If you wake up any bowler in the middle of the night and ask what’s their worst nightmare, the response would, perhaps, always be not to concede 36 runs in one over. Imagine conceding a six off every single delivery. That could give any bowler sleepless nights.
But Central Districts bowler Willem Ludick’s worst nightmare couldn’t have matched what happened to him in reality. The 21-year-old medium pacer conceded 43 runs in an over — FORTY THREE! — to create an infamous world record that will take some beating.
Joe Carter and Brett Hampton of Northern Districts in a List A game of Ford Cup in Hamilton (New Zealand) created this new record by smacking Ludick over the fence six times in an over that had two no balls as well.
Ludick’s 43-run over is now the most expensive recorded in history of List A cricket.
In recorded history, the 39 runs given away by Abahani Limited medium pacer Alauddin Babu to former Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura, playing for Sheikh Jamal Club in a game in Dhaka in the 2013-14 season, was the earlier record for most expensive over, reported the ICC website.
The over started with an inside edge past the keeper for four. Ludick then bowled two high full tosses which were called no balls in addition to being smacked for sixes. That was 18 runs off one legal delivery to start the over and that was only the beginning.
The second legal delivery — still a free hit — was a slower ball that was hit down the ground. The batsmen changed ends midway through the over but that didn’t change Ludick’s luck. The last three balls were hit for three more sixes by Carter.
The pair put on a 178-run partnership for the sixth wicket after coming together at 95 for 5.
You can watch that over here:
Ludick, the Pretoria-born 21-year-old playing just his fourth List A fixture, conceded only 42 runs in the rest of his nine overs combined to finish with figures of 10-0-85-1. That nightmare over was Ludick’s 10th.
Central Districts fell short of their target of 314 runs by 25 runs.
Most runs conceded in an over
| Runs | Bowler | Batsmen/Batsman | Match details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Willem Ludick | Joe Carter & Brett Hampton | Northern Districts v Central Districts, 2018-19 (NZ Domestic) |
| 39 | Alauddin Babu | Elton Chigumbura | Sheikh Jamal Club v Abahani Limited, 2013-14 (Dhaka Premier League) |
| 37 | Eddie Leie | JP Duminy | Cape Cobras v Knights, 2017-18 |
| 36 | Daan van Bunge | Herschelle Gibbs | South Africa v the Netherlands, 2006-07 |
| 35 | Dwarka Ravi Teja | Raiphi Gomez | Kerala v Hyderabad, 2009-10 |
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