Pakistan batters and reverse sweeps/switch hits - incompatible?

[MenInG]

It appears that we have problems executing this shot.

So, the question is

1. How difficult is it?
2. Why can't our batters play this without making fools of themselves?

 

[Rana]

It appears that we have problems executing this shot.

So, the question is

1. How difficult is it?
2. Why can't our batters play this without making fools of themselves?

No conviction

It’s like they are half hearted and they don’t believe it’s the right option.

Look at the best players of these shots in the world. Maxwell and Ducket are two examples. They play these shots with the conviction of any top order batsman has for a forward defensive drive.

They need whole day sessions, hours and hours of practice just on these shots.

You watch the Pakistani players training videos…it seems like they are only practicing and perfecting shots that are natural to them

 

[PakPremi]

If I remember correctly Naseem played it well in the England practise game, but I have seen him executing it poorly few times before. I think our players are only encouraged to play and practise their natural shots.

 

[MenInG]

No conviction

It’s like they are half hearted and they don’t believe it’s the right option.

Look at the best players of these shots in the world. Maxwell and Ducket are two examples. They play these shots with the conviction of any top order batsman has for a forward defensive drive.

They need whole day sessions, hours and hours of practice just on these shots.

You watch the Pakistani players training videos…it seems like they are only practicing and perfecting shots that are natural to them

Where does the role of the batting coach come in this?

 

[Rana]

Where does the role of the batting coach come in this?

It has to be a proactive approach. The batting coach before (Younis Khan) himself admitted that he lets the batsman do what is comfortable to them. I don’t think Yousuf is any different. Pakistan are just hiring big name 90s/early 2000s white ball players to do the role that requires players who have played T20i cricket from 2010 onwards

The most the batting coach right now can do is study how England, Australia and South Africa are batting and countering issues such as ball turning away and death bowling.

Pakistan in general are not playing the white ball game in the correct way so I don’t expect anything groundbreaking even after a close study

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

It has to be a proactive approach. The batting coach before (Younis Khan) himself admitted that he lets the batsman do what is comfortable to them. I don’t think Yousuf is any different. Pakistan are just hiring big name 90s/early 2000s white ball players to do the role that requires players who have played T20i cricket from 2010 onwards

The most the batting coach right now can do is study how England, Australia and South Africa are batting and countering issues such as ball turning away and death bowling.

Pakistan in general are not playing the white ball game in the correct way so I don’t expect anything groundbreaking even after a close study

It’s less about the coaching and more about the environment around the team. When Mohammed Haris got out against England, trying to play a ramp shot he got pilloried on here for not being able to play the short ball correctly.

When a player does take a chance and get out to these manufactured shots, the media and ex players will descend on him. By extension, the fans will listen to that criticism and further abuse the players on social media for it.

People in commentary and in analysis shows will parrot on about “Proper cricketing shots” and “playing straight” to sound credible.

People on this forum will call our players gutless and weak for not playing these 360 style shots. However, when the players play them and get out cheaply we’ll then also call them failures.

Pakistans cricketing environment (media, ex players) do not allow players to learn to grow via failure, endlessly critiquing them as if those ex players were flawless themselves.

However you only learn and build through failure, if the support is there for players to develop. England have developed these shots, because Eoin Morgan and Cricket Director Andrew Strauss were clear that they were happy if England struck out at 100 all out, as long as they were developing.

Can you imagine a Pakistani captain or selector saying that and surviving their job?

Last point, I think someone like Shan, for all his limitations has developed the reverse sweep quite well. He was able to develop that shot whilst going away and applying himself in England in a less judgmental environment. Thus, it can be done.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Misbah made a career by hitting fours to spinners on reverse sweeps.
Miandad was exceptionally good at it as well.

 

[Rana]

Misbah made a career by hitting fours to spinners on reverse sweeps.
Miandad was exceptionally good at it as well.

Misbah had the ugliest and most awkward reverse sweep in cricket history. He is naturally a very strong man hence the ball would travel a lot quicker but his reverse sweep isn’t one to follow.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Misbah had the ugliest and most awkward reverse sweep in cricket history. He is naturally a very strong man hence the ball would travel a lot quicker but his reverse sweep isn’t one to follow.

None of shots Misbah played were pretty. But he was effective. In tests especially. His innings in that maghrib chase sweeping and reverse sweeping Herath well outside leg stump was great.

