No 5: Andre Russell

Play 02:49 Play 02:49 Tom Moody on what makes Andre Russell a T20 great

At some point in the rapid evolution of the format, T20 batters started to break stiff targets down into the number of sixes they would take. Fifty-three runs off 18 balls sounds bad. Nine good hits off 18, not so much. Just that you have to be as good as the batter involved in that real-match scenario, Andre Russell.

Over a 15-year career and counting, Russell has hit a six every 7.29 balls. No other player has taken under eight balls per six over any decent period of time. Chris Gayle, for example, the most prolific six-hitter in the format, took 9.53 balls per six, Nicholas Pooran hits one every 9.62 deliveries, and Kieron Pollard is closer to ten balls per.

Though mathematically a dot ball is a better result for a fielding side than a single, when Russell is on strike, a bowler ought to prefer giving him the single and getting him off strike to letting him get another look. A true pioneer, Russell specialises in the difficult role of walking in and making immediate and maximum impact.

Maximum impact from sixes is the philosophy the first dynasty of T20 cricket, the West Indies national team, adopted. Singles were the last option. A four was still two short. Try to hit even good balls for sixes. If one comes off in three, it is better than playing each of those balls on their merit and taking three singles. Of the six-hitting evangelists, Russell has been the high priest.

Russell T20 factfile Matches: 455

455 Runs: 7945

7945 Strike rate: 169.58

169.58 Wickets: 406

406 Econ: 8.62

8.62 PotM awards: 39

39 Titles: 11

11 Standout stat: Russell has played over 50 games in each of three T20 leagues, and has a strike rate of over 160 in each of them - 174.92 (IPL), 171.02 (CPL), and 166.66 (BPL).

To introduce a new vocabulary and grammar to cricket as he did, Russell had to train dramatically differently. He calls himself a power athlete. He spends a lot of time in the gym "mostly doing power stuff". Sometimes, when he has friends over, chilling, he will disappear for an hour to his home gym and come back after a shower. He does push-ups and sit-ups in hotel rooms.

The idea is to have so much strength that he can play with a simple technique. No need to advance down the wicket to create momentum. No trigger movements, no lap shots, nothing cute. Just a strong base, stay still, clear the front leg and react to the ball. In the nets, he asks for low full tosses and yorkers from the throwdowns guy. To get used to getting under good balls.

All this hard work truly pays off when even a mishit carries all the way for six. When the bowler knows nothing short of absolutely nailing a yorker will do, he is likelier to miss the mark. The pressure, in a way, is psychological, but it is induced by the physical strength and the hard work Russell puts in to become this explosive power athlete.

Among other records, Russell holds the one for the fastest fifty in the CPL, scored off 14 balls © CPL via Getty Images

The strength plays a part in him just ambling in and regularly clocking 145kph with the ball. Russell's body is not the most supple - bowling tends to get him inured - but in T20, it is not that big a strain. With the ball, he usually has the freedom to worry less about the holding job so that he can go all out looking for wickets. He bowls only about 2.5 overs per match, but is still among only six bowlers to have taken more than 450 T20 wickets.

Career high: Russell is one of only six men with ten or more title wins in T20 tournaments involving five or more teams. Eight of his titles are from leagues in five different countries. However, his high will remain 2019, a season when his franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, didn't even make the IPL playoffs. He hit 52 sixes in just 249 balls, scoring 510 runs at a strike rate of over two a ball, and also took 11 wickets in 30.1 overs.

Stats in factfile sidebars are for all T20 matches, minus internationals, and current as up to the start of the 2025 IPL. League wins cover tournaments of four teams and above, and include seasons where the player appeared in at least one match for the winning team

Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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