286 Runs in one ball

Story of  286 runs
scored off one ball . Pall Mall Gazette – an
English newspaper with roots in London, all the
way back in 1865 – is the originator of this
quite unbelievable tale which has travelled
around the world ever since being first published
on 15th January 1894.
In its ‘Sporting Notes and News’ section, the
paper noted that a match was played at
Bonbury in Western Australia between Victoria
and a ‘scratch XI from the neighbourhood’.
Victorians went in to bat and the first ball was
hit into the branches of a tall jarrah tree which
was inside the ground.
Now, as the legend goes, the home team
appealed for a ‘lost ball’, but the umpires could
see the exact spot where the ball was
stuck and refused to declare the ball ‘lost’.
At this time now, the Victorians started running
between the wickets. Unable to find any
alternative, an axe was called for bringing down
the tree. But as luck would have it, they failed
to procure an axe and the batsmen kept on
running.
Next, someone brought out a rifle to dislodge
the ball from its position, and finally after many
shots missing the target, the ball was finally
shot down and brought to the ground.
Fantastically, nobody caught the ball before it
hit the ground.
The story goes on to state that the batsmen
had run 286 runs by then, creating the world
record for most runs off a single delivery in
cricket. It adds that the Victorians declared
then, bringing probably the shortest innings to a
close, if this legend is to be believed, and won
the match!