The game of cricket is pretty unique when compared to other sports as it requires immense concentration for longer durations, a lot more than any other sport. Test cricket, especially, goes on for five days and it takes an enormous amount of application for a player to survive and a slight glitch may lead to his downfall.
Batsman while batting has to follow the bowler’s run up very closely, try to judge the release of the ball and determine the kind of delivery the bowler is intending to bowl.
In the process, if there are any disturbances, the batsman often pulls out and stops the bowler from delivering the ball. In such a situation, the umpire signals a dead ball and this could sometimes be unavoidable from the batsman’s point of view or could be a tactic for his own advantage.
Here are the 5 most common reasons why the batsman pulls when the bowler is about to deliver the ball:
#1 The sight screen
The sight screen is the most frequent reason of the batsman opting to pull out. Very often, spectators or the ground officials are found wandering near the sight screen, which is stationed to aid the batsman to track the release of the ball from the bowler’s hand.
Whenever the movement of such personnel catches the eye of the batsman, he loses concentration and finds it better to step away rather than face the danger of getting out.
Sachin Tendulkar was one such player who did not accept even the slightest of disturbance behind the bowler’s arm. Despite having sight screens of giant sizes, he would pull out if there was any disturbance and never compromised with the concentration.
#2 Batsman not ready
Every batsman has a unique style of preparing for each delivery. One might analyse the field, take proper guard and take the suitable stance before facing the delivery. If the bowler gets into his run up before the batsman is ready, he would be stopped from bowling immediately.
Over the years, this has led to several spats between the batsmen and the bowlers resulting in ugly incidents.
It happens mostly with spinners who like to finish their overs quickly. Shahid Afridi is one spinner who used to give the batsmen very less time to think and was often asked to slow down.
Ravindra Jadeja is another, who is at the batsmen all the time, and finishes his over quickly.
#3 Fielder changing position
There are batsmen who keep a keen eye on every fielding position before facing the ball and if they find any fielder moving from one position to another, they refuse to play the delivery.
A fielder is not allowed to change his position once the bowler starts his run up and is likely to get a warning from the umpire too.
Sometimes the captain is not sure about certain fielding positions and keeps chopping and changing till the last moment. The batsman who is about to face the ball as well as the non-striker can also stop the game if he notices a movement in the field.
#4 A bug/bird in the eye line
It is quite natural for a ground to attract bugs or birds which can cause a lapse in concentration for the batsmen. Several times, just as the bowler is about to deliver, a bird/bug has crossed the pitch area and becomes a hindrance to the sight of the batsmen.
There is absolutely nothing that either the batsman or the bowler can do about it.
Adelaide in Australia is one such ground which attracts many birds and plenty of them can be found straying around the park while the game is on.
Bugs, meanwhile, create problems mostly under lights, as the bright lights draw their attention. It becomes tricky to face balls when there are bugs which could land inside your helmet or also come in the eye line of the batsmen.
#5 Intentional tactic to throw the bowler off
Batsman quite often pull out to throw the bowler off his mark, especially when the bowler is working up a nice rhythm and causing trouble. Batsmen use this tactic to annoy him and get under his skin, which, at times, angers the bowler into spraying the ball all over the place.
Former Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson often got livid with batsmen who moved away when he bowled to them.
Once such ugly incident happened in the IPL between Kieron Pollard and Michell Starc ,when Pollard pulled out just when Starc started steaming in. Starc did not like it and threw the ball in anger towards Pollard who in return threatened to throw back his bat at him.
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