Ian Chappell, the former Australian captain and an excellent commentator and thinker of the game, has opined that the switch hit will have to be banned from the game. He has raised some valid points about which we will discuss. More than the switch hit, it is the free hit that needs immediate review and possibly banned from the game. This is much more unfair on the bowlers than switch hit.
Ian Chappell’s comments about switch hit
“It’s very simple. Maxwell hit a couple of (switch-hit) shots and Warner did (Sunday) night. All you’ve got to say is that if the batsman changes the order of his hands or his feet then it’s an illegal shot,”
Chappell feels that the switch hit is blatantly unfair for the fielding team. He wants to make the switch hit an illegal shot. It does make sense when looking at this from the bowler’s perspective. Chappell further states
“How can one side of the game, ie. the bowlers, they have to tell the umpire how they’re going to bowl. And yet the batsmen, he lines up as the right-hander. I am the fielding captain, I place the field for the right-hander – and before the ball’s been delivered, the batsman becomes a left-hander. “One of the main reasons why he’s becoming a left-hander is so he can take advantage of those field placings”
Switch hit is certainly tough on the fielding captain. He is helpless on the field. What Chappell says certainly makes sense. The fielding captain would have set the field for one type of batsman who suddenly changes to the opposite. Chappell raises lot of valid points but it is absolutely tough for the umpires to monitor a batsman when he has so many things on his plate. Only if the ICC steps in and bans switch hit will we see batsmen stop playing this shot.
Switch hit must not be banned
However, I do not think that this shot must be banned. This shot requires great skill on the batsmen to even get it right. Now, if a batsman is able to score a boundary or even better, hit the ball for a six, that is exceptional skill. Bowlers have introduced a lot of variations and likewise batsmen must also be allowed to introduce innovation. If this goes wrong, it sure is a wicket and as such not every batsman will venture into this exercise. One thing the ICC can do is that whenever a batsman changes his grip or changes his stance, balls pitching outside leg or batsmen being hit outside of off must not matter. The wide line will cease to exist. These changes will restore some sort of balance to the bowler and the fielding side.
Free hit must be stopped
Free hit is something that is completely unfair on the bowler. This must certainly be banned. There is no question about that. Bowlers, especially fast bowlers, spend lot of energy throughout the day. Bowling a no-ball is certainly wrong but no bowler will bowl one on purpose and to be penalised for trying to bowl at their best is downright unjust. The game is already loaded heavily in favour of the batsmen. The bowlers will be happy if this rule is taken away.
Free hit was never part of international game until IPL came along. It was IPL that introduced free hit. IPL was pure entertainment and nothing more than that and for international cricket to copy something from that is ridiculous. Already an extra run has been added to every no-ball. About 15 years ago, whatever runs scored that were scored of a no-ball will only be counted and there wasn’t any run for the no-ball. If no runs were scored, one run because of the no-ball was counted. Now things have changed with one run added to whatever runs were scored of that delivery. Even this was copied from the IPL. It is time to change this.
What do you think of free hit and switch hit? Do you think both must be banned or only one must be banned? if one, which one will it be? Please comment on the section below.