BIG-HITTING Rapids batsman Ross Whiteley said his satisfaction at smashing six sixes in an over was tempered by his side’s 37-run defeat to the Yorkshire Vikings in the NatWest T20 Blast.
The left-hander became the first Englishman and only the fifth player in first team cricket worldwide to achieve the feat during Sunday’s clash at Headingley.
Whiteley joins Sir Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh as the only men to achieve the landmark.
The powerful middle order batsman smashed Vikings slow left-armer Karl Carver for four sixes in a row before the fifth ball of the over was called a wide.
But the former Derbyshire player sent the final two deliveries of the over flying to achieve the feat.
He again demonstrated his liking for the Vikings attack after his 91 off 35 balls on the same ground two years ago in another T20 Blast clash.
Whiteley brought up his half-century off just 18 balls to record the fastest ever half-century by a Worcestershire batsman in T20, beating Gareth Andrew’s 50 off 20 deliveries also at Headingley in 2011.
But speaking after the game Whiteley said: “The result’s the main thing. It’s pretty tough to take, they got far too many runs.
“Personal milestone are great, but it’s hard to get away from the defeat first of all. It’s something I’m sure I will look back on and be proud of.
“It’s something I never really thought I’d do in first-class cricket.
“It was the right time in the game for me to go for it. It was all or nothing. Unfortunately for the bowler it was a short boundary and leg-side.
“I had the mentality I was going to go for it before I got in. I hit the first out of the screws and needed to keep going for the team, not for that achievement.
“We’ve lost four out of five. Obviously we have to bounce back. There’s no reason why we can’t.”
Tonight (Wednesday), the Rapids head to Trent Bridge to play the Notts Outlaws.