There's big and then there's BIG.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Matt Short might've hit the biggest six ever seen in Canberra on Sunday night in the Adelaide Strikers' nine-wicket win over the Sydney Thunder.
After a rain deluge on Saturday, less than 24 hours later Manuka Oval's ground staff remarkably had the deck in prime condition for batsmen and the Strikers took the greatest advantage.
Short was the hero for Adelaide in a match-high 74 not out from 49 deliveries that included four sixes.
The most impressive was a 97-metre long, sky-high bomb that hit the roof of the Bob Hawke stand.
Short hit two more massive sixes in the same section, with one clearing the grandstands completely, but his first effort was the standout.
"That's a big hit - a very, very big hit. It sounded so crisp," cricket legend Mark Waugh said on Fox Sports' commentary.
![BBL star Matt Short sent a six onto the Bob Hawke Stand. Picture Fox Sports BBL star Matt Short sent a six onto the Bob Hawke Stand. Picture Fox Sports](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/decd6f3a-280e-43bc-9648-027f3c7a6106.jpg/r0_0_3750_2108_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It wasn't a bad ball, it's probably a decent ball, but it's just a beautiful cricket shot.
"That's gone as high as it's gone long."
Venue staff were scheduled to retrieve the balls on Monday, including the one that got stuck on the roof of the Bob Hawke Stand.
Short's sixth half-century in nine innings delighted the sell-out crowd of 11,173 at Manuka Oval as Adelaide easily chased down Sydney's 140-run total to win the match.
The victory sealed a finals spot for the Strikers, where they'll next face either Perth or the Sydney Sixers in an elimination final, and showed exactly why Short earned himself a call-up to the Australian one-day squad.
"I'm feeling really confident," Short told The Canberra Times after the win.
"I'm going out there with a bit of freedom, enjoying myself.
"I've always put a big emphasis on starting the tournament well, getting a bit of momentum early on and rolling through, which I think I did pretty well.
"The challenge was to sustain that, which I haven't in the last couple of years - I've finished tournaments pretty poorly.
"I'm pretty proud of being able to go on with the tournament and the start I had."
Short also commended Manuka Oval staff for the quality of the pitch after storms lashed the capital on Saturday.
"I was a little bit worried with the rain we had," he said.
"I think it was about 30 millimetres, and I saw a photo from a groundsman of the ground underwater. So now they've done an awesome job.
"It's hardly wet at all and the pitch was completely dry."
Have you seen a bigger six than Short's at Manuka Oval? Tell us about it in the comments section below.