Switch-hit debate rages on as T20 series begins

There may come a time when there won’t be any bowlers in cricket. Maybe, bowling machines or better still, dog throwers (a device used during training to replicate swing and seam with various trajectories) could replace them. That might sound a bit too far-fetched but one shudders to think if it becomes a reality.

As India and Australia re-engage hostilities in the most abridged version of the game, the T20s following the ODI series, the topic which is at the centre of the discussion is the ‘switch-hit.’

There are a couple of South Africans, in this case a South African-turned-Englishman, as well as an Indian, who take ownership of this shot.

It is said that Kevin Pietersen first employed it against spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan during a Test match in Sri Lanka in 2006. Some say it was South African Jonty Rhodes, who had used it to hit Aussie Darren Lehmann for six during an ODI in 2002. Indian opener Krishnamachari Srikanth clubbed New Zealand’s Dipak Patel during the 1987 World Cup.

The shot is a delight to watch for fans as the batsman changes his stance from right to left or left to right. And it is a high premium that pays handsomely, more often than not.

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell used it to good effect in the last ODI against India at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. And it is a legitimate shot with the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body, declaring it so in 2012.

But Maxwell’s use of it came into focus once again and was questioned but his countryman and former captain Ian Chappell, who asked whether it was fair for a batsman to switch? Chappell said as the fielding captain, the skipper sets the field for the right-hander or the left-hander but just as the ball is about to be delivered, the batsman switches.

And while the batsman enjoys so much freedom, the bowler has to inform the umpire if he is coming round the wicket or over the wicket. And while the batsman has the luxury to do what he wants, the bowler can rely only on his variations or change of line and length to thwart him.

The stroke and the optics of it may definitely look good and Maxwell could take comfort behind the laws and say that bowlers will need to evolve. There is no doubt that it is a skillful shot but it gives an unfair advantage to the batsman. As it is, the game is stacked so much in favour of the batsmen and against the bowlers.

Everyone keeps mumbling about the spirit of cricket and scorned Indian off-spinner R Ashwin for ‘Mankading’ England’s Jos Buttler during the IPL.

But the ‘switch-hit,’ it seems, hasn’t gone against the so-called ‘spirit of the game.’ Perhaps, what R Ashwin did in 2019 was right and it is within the laws of the game.

james@khaleejtimes.com

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