Nothing special about hitting sixes anymore, says Ricardo Powell

There are one off performances which tend to grab eyeballs and the image of Ricardo Powell hitting sixes at will during the 1999 tri-series final between India and West Indies in Singapore was one such knock.

He is best known for a match-winning 124 off 93 balls against India that had an incredible eight sixes -- not a very common sight during the 50-over games in the 90's.

Now 39 and a chief selector of United States national cricket team, Powell feels that hitting sixes for fun is the new normal.

"When I played, not many had that kind of game -- only a few like Lance Klusener, Andrew Flintoff, Virender Sehwag. Now if you look at the game, especially the shorter versions, you have tons of people doing that. There is nothing special about hitting anymore," Powell, who played 109 ODIs and two Tests between 1999 and 2005, told PTI on the sidelines of the first Test.

The size of the bat has also made hitting sixes easier, he feels.

"Look at the bat sizes too. I played with the blade half the size of most current players. Top edges are flying out of the park. Hitting sixes is the norm."
Taking another dig at the modern-day batsmen, Powell said:"I averaged 25 as a middle order batsman which is now considered good in T20s."