short wicketkeepers

[Neil Pickup]

Very arguably indeed - I'd say there are several as good, and probably hundreds more that we don't know about because they're not good enough batsmen to come near international cricket.
I'd also dispute the four-foot-three part, but that's another story... birds-of-a-feather, and all that, as you should know, Neil...

You know full well what I meant...

 

[GermanShepherd]

Whereas Gilchrist is tall by wicketkeeping standards, he is still under 6 feet.

I think you might be wrong there, Luckyeddie. I saw Gilchrist in the Taj Samudra in Colombo earlier this year and he was a little taller than me.
I'm 5"11 myself.

 

[Richard]

Are there really any?

Plenty have higher averages than 35.

 

[Richard]

Short batsmen have to put in a lot more effort to make the ball travel far. Sanath and Lara were short, but had hit the big shots from their arms. Gilchrist and Hayden just play normal, clean textbook shots and hit their sixes.

Six-hitting also requires a special technique, which the likes of Aravinda de Silva had, but a little extra muscle can help too.

Look, Arjun, even if hitting sixes mattered that much (very seldom can you take the sixes away from the scores of both sides and change the match-result) the fact of the matter is, you don't need strength and heavy bats to hit the ball for six, not if you go about things the right way.
A good backlift and a gift for timing is all you need. And, of course, the technique to play the right shots in the neccessary manner.

 

[Arjun]

Plenty have higher averages than 35.

It's not just the average. Even the strike rate and conversion rate count. Not to mention how many matches have been won when he has got a lot of runs.

very seldom can you take the sixes away from the scores of both sides and change the match-result

The Indian team lacks the big shots. Look at who defeated them in the World Cup final and tournaments that followed. Six-hitting opposition, and a side who bowled and fielded well. Even in the NatWest Challenge, they were outdone by six-hitters.

you don't need strength and heavy bats to hit the ball for six, not if you go about things the right way.
A good backlift and a gift for timing is all you need. And, of course, the technique to play the right shots in the neccessary manner.

Not always that Hayden build, but a little extra muscle helps. That's why Parthiv Patel cannot hit a six, while Aravinda and Lara can.

 

[Richard]

It's not just the average. Even the strike rate and conversion rate count. Not to mention how many matches have been won when he has got a lot of runs.

At the end of the day, you don't become the best player in a game-form averaging 35.
Some players can play Gilchrist-like innings and average much higher (Bevan, for instance, and of course Lehmann).

The Indian team lacks the big shots. Look at who defeated them in the World Cup final and tournaments that followed. Six-hitting opposition, and a side who bowled and fielded well. Even in the NatWest Challenge, they were outdone by six-hitters.

Because there were too many poor strokes from the top-order.
By the time there was a six or two, the game was over.
You don't need to emulate the Australians at the big-shot game, it's perfectly possible to beat them by hitting the ball on the ground.

Not always that Hayden build, but a little extra muscle helps. That's why Parthiv Patel cannot hit a six, while Aravinda and Lara can.

Even if Patel could hit a six, it wouldn't make him into an especially good player.