Sensationally, we take a look at which batsmen have been the biggest hitters over the last three Momentum One Day Cup campaigns, from the 2017/18 season till the latest 2019/20 tournament.
Being a big hitter does not define how good or bad a batsman is, but rather it tells a tale of how exciting they can be or how breaking they could be in the crunch times of matches.
Batsmen prone to ‘hitting big’ may be reliable in certain situations, but at the same time, could also be a liability in other scenarios. Cricket always poses a balancing act between different gifts and skills.
With one-day cricket having a limit to its overs, it could be an interesting gauge to determine which batsmen have delivered in terms of going for big hits when their respective teams have needed it the most and, in terms of spectatorship, which of them have excited the masses.
No amount of innings or matches have limited this ranking, as the more matches that were played or balls faced, the more likely a batsman would have of smashing the most overall sixes or boundaries. If the batsmen’s number of sixes is tied, then the number of fours hit would be weighted.
Again, the national regulars and players who had not consistently played domestic cricket would be set back from making the list. However, certain batsmen had done enough in a season or two to make the cut.
One such example was Proteas star Aiden Markram, who played in only two of the three seasons but had smashed the most overall sixes of 27, 24 of which were smacked in the 2018/19 season alone.
Closely following Markram was a tie between youngster Grant Roelofsen and Sarel Erwee, with both having hit a total of 24 sixes. However, Roelofsen managed to do it in one season (2019/20), whereas Erwee featured in many matches throughout all three seasons.
Since the list favours consistency as the second-highest variable, Erwee would get the nod with the most fours put away.
Top 10 most sixes (and then fours) hit in the MODC as from 2017 till 2020:
- Aiden Markram (Titans) – 27 sixes (70 fours)
- Sarel Erwee (Dolphins) – 24 sixes (144 fours)
- Grant Roelofsen (Dolphins) – 24 sixes (58 fours)
- Heinrich Klaasen (Titans) – 22 sixes (80 fours)
- Farhaan Behardien (Titans) – 20 sixes (64 fours)
- Dean Elgar (Titans) – 18 sixes (44 fours)
- Lesiba Ngoepe (Warriors) – 16 sixes (60 fours)
- Patrick Kruger (Knights) – 16 sixes (59 fours)
- Khaya Zondo (Dolphins) – 15 sixes (51 fours)
- Marco Marais (Warriors) – 15 sixes (25 fours)
Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
