In one of the most remarkable innings in recent times in Championship cricket, Marchant de Lange brought Glamorgan within one boundary of an astonishing victory yesterday at Leicester as the fast bowler struck a career-best 90 from just 45 balls.
De Lange arrived at the crease with the scoreboard reading 107/7, and with his side chasing a target of 251, Glamorgan seemed out of the game. But in the course of the next 75 balls, de Lange smote 8 enormous sixes plus 5 rasping fours as his muscular efforts saw Glamorgan just four runs short of their target.
The South African - who had taken his 50th Championship wicket earlier in the day - shared partnerships of 56 for the 9th wicket with Timm van der Gugten, plus 52 for the 10th with Michael Hogan, with a display of hitting more akin to a Twenty20 match rather than a red-ball contest.
His innings, ball by ball, was as follows:
. 6 1 4 6 . 1 2 1 1 . 1 . . . . 1 . 1 1 1 . 2 1 2 1 4 . . 6 6 1 6 1 1 6 6 1 4 1 6 . 4 4 w
Only three Glamorgan batsmen have scored more sixes in Championship matches with Aneurin Donald hitting 15 maximums in his record-breaking 234 against Derbyshire at Colwyn Bay in 2016, Graham Wagg 11 in his double-hundred against Surrey at Guildford in 2015 and Malcolm Nash 9 in a quick-fire 89 in the match with Gloucestershire at Swansea in 1973.