Switching styles
Peter Roebuck observes the interesting trend of ‘switchovers’ – his moniker for batsmen who choose to bat with their wrong hands
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Peter Roebuck observes the interesting trend of ‘switchovers’ – his moniker for batsmen who choose to bat with their wrong hands. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Roebuck notes the increasing number of left-hand batsmen who are natural right-handers and a few such as Sachin Tendulkar and Michael Clarke who went the other way, a phenomenon that heralds the need for a “coaching revolution”.
Consider the call-ups for the Perth Test match. Narsingh Deonarine bowled some tidy off-breaks with his right arm, and batted left-handed. In that regard, he was following in the footsteps of Shiv Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle. According to the Cricket Australia season guide, 12 of the 30 Caribbean cricketers named as candidates for the tour are switchovers. It is an extraordinary statistic demanding an explanation.
Cricket has always been regarded as a two-handed game but all the manuals insist on placing the stronger hand at the bottom of the willow. The mood is changing. Already Langer has broken ranks. He believes his mixed method helped him. Asked on ABC Radio how he'd advise a five-year-old child with a stronger right hand to bat, he replied, ''left-handed''.
Nitin Sundar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo