Every now and then, batsmen play shots that bring the crowd on their feet and throw the cricket rule-book out of the window. If you thought the Dil-scoop was a freakish shot, the other innovative ones that have come about since then have taken ‘freakiness’ a notch higher.
Here’s a list of some outrageously innovative shots that have been tried in the game that have left the critics and the fans amazed.
1. The look-away shot
Pakistan pace spearhead Wahab Riaz unleashed a bouncer barrage on the Australian top order in the quarter-final of the Cricket World Cup 2015. Glenn Maxwell, who had just walked out to bat, played a crucial knock of 44 off just 29 deliveries which included a shot that Maxwell calls “the back-away, look-away, deliberate cut through point”.
Riaz followed Maxwell who was backing away on the leg-side with a well directed short delivery. With his eyes off the ball, Maxwell was in no position to play a conventional pull. So he looked away and used the strength of his arms to slap the ball awkwardly but effectively past the point fielder for four.
For a batsman with a reputation of conjuring innovative shots on the field, that shot didn’t really come across as a surprise to Maxwell’s fans.
2. Steve Smith’s shot between the legs
Australian batsman Steven Smith took full toll of a free-hit in his innings against South Africa in the third match of the Carlton Mid ODI series. Morne Morkel bowled a full delivery almost a foot outside off-stump but Smith was quick to move to his right and played a shot between his legs that went to the backward-square leg region for four.
Much like his Australian counter-part Glenn Maxwell, Smith too is known for hitting shots that are relatively unknown to the technique textbook.
3. The ramp shot
Probably the most famous shot amongst these strange shots in world cricket, the ramp shot is something that many cricketers are attempting now. But no one can come close to the perfection with which AB de Villiers executes it.
Enroute to his record breaking 162 off 66 balls againt the West Indies in the World Cup recently, De Villiers surprised West Indies fast bowler Andre Russell when he quickly shuffled across the off-stump and effortlessly scooped the ball over the square-leg fence for a six. Clearly, the South African is doing justice to his fanciful sobriquet – ‘Superman’.
4. The Helicopter
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to have perfected the art of playing the ‘helicopter shot’. The back-lift and follow-through of his bat at the moment the ball hits it can leave the best in the business entirely flabbergasted.
The key lies in channelling the power in the arms to lift an almost yorker length ball and deposit it over the ropes. However, it’s the wrists that spring the power into action as the bat makes contact with the ball.
It is almost as if Dhoni is swept off his feet while playing this shot. Watching him play it is a sight to behold for his fans across the world.
5. Reverse sweep off a fast bowler
In one of the league stage matches during the World Cup this year, Afghanistan pacer Shapoor Zadran missed the yorker by an inch and Maxwell was quick to reverse hit the ball for a six over the third man region. A pre-meditated shot, Maxwell used his strong hands to expertly manoeuvre the ball in that direction.
This shot was previously executed to perfection by England’s Eoin Morgan too during a match against the West Indies when he reverse swept a quicker full length delivery from Ravi Rampaul for a boundary.
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