A sixer hit by a batsman can also lead to an injury to people sitting in the crowd. In this article we shall look upon those incidents in which spectators or cheerleaders got injured due to a shot hit by a batsman, though unintentionally.
The first instance involves the Pakistani legendary batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq. During a match in 1997 against India in Toronto, he beat a member in the crowd who was comparing him to a potato.He smacked the person with the bat as he lost his cool due to ridicule. This incident is exceptional as it was intentionally done by Inzamam.
The Second incident is of David Warner. The Australian opener who played a big role in making his team World Champions in 2015 hit a six against Afghanistan in a group match at Perth which directly hit the shoulder of a young Afghanistan boy sitting in the crowd. When Warner got to know about this he gifted the young boy a pair of signed gloves as an apology gesture.
The third instance involves Chris Gayle. The West-Indian great who is also known as the Universe Boss is popular for his six hitting abilities. During an IPL match in Bengaluru against Pune Warrior India, one of his shots broke the nose of a young girl. The girl was later admitted to the hospital and was even visited by Chris.
The fourth incident involves a ball directly hitting a spectator’s head. This happened in 2013 during a test match between New Zealand and England. Hamish Rutherford, the Kiwi opener smashed a ball for six which hit a person who was not aware of the ball coming to him.Though spectator did not sustain any injury but he was in pain for a long time.
The fifth instance involves Australian all-rounder Cameron White. During an ODI match against India in 2013 at Visakhapatnam, he lofted his bat for a six which caused brutal injury to a spectator as the ball directly came onto his face. He made a quick fire 89 off 49 balls in that match but could not take his team over the line.
One of the shots hit by South African batsman David Miller led to loss of eyesight of a Police constable who was in charge of security at the stadium. This happened during the 2015 IPL match between Punjab and Kolkata at Eden Gardens. David felt guilty and also apologized to the person for such an incident.
In a 2013 IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kedhar Jadhav, who represented India in 73 matches played a shot on a ball bowled by Ravi rampaul towards extra cover for a boundary but the ball hit a cheerleader on her head.
