favourite and was a regular contributor with bat and ball throughout his tenure as captain in white ball cricket.
His unbeaten 111 versus Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2010 remains Derbyshire’s highest Twenty20 score, while his century came from just 51 balls – a record in any format for Derbyshire.
| Player | T20 Sixes | Matches | T20 Runs | Average |
| Wes Durston | 63 | 81 | 2,114 | 28.95 |
| Wayne Madsen | 56 | 113 | 2,806 | 31.17 |
| Chesney Hughes | 46 | 78 | 1,420 | 20.00 |
| Billy Godleman | 37 | 55 | 1,235 | 28.06 |
| Luis Reece | 27 | 28 | 758 | 30.32 |
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