February 20, 2012: Stout and blessed with extremely powerful shoulders and forearms, it’s not really a surprise that Western Cape cricket product Richard Levi hits the ball a long way. But the entire cricket world stood up straight and took notice when Levi bludgeoned a world record 13 sixes on his way to 117 not out off 51 balls against NZ in a T20 international on Sunday.
Not surprisingly, in the face of such an assault, the Black Caps succumbed in just 16 overs to the Proteas, with the rest of the Proteas batting line-up hitting cruise mode as Levi took control.
Such was the nature of Levi’s knock, punctuated by (dangerous to spectators) low flying sixes smashed to all parts of the ground, that AB de Villiers, at the other end, looked like he was having a hit around in one of Pretoria’s parks.
While the Aussies have for the past 12 months proudly been going on about the impact and skills set of David Warner, it seems the pugnacious Australian left hander now has some real competition, along with Chris Gayle (who held the previous record of 10 sixes in a T20 innings), for the title of world T20 master blaster.
So the world is now the oyster of this hard working former Wynberg Boys High and SA Schools captain, who has made a name for himself on the local limited overs scene. It will be fascinating to see how Levi progresses in the world of international cricket – and how he handles the attention – in the next 12 months. – Ridge Correspondent