Leicestershire batter Louis Kimber rewrote record books as he smashed the fastest double-century in the County Championship as well as the second-fastest in overall first-class cricket.
The 27-year-old batter played a historic 243-run knock in only 127 balls in the second innings of the County Championship Division Two match against Sussex in Hove. However, his innings came in a losing cause as Sussex registered a narrow 18-run victory.
During his innings, the right-handed batter shattered multiple records and destroyed England’s Test bowler Ollie Robinson, who conceded 43 runs in one over. This was the second-most expensive over in First-Class cricket history.
Louis Kimber hit Robinson for an overall five sixes, three of which came on no-balls, three fours and a single in the 59th over.
Kimber, who was batting at 72 off 56 balls before Robinson’s over, amassed an unbeaten 109 off just 65 balls at the conclusion of the over.
He continued his onslaught and completed his double-century in only 100 balls, breaking the record for the fastest double-century in the history of county cricket.
Kimber’s 100-ball double-century is only second to Afghanistan batter Shafiqullah, who reached the landmark in 89 balls back in 2018.
Fastest double-century in first-class cricket
Shafiqullah – 89 balls, Kabul Region vs Boost Region, 2018
Louis Kimber – 100 balls, Leicestershire vs Sussex, 2024
Tanmay Agarwal – 119 balls, Hyderabad vs Arunachal, 2024
Ravi Shastri – 123 balls, Bombay vs Baroda, 1985
Aneurin Donald – 123 balls, Glamorgan vs Derbyshire, 2016
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Kimber smashed 20 fours and 21 sixes on his way to 243, breaking the record for most sixes in an innings in the County Championship.
The record was previously held by current England Test captain Ben Stokes, who struck 17 sixes against Worcestershire in 2022.
The right-handed batter expressed his joy after the record-breaking innings, but he was a little disappointed to end up on the losing side.
“You don’t get many days like that in your career, it was unbelievable really,” Kimber told the ECB Reporters’ Network. “It’s just a shame we couldn’t get over the line but personally, you have to enjoy days like that. It was good fun.
“I just tried to be positive and see what happened. I got a bit of luck here and there but you need that. Most of the lads have told me to remember it because days like this don’t come around too often.
“My phone has been buzzing and the records I have broken are pretty cool. All the Sussex players congratulated me and told me I didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. They were very gracious and over four days probably deserved to win.
“I can’t remember hitting the ball as cleanly as I did today before. I got into a kind of weird zone when I wasn’t thinking too much except trying to hit the ball where I wanted to.”