 

[Major]

Misbah was the last guy who would play this. This shot helps in messing the bowlines line and length.

No batsman is capable or takes risk.....

 

[Salman4.]

If I remember correctly Naseem played it well in the England practise game, but I have seen him executing it poorly few times before. I think our players are only encouraged to play and practise their natural shots.

Iftikhar played it against Rashid.

 

[MenInG]

The Maxwell method

 

[PakPremi]

Iftikhar played it against Rashid.

Sorry I meant Waseem or maybe it was Iftikhar as you said.

 

[PakPremi]

Our current lot are a disgrace to Miandad.

Miandad invented all these strokes - and these guys are pathetic

Mushtaq Mohammed also could play reverse sweep.

 

[jnaveen1980]

COnway is master of it. He can play both conventionally and unconventionally.

 

[Suleiman]

Reverse sweeps and scoop shots are played by the guys who can play good, solid conventional shots for 4s and 6s too. Look at Jos Butler for e.g.

There’s no point wasting time thinking about reverse sweeps and scoop / lap shots for a team whose players cannot play 360 degrees with proper strokes, save for Babar maybe. But Babar is in the mould of Kohli and Williamson, and these type of players rarely use improvisational strokes like that.

The rest of our specialist batsmen can be far too legside dependent that our concern should be about them playing on all sides of the wicket rather than doing these trick shots.

It’s concerning that guys like Rizwan and Umar Akmal started out as being able to bat all around the wicket but then regress to leg side bullies.

This is what we need to fix.

Rizwan isn’t there yet, but I’m worried about the signs showed by him in the last few months.

 

[Suleiman]

Misbah was the last guy who would play this. This shot helps in messing the bowlines line and length.

No batsman is capable or takes risk.....

Yawn… more Misbah pandering lol

Misbah isn’t even close to guys like Conway, Maxwell and Butler who can smash the ball to all parts of the ground.
Which is why they’re capable of getting results with that shot.

Misbah was only good down the ground, probably the best striker in that area that we had.

We all saw how his scoop shot ended proceedings for us.

 

[Major]

Yawn… more Misbah pandering lol

Misbah isn’t even close to guys like Conway, Maxwell and Butler who can smash the ball to all parts of the ground.
Which is why they’re capable of getting results with that shot.

Misbah was only good down the ground, probably the best striker in that area that we had.

We all saw how his scoop shot ended proceedings for us.

i dont what you are rumbling about, read the thread title and reread what I said.

You now have an issue that why misbah used to play the reverse sweep

 

[MenInG]

Maxwell failed today!

Was this a switch hit or a reverse sweep?

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/cd496v" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

 

[ex-q-zit]

Maxwell failed today!

Was this a switch hit or a reverse sweep?

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/cd496v" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

I think am switch hit is when you change your grip before executing the shot i.e., a right hander chnages grip to left hand while reverse sweep is done without chnaging the grip.

 

[MenInG]

How not to play the switch hit - by David Warner

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/sihneg" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

 

[MenInG]

How not to do the switch hit...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Steve Smith trying something new on the free hit &#55357;&#56834;<br><br>How's the reaction from him <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvENG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvENG</a> <a href="https://t.co/uPrbZ5ejc7">pic.twitter.com/uPrbZ5ejc7</a></p>— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) <a href="https://twitter.com/cricketcomau/status/1593840670069862400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Savak]

Absence of sweep shots for most Pakistan batters

Barring Sarfaraz, Rizwan and Saud Shakeel, I have not seen any of the Pakistani batsmen employ the traditional sweep shot of the spinners and this even includes Babar.

Sarfaraz in both innings was able to disturb the bowlers and captain with his relentless use of the sweep which forced the bowler to change his line, length, change of bowling attack, Southee to change his fields.

Not sure what Mohd Yousaf does with these players but being unable to play the sweep is a major reason why we have allowed the opposition spinners to boss us for long time periods in the last 12 months at home

 

[WengerOut]

Sweep shot is deemed as a risky option by SC coaches. But that was when there were batsmen who could pick spinners out of hand so that they could play normal shots. Current generation generally does not pick spinners that well and also do not play sweeps thereby getting bogged down. Non SC batsmen play sweep when they could not pick the spinners or they are not confident of playing turning ball.