In 2006 Sri Lanka toured England with the great Muralitharan in the side: A bowler who demanded the utmost respect or be destroyed.
This made it all the more outrageous when Kevin Pietersen, a relative rookie to Test cricket, turned into a left-handed stance and “switch hit” Murali for six.
Pietersen has show that such a shot can be done at the highest level against the best bowlers.
Should you try to emulate him?
Build from solid foundations
The switch hit is a very special but very risky shot. Like more orthodox shots, there are rules to playing it that will give you the best chance of success.
The first of which is simple: Never attempt the shot in the game unless you have a solid basic technique:
- Can you drive the ball on the front foot through mid on and midwicket?
- Are you able to stay tight, driving in the V early on and leaving the ball outside off stump?
- Can you play left arm over inswing bowling well?
If you struggle with any of these elements there is a good chance your technique is not good enough to try to get creative.
Go back to the drawing board and work on getting well balanced and aligned first.
Pick your moment
Once you are confident in your technique, you need to consider the match situation.
Imagine you are playing a 40 over match and are going well on 60 not out. There are 12 overs left batting first and the spinner is on, turning the ball into you.
As a result, the field is spread but there is nobody on the square off side boundary.
It makes sense because you have been playing with the spin hitting into the leg side or straight through mid off.
This is just about the perfect moment to play a switch hit: you are forcing the ball into an area with a gap to score a much needed boundary.
Each element makes the shot slightly easier:
- How well set you are
- The pace of the bowler
- Which way the ball is moving
- The field
It would be pointless trying to switch hit an away swing bowler of your third ball with a deep point set in a 2 day game. You can score in safer and easier ways just by waiting for the long hop or half volley.
Practice it, even if it’s just for fun at first
Of course, when the perfect moment does arrive you need to be confident you can at least make contact.
That means hitting the nets.
As it’s such a unique and risky shot it’s best not to spend hours trying to get it right. Your time in nets is limited and you need to get the proper shots sorted first.
However, 5 minutes at the end of a session with some progressive drills will give you the confidence you need when you feel the time is right.
What are these drills?
You can find out as part of Ian Pont’s online coaching course: Attacking Batting: 8 Innovative Shots That Escalate Your Run Rate. The course gives you the drills and techniques to master unorthodox batting and be able to score at ODI rates.
Ian is an experienced coach who has helped at the highest level. He is waiting to help you become a better batsman here.
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