THEY flew through the air with the greatest of ease.

Sixes galore with world records to please.

Essex County Cricket Club's soaring Eagle Graham Napier is still flying high up on cloud nine after smashing the record books wide open with the most spectacular big-hitting blitz ever seen at Chelmsford's Ford County Ground.

The bullish 28-year-old Colchester born all-rounder smacked a staggering 16 sixes and ten fours earlier this week in an unbelievable savagery of the Sussex Sharks bowlers on his way to a blistering undefeated 152 from just 58 balls to keep the Essex Eagles Twenty20 Cup hopes alive.

Great Essex favourites such as Graham Gooch and their exciting West Indies Test star Keith Boyce had never achieved anything like it.

And as he smote the ball to all corners of the boundary, the swashbuckling Napier left a whole host of records in his wake.

l His 16 sixes are a new English and world Twenty20 Cup record, easliy eclipsing New Zealander Brendon McCullum's previous record of 11.

l His incredible feat also matches that of Australian Test star Andrew Symonds, who whacked 16 sixes for Gloucestershire against Glamorgan at Abergavenny in the County Championship in 1995 for the First Class cricket record.

l His score of 152 not out is now the highest by any batsman in the five seasons of English Twenty20 Cup competition, edging out Australian Cameron White's score of 141 not out for Somerset against Worcestershire at New Road in 2006. It was only six shy of McCullum's world record 158.

l As only the second Essex batsman to register a century in domestic Twenty20 Cup cricket, Napier's 152 easily tops the 100 not out scored by former Essex captain Ronnie Irani, ironically against Sussex Sharks at Hove in July two years ago.

Napier's previous Twenty20 Cup best was a modest 38 and still dazzled by his mesmerizing record-breaking innings, Napier told the Gazette: "I had no idea about setting any records when I went out to bat.

"Our coach Paul Grayson told me to go out and play my normal game and after scratching around for my first 50 runs I decided to open up and go for it.

"I don't get many opportunities to break records, Goochie (Graham Gooch) was always the one to do that.

"But Twenty20 cricket is my speciality and my type of brute force batting and timing is tailor-made for that sort of crash, bang, whallop game."

Napier said earlier in the tournament he had been batting at eight or nine and he only got his chance to bat up the order (first wicket down) after good scores in the 30s against Middlesex and Sussex.

And looking lovingly at his trusty 2lb 11ozs Warsop Stebbing bat, he added: "I had it specially made for the Twenty20 Cup, bottom heavy with a lower sweet spot.

"It is difficult to describe exactly what went on out in the middle, but that sweet spot certainly paid dividends.

"I felt on fire and everything I tried came off. It was fantastic, really awesome. I middled one or two shots early on, got into a rhythm and things just got better and better."

Nowhere was safe as the Colchester man launched into his onslaught and they were picking up balls from out of the grandstand, the pavilion, adjoining flats, the River Cam and the nearby park.

"I've looked at the highlights since," said Napier. "And I reckon only two of my big hits might not have been sixes on any other ground.

"But between us we scored something like 170 runs off the final nine overs, that's nearly 20 every over.

"My strengths are hitting straight and using power, but I had no idea of any records until Ryan ten Doeschate joined me at the wicket.

"I still didn't know about Brendon McCullum's world record but Ryan said the English record was 141 so I decided to go all out for that and take it from there.

"If I'd known the world record was 158 I would've made a bigger effort to have got there.

"As it was, I did hear our chief exec David East was going to fine me for losing so many cricket balls. We knocked in 12 new ones before the match, but I don' t know how many are left now."

Now, with a dream of an England Test cap still burning brightly in his chest, Napier declared: "Performances like this are always very special.

"It is great that I have left my mark and when I look back over my career in years to come I can say to myself it was nice to have done that."