During the one-dayer against New Zealand, Pieterson provided yet another reason to define him as one of the evangelists of modern day cricket. I have always been impressed by his bold attitude towards the game. Be it the decision of switching base from South Africa to England for a better career or be it the strong-willed hitting he brings to the crease during his batting. He has shown strength of character in crunch situations. Along with Flintoff, Harmisson and Hoggard he had brought a revival in English cricket during the summer of 2005. There have been a lot many eulogies written about him and I dont intend to add one more to them.
The reason to cheer about his batting in that game was his improvisation against Scott Styris. On two occassions he changed his grip from a right-handed one to a left-handed batsman just before the ball was delivered and carted the bowler over the boundaries. I have been a great fan of improvisations in batting in the recent times. It demonstrates the skill of the batsman to play innovative shots and take risks to a higher level. Especially in the case of changing ones grip, the batsman is too close to loose his wicket while changing the gaurd. And to do it effeciently and hit it for a six proves the skills of the batsman. I myself have a tendency for playing this shot atleast once in my innings. I love to do it especially to fast bowlers who are bowling a nagging off-stump line. Changing the grip and lofting them over the square boundary with a left-handed shot is a feeling to cherish!
There has been a hue and cry about the positioning of rules in such a scenario. Many purists were calling for the shot to be made illegal. Thankfully for the spirit of the game and keeping the thrill of the game alive, MCC has decided in favor of the shot. There remains a debate on the rules for LBW and wides in such a delivery. In my opinion, the rules should be applied depending on the batsmans grip while he was playing the shot. If a right handed batsman changes the grip to a left handed one, then his off stump switches with his leg and the LBW rule and wide rule should be applied correspondingly. Agreed the umpire might have some difficulty in judging LBWs depending on where the ball had pitched, but in such a situation he can always refer to the third umpire for the decision. Thats what technology is for - help in taking right decisions.
With this shot being legalised, I am eager to see more such improvisations from batsmen in the Twenty20 matches which are ideal for such shots. MS Dhoni, Pietersen, Misbah-ul-Haq, Yuvraj Singh - these are the batsmen to watch out for more such innovative shots.
The reason to cheer about his batting in that game was his improvisation against Scott Styris. On two occassions he changed his grip from a right-handed one to a left-handed batsman just before the ball was delivered and carted the bowler over the boundaries. I have been a great fan of improvisations in batting in the recent times. It demonstrates the skill of the batsman to play innovative shots and take risks to a higher level. Especially in the case of changing ones grip, the batsman is too close to loose his wicket while changing the gaurd. And to do it effeciently and hit it for a six proves the skills of the batsman. I myself have a tendency for playing this shot atleast once in my innings. I love to do it especially to fast bowlers who are bowling a nagging off-stump line. Changing the grip and lofting them over the square boundary with a left-handed shot is a feeling to cherish!
There has been a hue and cry about the positioning of rules in such a scenario. Many purists were calling for the shot to be made illegal. Thankfully for the spirit of the game and keeping the thrill of the game alive, MCC has decided in favor of the shot. There remains a debate on the rules for LBW and wides in such a delivery. In my opinion, the rules should be applied depending on the batsmans grip while he was playing the shot. If a right handed batsman changes the grip to a left handed one, then his off stump switches with his leg and the LBW rule and wide rule should be applied correspondingly. Agreed the umpire might have some difficulty in judging LBWs depending on where the ball had pitched, but in such a situation he can always refer to the third umpire for the decision. Thats what technology is for - help in taking right decisions.
With this shot being legalised, I am eager to see more such improvisations from batsmen in the Twenty20 matches which are ideal for such shots. MS Dhoni, Pietersen, Misbah-ul-Haq, Yuvraj Singh - these are the batsmen to watch out for more such innovative shots.
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