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| Photo Courtesy of the Daily Telegraph |
So the question is, is this in the spirit of the game and should it be allowed? It was an amazing show of talent and an innovative approach to batting and it is also going to change the game of cricket. Twenty20 cricket has already started an increasing amount of unusual shots but now it has started to push the boundary. I for one think the shot was definitely a great shot but I also think that it should not be allowed.
Why am I against it? A bowler must state what side of the wicket he is bowling on and he must also state which arm he is bowling with. At no stage can the bowler change his mind whilst running in and suddenly switch sides or arms when he bowls. The same should go for a batsmen. If a batsmen wants to go from left to right he must take that stance before the bowler starts his run-up.
Also once a batsmen decides to switch his stance, which is the leg side? Does a wide ruling change to the new stance? If the bowling team has stacked the offside, once the stance changes this changes the offside to the legside and brings a few rules in to play. No more than two players are allowed in the quadrant from the wicket keeper to square leg and a maximum of five in total on the leg-side. So in theory a batsmen could create no-ball situations, although I doubt any umpire would ever rule this way.
When a situation occurs in sport like this that challenges the laws and spirit of a sport the administrators need to act quickly. There will be a large debate on this issue in the cricketing world which should indicate that this needs a swift ruling to ensure that there is clarity for all players at all levels.
So going by your thinking: Should rugby league players nominate which side they are going to pass to? Should soccer or AFL players only be allowed to kick with a pre-indicated foot? Tennis players not allowed to move to hit a ball with their forehand instead of their backhand? Pfft.
ReplyDeleteBy comparing the argument as you mention shows you do not understand why there is such a debate occurring. What I am stating is that in cricket if such a thing is allowed to happen then the rules of the game will need to change. If you are happy with a batsmen facing up left handed and as the ball is bowled change to right handed, then are you going to be happy if the bowler suddenly changes which side of the wicket he bowls without telling the umpire or batsmen? Would you be happy if your team is bowling and when a batsmen changes his stance you get no balled because you have a slip, gully and 3rd man but suddenly you have 3 men behind square? It is a talented skill but it also needs addressing. At one point under arm bolwing was allowed and when used tactically to win a game it was condemned and the rules changed. This is all I am stating should happen. Until the rules are changed to suit the action and until there is clarification the debate will continue to polarise opinion.
ReplyDeleteWish he did some switch hitting last night! Lame effort by the Aussies..... losing to India...urgh!
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