Andre Fletcher belongs to a rare species of six-hitters

Expectations were based on the assumption that batsmen are the soul of T20 cricket and bowlers are the whipping boys in this short trade; the same is the case with fielders. Of course, the Asia Cup T20 in Dhaka was a saving grace for the bowlers as the Amirs and Bumrahs took centre-stage there. 

Though Maxwell is yet to get into the act in the World T20, Gayle has already done what was expected of him, scoring a 47-ball hundred. But the big bang came from another West Indian, Andre Fletcher, who opened the innings against Sri Lanka and hit some huge sixes on his way to 84 not out. Curiously, the six-hitters have different styles. 

The conventional six-hitters such as Virat Kohli clear the boundary not by miles but just enough to get the maximum or just into the stands if he makes the right contact. But the clan of Fletcher is typically West Indian both in spirit and execution: they are two-dimensional players clearing the boundary by length and height. 

Chris Gayle belongs to this group; so do Yuvraj and Dhoni, who almost reach the roof of the stadium. Maybe, we can drop Yuvraj from the list because most of his big sixes were from the past. Fletcher’s sixes reminded one of another West Indian, Ricardo Powell, who aimed at the sun (or the moon) first and then with sheer power sent the ball out of the ground. 

Remember how Powell destroyed India with a hundred in a Oneday International in Singapore with an array of sixes that hit the backrows of the stadium. Incidentally, that was the only century Powell hit in his One-day career. 

One of Fletcher’s mishits against Sri Lanka stayed in the air for a few seconds and looked like landing in some waiting hands but it still cleared the boundary by some margin. Even Dhoni won’t leave such a big pause while hitting his scooped sixes. Probably, there should be a way to measure the distance upwards as well to put these players in perspective. 

The West Indian six-hitters are yet to come to the party: Darren Sammy and Andre Russell have not been tested yet and fortunately for the bowlers Keiron Pollard is not there in this West Indian team. There is only brute power and if it combines with good contact, the West Indian willows will murder the bowlers. 

Without a doubt, the one component that distinguishes T20 from the other forms of cricket is sixes. And did you know that at the moment Afghanistan hit the most number of sixes (28) in the World Cup so far (before the match against England). Of course, it includes the qualifying matches too!