Kimber smashes Robinson for 43 runs in one over to rip up record books
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Louis Kimber scored an impressive 43 runs in just one over from Ollie Robinson on his way to a remarkable double century. However, despite Kimber's outstanding performance, Leicestershire ended up falling short of victory against Sussex by 18 runs.
The 27-year-old made history in the Championship by scoring 243 runs in just 127 balls. He set a new record for the fastest double hundred, hitting 21 sixes and scoring the most runs in one over with 43 against England seamer Robinson.
Leicestershire had lost four wickets by the end of day three and had to chase down 464 runs to win on day four. Number eight batsman, Kimber, played a key role in leading the team towards a potential victory, although it ultimately fell short.
The excitement happened in the 59th over when Kimber hit 43 runs off Robinson, breaking the record for the most runs scored in a single over.
In the over, Robinson bowled nine balls and made three overstepping mistakes, costing two penalty runs each time in addition to the runs scored by the batsman. Kimber managed to hit two sixes and six fours, the fifth of which was a low cut past cover that helped him reach a century in 62 balls.
Kimber hit a full delivery from Robinson hard through the covers and then quickly took a single on the last ball to retain the strike.
Surrey bowler Alex Tudor gave away 38 runs in a single over back in 1998, with Andrew Flintoff taking 34 of those runs. In a similar fashion, Worcestershire’s Shoaib Bashir also conceded 38 runs recently when Surrey’s Dan Lawrence hit five consecutive sixes.
Kimber scored a total of 41 boundaries, with 21 of them being sixes, surpassing Ben Stokes' previous record of 17 in the Championship.
However, he came very close to leading his team to a win, but unfortunately he was bowled out by Nathan McAndrew when they still needed 19 runs to win.
Kimber expressed, "Days like that are rare in one's career, they were truly amazing. It's disappointing we didn't win in the end, but you have to savor moments like that personally. It was a great time."
"I tried to maintain a positive attitude and see how things unfolded. I had some fortunate moments along the way, which you always need. My teammates encouraged me to cherish this experience, as opportunities like these are rare."
My phone has been constantly buzzing with notifications and I am thrilled about the impressive achievements I've made. The players from Sussex were all very kind and congratulated me, saying that I played really well and didn't deserve to be on the losing team. They showed great sportsmanship and I must admit that they probably deserved to win over the course of those four days.
"I've never hit the ball so perfectly like I did today. I entered a state where I wasn't overthinking and just focused on hitting the ball where I wanted it to go. It felt absolutely incredible."
