Greg Beacroft’s World Record Six Hitting Innings for Yass

In January 1979, Greg Beacroft playing for Yass first grade against Williamsdale in the Sunday competition scored 268 runs in 92 minutes at the O’Connor concrete pitch in Canberra.

The 21-year-old Beacroft, who played first grade for Western Districts in the Saturday competition, hit an amazing 29 sixes in his innings, which at the time, was reported to be an official world record.

Unfortunately, balls faced were not recorded in those days and I was told by a good mate who was playing in the match, that the innings would have been much quicker in time as some deliveries were deposited on to the bitumen surface of Barry Drive which runs past the oval. This meant that the fielder retrieving the ball had to scale a six-foot-high wire fence that bordered the road, significantly adding to the time that Beacroft batted for.

Peter O’Reilly, who was an ACT representative played in this match as well and the following is his recollection of Greg Beacroft’s innings.

“Greg was a bit dusty at the beginning of his innings as a few of his early sixes only just cleared the boundary. He was hung over from his 21st Birthday party the night before. He partnered mostly with a Yass guy by the name of Donny Douglass who played the perfect foil for Greg. Donny scored 29 singles in his score of 29 feeding Greg the strike. 29 sixes and 11 fours by Greg. There was a church service beginning across the road where Greg landed one nearly hitting a combi van on the way in and 50 minutes later again on the way out of the church grounds. It was an unbelievable innings and remember waking up the next morning to hear it on the national news with Keith Miller calling for Greg to be added to the Australian team against England.”

Sadly, Greg passed away a few years ago from cancer, however, his innings briefly made him a cricketing celebrity, with radio interviews locally and internationally, while his record stood till October of 2017, when Josh Dunstan hit forty sixes and nine fours in his innings of 307 for West Augusta against Central Stirling in the Port Augusta cricket association.