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

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)

Chadwick Walton

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

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

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.

DOUBLE TROUBLE! The Universe Boss @henrygayle and Chadwick Walton wreak havoc at Warner Park and in doing so achieved the CPL highest ever partnership. #CPL20 #CricketPlayedLouder #JamaicaTallawahs #ChrisGayle #ChadwickWalton pic.twitter.com/4OvU2vhRiM

— CPL T20 (@CPL) July 24, 2020

1. Johnson Charles (173 fours)

Johnson Charles

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.

5 batsmen with most sixes in CPL

Some batsmen are just gifted with the ability and sheer power to clear the ropes at will and add six runs to the total. We take a look at 5 such batsmen whose hitting prowess are a boon to any team that they are a part of.

5. Darren Bravo (93 sixes)

Darren Bravo

To the people who are used to seeing Darren Bravo playing in whites for the West Indies, his presence in the top six-hitters of CPL might be a surprise.

He has hit more than 20 sixes in 3 different CPL seasons. In the 2018 edition, he was the joint-second in terms of six-hitting with 24 maximums. On the back of those 24 sixes, he scored 353 runs in that season at a strike rate of 131.2 as well.

Darren Bravo is one of the few batsmen who has more sixes to his tally in CPL than boundaries. Representing his home franchise from Trinidad since the inception of CPL, he has 75 boundaries in addition to the 93 times that he cleared the fence.

4. Lendl Simmons (105 sixes)

Lendl Simmons

Lendl Simmons, who is the nephew of the former West Indies player and current coach Phil Simmons, is one of four players to hit over 100 sixes in their CPL career. One has to say that he is an under-appreciated cricketer, mostly falling in the shadows of stalwarts like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell.

The knack to find boundaries has made him a valuable top-order batsman for his franchises. Last season, the Trinidadian scored 90 runs from just 45 balls against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, hitting 6 sixes and 9 boundaries. He ended the season scoring 430 runs, the second-highest behind Brandon King.

The team-trotter, having represented four other franchises returned to Trinbago Knight Riders in 2019, and will again represent the franchise in the 2020 season.

3. Kieron Pollard (106 sixes)

Kieron Pollard

The West Indies limited-overs skipper is just one ahead of his fellow Trinidadian when it comes to sixes hit in the CPL. But this has to be viewed in the perspective of a middle-order batsman who gets a limited number of deliveries to face in a T20 encounter.

Kieron Pollard has transformed from just being a big hitter to a someone who is a matured batsman and the leader of the side. He scored over 300 runs in both 2018 and 2019 seasons with an explosive strike rate of over 159. This included a knock of 104 from 54 balls to end the losing streak for St Lucia Stars in 2018.

After playing for Barbados Tridents initially and then for St Lucia Stars, Pollard was picked up by his home franchise Trinbago Knight Riders in the 2019 draft. He will captain the side in 2020 edition.

2. Evin Lewis (111 sixes)

Evin Lewis

Chris Gayle’s partner in crime at the top of the order in T20Is for the West Indies is second in the list of six-hitters in CPL history.

Evin Lewis has had an up-and-down journey in the CPL. After a glittering season in 2017, in which he scored 371 runs at a strike rate of 184.57, Lewis had a disastrous year in 2018 where he scored just 126 runs. However, the left-handed opening batsman made immense improvements in 2019, scoring 265 runs at a strike rate of 149.71.

This is the sixth season in which Lewis will be representing St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He is also the all-time top scorer for the franchise.

WE HIT THEM FOR SIX!!! Did you know that EvIn Lewis scored the most runs off an over at CPL19 (31 RUNS). #CPL20 #SKPInFocus #CricketPlayedLouder pic.twitter.com/qdMRdcgisq

— CPL T20 (@CPL) July 31, 2020

1. Chris Gayle (162 sixes)

Chris Gayle

The difference between Chris Gayle and the other batsmen in this list shows the dominance the Jamaican superstar has had in the CPL. Even if he misses the next couple of seasons, it’s highly unlikely that anyone would match his tally of sixes.

The Universe Boss has hit 172 boundaries in addition to the 162 times he has lofted the ball over the boundary.

Although the last two CPLs did not go entirely well for Chris Gayle, he still sits at the top of the run-scorers list in the history of CPL with 2354 runs over 7 seasons.

Chris Gayle has unfortunately announced his unavailability for the 2020 edition of CPL due to personal reasons. He was supposed to play for the St Lucia Zouks in the 2020 CPL.