The Hindu : Sport : The brilliant art of reverse sweep

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 07, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport

The brilliant art of reverse sweep

S. Ram Mahesh

St. Peter's: England's history with the reverse sweep is prickly.

Mike Gatting continues to be accosted at airports around the world with unkind questions on his sanity — why did he try the stroke of Allan Border in the final of the 1987 World Cup? One would have thought that such wounds linger; that severely chastised, English cricket through its prudish coaches would have eradicated the stroke.

Yet, Paul Nixon on Wednesday unveiled two of the finest against Muttiah Muralitharan.

One was hit: Nixon's top hand — the right — powered through as it would if a right-hander were to sweep conventionally: a remarkable feat, for Nixon didn't change the position of his hands on the bat handle. Think of the Monica Seles two-handed backhand for a kinaesthetic match.

"It was not the biggest reverse-sweep six I have hit," said Nixon. "I hit Monty Panesar for a bigger one last year. I have probably hit 20 in my career now. I've had a bit of banter with KP (Pietersen, who has reverse-swept Murali for six). He told me that was one each. I said no, it's now about 20-1, but I suppose in proper cricket it is one each."

Pre-meditated

The stroke is pre-meditated. There simply isn't the time to pick length and chose to reverse sweep. But, one never suspected the extent of pre-meditation.

"Ravi (Bopara) and I were both nervous before we went out to bat," said Nixon, detailing the thought processes of the pair.

"We didn't watch the game live, we watched it on the TV. I asked him what his plans were and he said he was going to sweep Murali. I was going to use the same method so we decided to throw a tennis ball at each other for 20 minutes in the dressing-room practising sweeps and reverse sweeps, the shots we were hoping to play."

The stroke thrives on an approximation of length; and on the nous to know when to use it. Nixon showed he had both under control on Wednesday.

Confident

"Our plan was sweeps and reverse sweeps because Murali bowls a really good length," said Nixon "To be honest, no cricketer reads him 100 per cent. I wanted to do it earlier on to Murali on a shorter boundary. But needing 50 to win at that stage it was too high a risk. We had to get the game closer to take those risks. It's about being confident enough and having the belief to get it right in a match."

The other reverse-sweep Nixon played in the 48th over — it was his staple through the innings — was a lap. It's a sort of there-you-go-over-short- third-man assist, though it can be customised to dribble the ball into most vacant areas behind square on the off-side; it isn't fussy.

The second was closer in spirit and technique to the stroke as it was invented — a sneaky reverse dink to undermine field positioning. It has with time evolved to being a genuine six-hitting option.

It's also being increasingly embraced by left-handers: perhaps the fact that many them are natural right-handers, and just bat cack-handed, helps. Their strong right hands — the ones required for thrust and muscle on the stroke — make the stroke feasible.

Some, such as Andy Flower, have a history with hockey, that right-handed sport.

Furthering the cause

Shorter boundaries and better bats have furthered the stroke's cause as well. The reverse-sweep's most redeeming quality is that it's a counter to negative, unimaginative bowling into the pads to a packed on-side field.

But, the ICC will have to make sure batsmen apt to bend the rules don't change the position of their hands on the handle, switching from right-hander to left-hander or vice-versa. It's a debate Ian Chappell, one of cricket's most capable minds, initiated.

Changing the position of the hands might seem a triviality, but such liberties ruin the balance — skewed already — between bat and ball.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport