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Right Handed Left Hand Bat
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Articles -
Musings
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Wednesday, 11 April 2012 14:59 |
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Contributed by James Roy
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(8976 views) |
Change is inevitable, so they say. With time being the catalyst, the reaction between the subject and internal and external forces causes a change in said subject. Certain things take a second, some take days, some weeks, some years, but in the end, they all change. Change is the only constant. To prove that, let me change the topic as well, before the reader changes his mind about reading this article.
Kevin Pietersen was warned in the second test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, in the recently concluded test series, for playing the switch hit. Kevin Pietersen seemed confused and didn’t know what the problem was. The ICC’s directive says the batsman cannot change his grip or stance before the bowler gets into his delivery stride. So, the change is allowed, just the timing of the change was off. But, one would think that this rule puts the bowler at a disadvantage, because it gives the bowler less time to adjust. It does not let him prepare for the change. Nobody likes change. Sudden change is even worse. At least if the bowler sees the batsman with a left handed grip, he can decide where he wants to bowl the ball.
Tilakaratne Dilshan was the bowler who decided to not bowl to the left-handed KP. I can understand the confusion when one bowls to someone like Shivnarine Chanderpaul. It’s hard to decipher whether he’s right handed or left handed, is he facing the bowler running in from behind the umpire or is he gearing up to face the fielder standing next to the square leg umpire! But what’s wrong with bowling to a right-handed batsman who wants to bat left-handed and that too during the same inning? In ‘gully’ cricket, there was a concept of allowing one person to bat twice in the same inning if that team was a player short. He could bat righty once and lefty the second time. If the batter was naturally a right hander, the left-handed inning would be considered a way to waste deliveries and keep the non-striker off strike. So, it was a blessing in plain sight.
Coming back to Dilshan, maybe he was affronted. In Hindi, there’s a phrase, “baye haath ka khel” which means as easy as pie. Maybe Dilshan felt KP was calling him a ‘pie-chucker’ too (called Yuvraj a pie-chucker). Maybe he thought KP was paying him a ‘left-handed compliment.’ The best way for Dilshan to retort would have been to get him out while he was batting left-handed. Maybe he was just worried about his fielders. The poor lads would have been confused as to whether they were standing at mid-on or mid-off, covers or mid-wicket, fine-leg or third-man.
The laws of cricket say ‘the umpire must ascertain whether the bowler intends to bowl right handed or left handed, over or round the wicket, and shall so inform the striker. It is unfair if the bowler fails to notify the umpire of a change in his mode of delivery. In this case, the umpire shall call and signal a No ball.’ Ergo (a word I learnt from Matrix Reloaded), it’s only fair if even the batsman informs the umpire. Else, the bowler should be allowed to bowl with any hand. He should be allowed to change his hand once he hits his delivery stride. In a time when test cricket is losing its spectators, such innovations can in no way harm the game. KP should be allowed to play the switch hit, change his stance whenever he chooses to, and if the bowler can, he should be allowed to bowl with any hand and the square leg fielder shouldn’t be afraid to field at point. Also, the LBW and wide rules for a right hander who switches should be accordingly applied for a left hander.
These are of course, quite random musings. But great ideas are often born out of randomness. Maybe what Kevin Pietersen is thinking is something random that sounds like this...
I’ve perfected the shot, I worked a lot
It’s not an error; it’s not a glitch;
So let me switch, let me switch, let me switch.
It’s an arrow in my quiver; I’m doing you a favour
If I patent the shot, I could become rich;
So let me switch, let me switch, let me switch.
What’s all the fuss, it’s not like I cuss
Nor am I dancing in the middle of the pitch;
Please let me switch, let me switch, let me switch.
The switch hit should be allowed irrespective of the timing of the change of grip. But the rules need to be looked into and so that the bowlers don’t feel left out, certain changes which are in their favour should also be included. All said and done, LET HIM SWITCH!!!
!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."
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Last Updated on Thursday, 12 July 2012 17:21 |
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