Put the shot away son!
Last year at the ICC World Twenty20 we played South Africa in a warm-up game and found ourselves at 35/3 before Mahela Jayawardene (MJ) had a brain explosion and chose to go for a Reverse Sweep. Botha pitched it full, the ball went through MJ's legs and uprooted his stumps. MJ attempted to find the gap on the off-side with a stroke which has been historically a low percentage option; more risk than runs. The four runs he sought didn't even compare to the strife he put his side in - Sri Lanka were four down for 35!
Fast forward to 2010 and Jayawardene's run making options in Twenty20 cricket have changed. He has turned to what he knows best which is proper cricket strokes and focusing on timing the ball.
That lesson, however, Sangakkara is yet to learn. After scoring 52 sublime and silken runs, Sangakkara undid all his hard work attempting the atrocious stroke against Deccan Chargers at Dharamsala.
The shot is neither innovative nor entertaining. It is old, outdated and an option that has never consistently produced runs for any single batsman.
Take your mind back to Mike Gatting at the 1987 World Cup where he needlessly attempted the stroke to Allan Border when his side was on course for victory. He top edged the ball to the Keeper and England subsequently lost the match as a result of Gatting's dismissal.
If anything the Reverse sweep has proven its self over time to favour the opposition than the batting side. So, "put the shot away son!"
Comments
23 December 2008
6 weeks 2 days
and Sanath Jayasuriya perished against Bangladesh for a 100+ in the WC2007 and v WI in the T20 for 88...that's so true, forget abt the reverse sweep, more risk than runs indeed
7 April 2010
13 weeks 4 days
Its a damn ugly shot too. Just put your head down and tonk the ball hard into gaps. The grounds are so small the fielders can't cut off the tight angles. Why play such silly shots?
25 December 2008
6 hours 16 min
How dare you say such things about our supreme leader Sanga? He does what is best. Always.
2 January 2009
11 hours 17 min
@Sach - lol!, I see what you did there....
@Merlin - Yes, spot on. I wonder why the try it when they are in such good flow. Makes you wonder what is going through their heads at the time.
Also, dilly's scoop didnt come off well against Decan yesterday. I guess he should have stayed away from it, until he got his eye in.
20 November 2008
1 hour 55 min
But when the shot comes off there aren't any complaints ha ha :-)
I've never been a fan of the stroke, but when Mahela played a reverse sweep off the back of the bat, everyone was raving on about how innovative and amazing we are.
You see how it works? :-)
12 February 2010
10 weeks 2 days
not the most picture perfect shot either
16 April 2009
7 weeks 2 days
BUT so far, in the History of this game people got out by playing normal stokes than playing innovative strokes ;)
30 May 2009
15 weeks 2 days
I was at that match where he played that shot.
Let me tell you, it looked just as silly sitting in the Compton Stand at Lords as it does/did on the replays on the television.
I was with three other friends none of whom are Sri Lankan fans and they just burst out laughing.
But it was just a warm-up match, and we ended up getting to the final in the tournament proper so...
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