Trust me, switch hitting is a difficult skill and it takes a long-time to perfect. The first cricketer in my recollection to achieve any form of success from the shot was Andy Flower. Plus Paul Nixon and Darren Maddy have been improvising for years against spinners.
It is an absolute nightmare to captain against because effectively you only have one man out on the cover boundary and then someone can flip round and spank one into an open field. If you manage even half a bat on it you are guaranteed at least four. So it makes life extremely tough for the bowlers.
It is ridiculous that people have been talking about banning it from the game. I think umpires need to use some common sense. Kevin Pietersen (KP) plays it twice on the international stage and suddenly the MCC are getting together to talk about the laws
"TALK OF BANNING SWITCH HITTING IS LUDICROUS"
It is very similar to the reverse sweep or the reverse slog sweep being used against spinners. Players swap their hands and move their legs round and the poor old spinner bowls the ball effectively outside the off stump and the umpire awards a wide down the leg side.
It is ludicrous; umpires just need to take in to account a batsman attempting the switch stroke.
I think it would be a great shame if the powers that be banned the stroke. It is brilliant for the game. We have to accept that in 20/20 and one day cricket the batsmen is favoured because people want to watch exciting cricket.
At the end of the day people want to see 350 play 350, not 120 play 120 in a one day game. The game has received more publicity because people want to see fours and sixes; there is a buzz around 20/20 because people pay good money to see the lads hitting the ball out of the ground. Unfortunately, it makes it a good time to be a batsman rather than a bowler.
"KEVIN PIETERSEN IS A GENIUS"
.
The extraordinary thing about KP is he managed to utilise the shot against a seamer, and that takes some talent. The brilliance of KP is he managed to hit it for six. People have tried it a few times and generally they have been bowled.
It is not a case that the shot will become standard practice in the game. Fans and pundits must realise it is an incredibly tough shot to play. Geraint Jones plays the shot quite well, he hit Danish Kaneria for six the other day at Chelmsford, but that was against a spinner. Generally this was a shot that used to be frowned upon because it was so difficult to execute.
If I tried it and got bowled people would shake their head at me, but KP is just a genius, he is an innovator.
KP may not have Ricky Ponting’s record in the game but he breaks the textbook more than any other player in world cricket. He constantly challenges and looks to break the boundaries of the shot selection.
KP is always the player coming down the track at Test level and reverse sweeping Mutiah Muralitharan for four. He constantly improvises against the world’s top bowlers.
"CRICKET MUST CHANGE"
Will it affect the Test arena?
I feel people need to be honest and say cricket needs to change. The problem cricket has is that previous generations have grown up with the Ashes. When people think of English cricket they remember Ashes victories.
However the next generation will be brought up with 20/20 cricket. I think the one form of the game that will suffer is the 50 over game. With 20/20 selling grounds out it highlights how boring the 50 over game can be. People start to think when they are watching, ‘oh, I wish this was a 20/20 game.’
"THE 50 OVER GAME MAY DIE"
You only have to look at the England One Day International against New Zealand the other day. It became a lot more entertaining when the over limit was cut down. It isn’t a bad thing that the 50 over game is under threat because you are replacing it with something more entertaining which is getting more and more people through the door to watch cricket.
The worry for cricket is if there was no market for any form of the game. But the fact is we are bringing new people into the game and new money. Exactly what the leading authorities wanted to achieve.
I don’t understand why they are suddenly worried about the future of the game as they have achieved exactly what they set out to do.
I feel Test cricket will always have a place, especially in the immediate future. Whether or not it is in the exact same format or whether there will be as many matches, I don’t know. But I think it has a future for at least the next ten years.
Let’s just embrace the interest in the game because cricket is fashionable again. It is exciting and most importantly people want to watch it on mass. Let’s enjoy it.
Find out more information on Kent County Cricket Club and Rob Key by visiting the official website, www.kent-ccc.co.uk