Some really uncanny cricketing shots

Cricket has always been known as a gentleman’s game, from the days of the English, with batsmen like Len Hutton and the more modern Rahul Dravid, batting straight out of cricket’s coaching manual. But over the years, there have also been batsmen like England’s Kevin Pietersen and Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan, who have displayed great innovation in their batting, with shots that cannot be taught by any coaching manual.

Here is a look at some really innovative cricketing shots, by some great batsmen over the years.

1. Kevin Pietersen: Kevin Pietersen became a trend-setter of sorts recently, with his ‘Switch hit’ shot, that was later copied on by many a batsmen. Pietersen, changed his stance from that of a right-hander to a left-hander midway during the bowlers run-up, and played a more innovative version of the ‘Reverse Sweep’, and was successful in dispatching many a bowler over the boundary line.

Pietersen’s ‘Alti-Palti’ shot aka the ‘Switch hit’!

2. Tillakaratne Dilshan: Sri Lanka’s Dilshan went one step further and displayed even more innovation, with his ‘Dilscoop’, a shot which resembles a hockey like scoop shot. Dilshan executed it perfectly during the 2009 T20 World Cup in England, and even the IPL, and ‘scooped’ his way over the opposition bowlers and keepers.

Dilshan ‘scoops’ it over!

3. Mahendra Singh Dhoni: India’s Dhoni made the ‘Helicopter shot’ famous, during his early cricketing days – his quick-fire 147 against Pakistan at Vizag being testimony to the fact. The shot involves rotating the bat like a propeller to gain more momentum and power during the hit. Dhoni showed he has a great sense of occasion too, as he ‘piloted’ India to win the 2011 World Cup, of course hitting the winning six using the above mentioned shot.

Dhoni playing the ‘Helicopter’ shot against England

4.Andy Flower: Zimbabwean Flower was one of the earliest batsmen in international cricket, who displayed innovative batsmanship. Flower, was a great executioner of the ‘Reverse Sweep’, and in his heyday, literally used the shot many a times in a match, often to good effect against spinners.

Flower forced spinners to ‘reverse’ their tactics!

5.Douglas Marillier: Another Zimbabwean known for his cheeky hits was Marillier, who became famous for his ‘Marillier’, a shot which he used in Zimbabwe’s famous 2002 ODI victory against India. The ‘Marillier’, though almost similar to the ‘Dilscoop’, is a shot where the bat is used as a ‘Ramp’ to flick the ball over the batsmen’s shoulders, preferably to fine leg. The ‘Marillier’ can be placed among some of cricket’s cheekiest shots, as Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan will certainly vouch for that!

India ‘Marilliered’ in 2002!

6. Sachin Tendulkar: The ‘Master Blaster’ had the ‘Paddle Sweep’, amongst his repertoire of great cricketing shots. The ‘Paddle Sweep’ is a shot where the bat is used like a boat’s paddle to glide the ball away to the boundary, and was used by Tendulkar mainly against spin bowlers. Probably inspired by English great, Colin Cowdrey who was one of the earliest exponents of the shot, Tendulkar used it to devastating effect against Shane Warne in the famous 1998 series against Australia, to counter Warne’s negative line bowling.

Tendulkar’s trademark ‘Paddle Sweep’!

Though innovative shots have become a norm in cricket these days mainly due to the advent of T20 cricket as batsmen need to come up with shots that are out of the ordinary to keep up with the fast pace of T20 cricket, cricket needs more of players like Dilshan and Pietersen, who can liven up the ‘Gentleman’s game’ a bit more than just the regular coaching manual.