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Is Chris Gayle the cleanest hitter of the cricket ball in the last 50 years?

ExpressPacer

ExpressPacer

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When in form, I don't think there is a man who hits cricket balls better. It doesn't matter if its swinging, seaming, spinner, at pace, slow, reverse swinging, it doesn't matter if the pitch is bouncy, a rank turner or a green strip - this man connects and it always goes beyond the boundary.

I was watching the highlights of his innings in the BPL and the sixes were just SO effortless. Not Afridi, not Sehwag, not De Villiers, not Yuvi, none of them hit them as easily and as far as this guy. They hit a lot of sixes but this guy hits them so EFFORTLESSLY.

Even at 39 years old, he's still the worlds most destructive batsman,
 
That's why he does it so often.

His six-hitting is very simple and very economical.

He just stands there, and anything in his arc, it's a simple, clean swing. Very repeatable.

He is a little worse at handling top-class bowling because he's become a bit old, but he's lost none of his power. He will be unstoppable against spinners for next few years yet. He can still hit 145+ bowlers as he showed yesterday.

Overall, it's astonishing how good a hitter he is.
 
An ATG as far as the limited overs formats are concerned, one of the most destructive and cleanest hitters I've seen and the fact he's still doing it at his age is impressive.
 
Legend.

All time great (T20).

The greatest striker of the cricket ball and the greatest T20 player to grace the earth.

Gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyle Forceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
 
He is a T20 legend but IMO it's AB De Villiers who is the cleanest hitter in last 50 years.
 
Afridi says hi, if it's about hitting monster sixes, then and if it's about clean hitting than even razzaq is better vs actually decent bowlers. Gayle is only good at murdering rubbish or average bowlers regularly and doesn't have many great knocks vs quality bowling.
 
Imagine if other tall and buff cricketers picked up cricket like Gayle and KP, world would have more clean cricketers. Hitting boundaries for them seem so effortless.

Don’t recall any of those type of players representing any of the sub continent teams, that’s why we’ve always had a lack of clean hitters.
 
Zeshan547 said:
Afridi says hi, if it's about hitting monster sixes, then and if it's about clean hitting than even razzaq is better vs actually decent bowlers. Gayle is only good at murdering rubbish or average bowlers regularly and doesn't have many great knocks vs quality bowling.
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Don't even mention razzaq in the same sentence with gayle. Yes afridi is the closest competitor but his below decent avg. cuts this comparison off. Gayle has been a more consistent demolisher
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
Ab is nowhere close to gayle in clean hitting, he is more about playing unorthodoxically rather than clean hitting.
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Or may be I misunderstood the clean hitting meaning then definitely Gayle is up there very high- the ease with which he hits 6 is fantastic.
 
Ab Fan said:
Yes but he hits them clean too. Chances of mishit is lower.
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Its about how you define clean hitting.
Clean hitting is about clearing the ropes comfortably as well as striking the ball with
such audacity that its a six as soon as it leaves the bat and in this matter gayle is the clear winner
 
My personal opinion is that Gayle is not a clean hitter , but with the brute power he possesses , even mishits go over the line. A clean hitter would be efficient where the power used and distance travelled will be proportional. Sharjeel , Yuvraj , Sohail Maqsood , Miller , Russell etc
 
For me its Yuvi. He was more "complete" and was difficult to bowl over as he was able to score at any side.
 
While he did it very rarely, I have never seen a Misbah hoick not reach the stands. Baap of clean sixes. Did it very rarely as well so not to be too predictable and boring for the 2 spectators that showed up in Dubai :misbah
 
AFM said:
While he did it very rarely, I have never seen a Misbah hoick not reach the stands. Baap of clean sixes. Did it very rarely as well so not to be too predictable and boring for the 2 spectators that showed up in Dubai :misbah
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I actually agree :) Besides the end of his career; I never seen a Misbah 6 attempt not succeeding.

Gayle is not the cleanest 6 hitter; there are better cricketers. Example: AB, Yuvraj and Sharjeel Khan to name a few.
 
Had Umar Akmal applied himself and not lost his determination and fitness, along with displaying good attitude, I would rate him as one of THE top clean hitters in cricket. His shots had a nice sound off the bat and it went over the boundary like there was a magnet attracting the ball on the other side. His straight bat shots were a beauty to watch and were the definition of clean. What a sad story he is!
 
Even though Gayle is well past his prime, he can still hit it long and far when he is on song. The best thing about him is that even a mishit can go over the ropes. His range is unbelievable.

His peak years were 2009-2013, he was unstoppable back then.
 
hafizexpress said:
Had Umar Akmal applied himself and not lost his determination and fitness, along with displaying good attitude, I would rate him as one of THE top clean hitters in cricket. His shots had a nice sound off the bat and it went over the boundary like there was a magnet attracting the ball on the other side. His straight bat shots were a beauty to watch and were the definition of clean. What a sad story he is!
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He was not a power hitter but you are right in a way.It's sad to see such a talented player wasting himself like that
 
Gayle is more power and more consistent, Guptill is the cleanest striker I've seen.
 
I think, among specialist bats, he is definitely among very best. Gilly, Cairns & Klusner were hard hitters as well.

Among specialist bats, I'll still take Viv as the hardest hitter of the ball, followed by Lloyd; while Grineedge was probably the hardest hitter of conventional shots. His squire cuts were the fiercest conventional shot that I have seen, while his one legged pulls often caught leg umpires off guard. Lloyd used to put 5/6 grips on his handle and his straight hits sometimes reached boundaries before umpire could turn head to see it!!!!!

West Indians are genetically extremely strong and robust; most of their big hitters were frightening. I haven't seen CL Walcott, but many rates him the hardest driver of the ball. Richardson and Haynes were savaging pullers as well, while once Andy Roberts hit Botham for 6 fours in an over.

Among Asians, I think it's close between Sehwag, Hari De Silva & Ul Haq.
 
Guptill is an insane hitter, I saw him hit one onto the roof of Eden Park against Australia live.
 
Peak Yuvraj was the cleanest striker I've seen from India. Gayle is certainly the most consistent striker of the ball. However,before brute strength, iveould go with Andrew Symonds. He made Hayden,gilly and ponting look weak. Just watch that 143 against a good Pakistani attack in the 03 world cup again. Sone of those sixes in not sure any batsman has hit such powerful flat sixes.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Peak Yuvraj was the cleanest striker I've seen from India. Gayle is certainly the most consistent striker of the ball. However,before brute strength, iveould go with Andrew Symonds. He made Hayden,gilly and ponting look weak. Just watch that 143 against a good Pakistani attack in the 03 world cup again. Sone of those sixes in not sure any batsman has hit such powerful flat sixes.
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YV as well, I missed him.
 
It's a treat to watch the big man Chris Gayle batting. I'm a huge fan of him.
 
Him and Andre Russel. Chris Lynn too. And Hardik Pandya
 
It doesn't matter you are 21, 31 or 41, age is just a number. The legend continues his luxurious run in IPL.

:salute
 
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