CPL history: List of batsmen with most fours and most sixes in the tournament
The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a festival of explosive cricket for fans across the globe. The pack of entertainers from the islands have continued to regale us over the years.
The 8th edition of the CPL is all set to begin on August 18. All the matches will be played in Trinidad & Tobago, and audiences will not be allowed in the stadiums owing to the ongoing threat of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As we all gear up to the 2020 edition of CPL, we take a look at who has scored the maximum number of boundaries and sixes in the history of the league. When we talk about the big hitters from the West Indies, the obvious names that come to our mind are that of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell or Dwayne Bravo.
5 Batsmen with most fours in CPL
Sometimes T20 cricket is not all about clearing the boundary with a huge hit. A bounce or two as the ball dribbles over the line brings you four valuable runs as well, and we look at five of the best, when it comes to hitting boundaries, in the CPL.
5. Dwayne Smith (158 fours)
Dwayne Smith sits at number 5 in terms of most boundaries hit in CPL history. Along with the 158 fours that he has hit, the Barbadian has cleared the boundary 75 times in CPL matches.
Over 7 CPL seasons, Smith has represented 3 CPL franchises, namely Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs. Smith scored over 300 runs in the 2014 and 2017 editions of the CPL, both times playing for Barbados Tridents. He has also played for Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
Smith played for the Jamaican franchise in the 2019 season. He had a disastrous tournament, scoring a paltry 71 runs from 6 matches. The 37-year-old all-rounder will not take part in this year’s CPL.
After sitting out of the national side, Dwayne Smith had already announced his retirement from all international cricket in 2017.
4. Chadwick Walton (160 fours)
The wicket-keeper batsman of Jamaica Tallawahs has scored 160 fours in his CPL career. Apart from being fourth in the list of boundary hitters, he also sits in the 5th position for top run-scorers of all time in the CPL.
Chadwick Walton had an excellent season with the Guyana Amazon Warriors in 2017, scoring 458 runs at a strike rate of over 145. He was also their top-scorer that year. However, the last two seasons haven’t gone as well for him, averaging just 17. The 35-year-old will certainly look to redeem himself in this edition.
After playing for a couple of seasons for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, the Tallawahs have brought the Jamaican wicket-keeper back home.
3. Lendl Simmons (168 fours)
Lendl Simmons, who is second in the list of aggregate runs scored, has punished the bowlers for 168 fours in his CPL career starting from its inception. He has been a consistent performer with the bat for whichever franchise that he has played for.
After remaining in the top 5 run-getters in the initial 3 seasons of the CPL, his form dipped a bit. Last year, the Trinidadian made the headlines again by scoring 430 runs in the season at a strike rate of 150.3 and securing the second position in the top-scorers’ list behind Brandon King of Guyana Amazon Warriors.
The Trinidadian has represented 5 franchises in the CPL over a span of 7 years. He was picked up by the Trinbago Knight Riders in 2019 and will continue to represent them in the 2020 edition of CPL.
2. Chris Gayle (172 fours)
Chris Gayle stands second in case of boundaries scored in the CPL history, with 172 shots that crossed the boundary after at least one bounce.
After consistently remaining in the top 5 run-scorers in each season of the CPL from its inception till 2017, the last two seasons saw a slump in the form of the Universe Boss. He aggregated 526 runs in 2018 and 2019 combined, scoring one half-century and one century. It could not be a bad return for an ordinary player, but when it comes to Gayle, it is certainly viewed as below-par.
Over the years, Chris Gayle has represented St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in addition to his home franchise Jamaica Tallawahs. The 40-year-old veteran leads the pack in terms of most runs scored in the history of the CPL.
1. Johnson Charles (173 fours)
To get Gayle to the second position, it takes someone extraordinary. And we find that man in Johnson Charles, who was once Gayle’s opening partner in the West Indies limited-overs side.
The muscular right-handed batter is coming off an excellent season with the bat for Barbados Tridents in 2019. He scored 415 runs at a strike rate of 122.4 and was top-scorer for his franchise for the season.
This was the second time the St Lucian had scored over 400 runs in a season after he did it for the first time in 2016 for his home franchise, the St Lucia Zouks.
In addition to the 173 boundaries, he has also cleared the ropes 79 times during his CPL career.