New Delhi, June 5: Hitting sixes regularly is a key aspect in Twenty20 cricket. As the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 kicks off, the former players who could hit huge hits over the fence are expectedly remembered again.
Among the big and clean hitters, a few West Indians from Viv Richards to Chris Gayle usually remind us about their abilities.
Ahead of Australia's T20 World Cup opener against Oman, Aussie all-rounder Tim David admitted that he drives influence from West Indies stars like players Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and Andre Russell to enhance his style of play. He also hailed the Caribbean stars as the "kingpins of six-hitting" territory.
The Australian team are training in Guyana ahead of their match against Oman on June 6 ( India Time) at Providence Stadium.
"When you think about six-hitting, you think about Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell – those Caribbean guys, they're the kingpins of that territory. You watch them, you see how they go about it, how they play in the Caribbean. You don't want to emulate them so to speak, but there's some inspiration and enjoyment watching those guys play," said David to cricket.com.au.
David’s T20 career took off after a breakthrough season with the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. Since then, he has been a consistent power-hitter, second only to Nicholas Pooran in T20 sixes globally, with an impressive strike rate of 164.34. His ability to perform in the middle to lower order has filled a long-standing gap in Australian T20 cricket.
"When I commit to hitting boundaries, hitting sixes, that's when I've been most effective and most destructive. When you're going like that, you look at a (required) score, you might go, 'right, it's 24 off 12,' and some people might say that's 12 an over. But it's four balls. So what's a realistic amount of sixes I can hit from 12 balls?
"You can hit four sixes in four balls if you're going really well. But to be realistic, you might miss a couple. I will try and finish it in sixes. I suppose that's the method I'm most confident with," he said.
David’s BBL performance propelled him onto the global T20 stage, earning him a record-breaking IPL contract and a spot in the Australian team for the 2022 T20 World Cup. He has played in eight short-form domestic leagues, nearly as many games for Mumbai Indians as for the Hurricanes, and has enjoyed stints with the St Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League.
Winning a World Cup, however, remains his ultimate goal. "You wouldn't be necessarily satisfied with your career until you win a World Cup. That's what you can hang your hat on. I wanted to play the final as well, but I wasn't cleared (by Australia) to play that game," he said.
"When I commit to something, I want to be a part of it. I want to win tournaments. The Aussie boys won the (2021) T20 World Cup at the Dubai stadium … playing finals cricket is what you spend all your energy for. That's what you'll look back on fondly," he concluded.
Tim David may credit the West Indian greats as kingpins of big-hitting. But Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Yuvraj Singh, Martin Crowe, Kevin Pietersen, Sanath Jayasuriya, Herschelle Gibbs and few others too could hit big sixes and entertained fans with their high strike rates. But many of them did retire before advent of T20 format. (With IANS support)
