Anderson's rare six, and the exalted company he keeps

James Anderson, 169 innings, 3 sixes

James Anderson's batting often invokes his "Burnley Lara" nickname among fans, commentators and team-mates alike. His six off Kagiso Rabada today was just his third in a long career spanning 123 Tests, in his 169th Test innings, and had his new Test captain Joe Root in splits on the Lord's balcony. It was his first in over five years, and the first-ever instance of him hitting a fast bowler for six in Test cricket. Saeed Ajmal and Paul Harris are the only others to have been carted over the fence by Anderson.

VVS Laxman, 225 innings, 5 sixes

Silken touch and sublime timing were Laxman's greatest assets, but surely, with that ferocious pull, he would have managed more than a handful of sixes in his career? Turns out the number is just five, an average of one every 45 innings. Some of them barely crossed the boundary, including the time Mluleki Nkala stepped on the rope after catching Laxman's pull on the fence, way back during that memorable 2001 season.

Mike Atherton, 212 innings, 4 sixes

Another technically correct batsman with a copybook technique and one of the best cover drives in the game's history, Atherton was not one to take the aerial route too often, as a six every 53 innings attests to. It is a fact Anderson, his Lancashire compatriot, can keep handy to bandy about, whenever someone ribs him about his batting abilities.

Hashan Tillakaratne, 131 innings, 1 six

Tillakaratne hit 540 fours over the course of his Test career spanning nearly 16 years, hitting bowlers all around the park with a combination of magnificent driving and hefty wristwork. A sole six is all he has against his name, hit towards the end of his career in 2001, off West Indian legspinner Dinanath Ramnarine.

David Boon, 190 innings, 2 sixes

Boon hit 16 sixes in 14 fewer innings in ODIs, but was a lot more cautious in Tests, as is to be expected. An accumulator who would stick it out and compile innings of importance for Australia, Boon's restraint and discipline in the game's longest format is evident from the grand total of two sixes in 107 Tests.

Wondering who else makes it to the 100+ innings, five-or-less sixes list? Here's the whole lot