"Ambidextrous" cricketers
silly.point
series between NZ and BD, I saw a new NZ bloke (the name eludes me)
bowling RH and batting LH. This phenomenon is very common in cricket.
A few examples, off the top:
Bats LH, bowls RH
Anderson
Asif
Ganguly
Hadlee
Bats RH, Bowls LF
Zaheer
Clarke
Inzamam
I've always wondered what prompts these players to bowl with one hand
and bat with the other. Obviously, they are not truly ambidextrous,
because, as I understand, this quality is much rarer than seen on the
cricket grounds.
It's also obvious that being a left-hander cricketer gives the players
a certain advantage. Wikipedia:
"
The advantage to players in one-on-one sports such as tennis, boxing,
fencing or judo is that in a population containing perhaps 10% left-
handers and 90% right-handers, the left-hander plays 90% of his or her
games against right-handed opponents and is well practiced at dealing
with this asymmetry. The right-hander plays 90% of their games against
other right-handers — thus when confronted with a left-hander is less
practiced (see Rafael Nadal). When a left-hander plays another left-
hander, they are both likely to be at the same level of practice, as
when right-handers play other right-handers. This explains why a
disproportionately high number of left-handers are found in sports
where direct one-on-one action predominates. In other sports such as
golf, this advantage is not present since the one-on-one action is
indirect; the handedness of one player has no effect on the other. In
cricket, having a left handed bowler gives more of a challenge to
right handed batsmen because the angle of the delivery is much more
penetrating than a bowler who has the same handedness (see Wasim
Akram).
"
So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
predisposition?
jzfredricks
> So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
> Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
> predisposition?
The best reason I can think of is because they grow with RH siblings/
peers/heroes, and learn to bat watching them.
I'm LH, and I bat RH.
The strange thing is a RH person batting LH.
vijay...@my-deja.com
Like Curtly Ambrose, Richard Hadlee, Brian Lara, Suresh Raina
to name a few
Vijay
Calvin
wrote:
> While watching the last match between the recently concluded ODI
> series between NZ and BD, I saw a new NZ bloke (the name eludes me)
> bowling RH and batting LH. This phenomenon is very common in cricket.
Either hand (ie top or bottom) can be considered the dominant one when
batting, so these people aren't really ambidextrous. It's more akin to
switch hitting.
> It's also obvious that being a left-hander cricketer gives the players
> a certain advantage. Wikipedia:
>
> "
> The advantage to players in one-on-one sports such as tennis, boxing,
> fencing or judo is that in a population containing perhaps 10% left-
> handers and 90% right-handers, the left-hander plays 90% of his or her
> games against right-handed opponents ..."
[snip rest]
That sounds pretty thin to me. Lots of RHBs would bowl around the wicket
if it were true.
ISTR reading somewhere that left handers have better reflexes. Can anyone
confirm?
--
cheers,
calvin
Calvin
Adam Gilchrist, Matt Hayden...
--
cheers,
calvin
Andrew Dunford
"silly.point" <silly....@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
> While watching the last match between the recently concluded ODI
> series between NZ and BD, I saw a new NZ bloke (the name eludes me)
> bowling RH and batting LH. This phenomenon is very common in cricket.
> A few examples, off the top:
>
> Bats LH, bowls RH
>
> Anderson
> Asif
> Ganguly
> Hadlee
>
> Bats RH, Bowls LF
>
> Zaheer
> Clarke
> Inzamam
>
> I've always wondered what prompts these players to bowl with one hand
> and bat with the other. Obviously, they are not truly ambidextrous,
> because, as I understand, this quality is much rarer than seen on the
> cricket grounds.
>
> It's also obvious that being a left-hander cricketer gives the players
> a certain advantage. Wikipedia:
>
> "
> The advantage to players in one-on-one sports such as tennis, boxing,
> fencing or judo is that in a population containing perhaps 10% left-
> handers and 90% right-handers, the left-hander plays 90% of his or her
> games against right-handed opponents and is well practiced at dealing
> with this asymmetry. The right-hander plays 90% of their games against
> other right-handers � thus when confronted with a left-hander is less
> practiced (see Rafael Nadal). When a left-hander plays another left-
> hander, they are both likely to be at the same level of practice, as
> when right-handers play other right-handers. This explains why a
> disproportionately high number of left-handers are found in sports
> where direct one-on-one action predominates. In other sports such as
> golf, this advantage is not present since the one-on-one action is
> indirect; the handedness of one player has no effect on the other. In
> cricket, having a left handed bowler gives more of a challenge to
> right handed batsmen because the angle of the delivery is much more
> penetrating than a bowler who has the same handedness (see Wasim
> Akram).
This logic contradicts itself. If the left-arm bowler indeed has a
'penetration' advantage to the right-handed batsman, then it follows that a
right-arm bowler should enjoy a similar advantage when bowling to a
left-handed batsman. And as a majority of bowlers deliver with their right
arm, it should also therefore follow that a left-handed batsman is at a
disadvantage compared with his right-handed counterpart because he receives
a higher proportion of opposite-handed bowler.
Clearly there is much more to it than the rather simplistic explanation
quoted from Wikipedia.
> So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
> Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
> predisposition?
This question has come up lots of times on rsc, so it's possible you may
find a mine of information simply by searching the archives.
The guy you saw 'batting' left-handed the other day was Hamish Bennett, by
the way. I'd describe him as more standing in front of the wickets rather
than batting as such.
I have no technical expertise in this matter, but I can share with you my
experiences of coaching children. Batting is a two-handed activity,
therefore it is not necessarily obvious which stance should even be
described as "left-handed" and indeed you will find people who argue that
the accepted terms for 'left-handed' and 'right-handed' should actually be
reversed. Some naturally right-handed cricketers have doubtless been
manufactured into left-handed batsmen in order to enjoy the perceived
advantage a left-hander gains, but equally one will find that some children
just pick up the bat 'back to front'.
You mentioned Richard Hadlee. In his autobiography he describes seeing a
photo in the family album of himself as a toddler batting left-handed, and
that he just picked up the bat that way and nobody attempted to 'correct'
him.
Of course this is not restricted to natural right-handers batting
left-handed. It also occurs in reverse but is less conspicuous because
nobody looks at the right-handed batsman and thinks "why is a left-hander
batting right-handed?" I recall as a child asking Warren Lees for his
autograph and being surprised when he signed with his left hand.
Andrew
Mohan
> batting right-handed?" I recall as a child asking Warren Lees for his
> autograph and being surprised when he signed with his left hand.
Sachin writes with his left hand.
Mohan
Calvin
> On Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:20:27 +1000, silly.point
> <silly....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> While watching the last match between the recently concluded ODI
>> series between NZ and BD, I saw a new NZ bloke (the name eludes me)
>> bowling RH and batting LH. This phenomenon is very common in cricket.
>
> Either hand (ie top or bottom) can be considered the dominant one when
> batting, so these people aren't really ambidextrous. It's more akin to
> switch hitting.
IIRC Allan Border writes RH but bowls LH. Chap I work with plays tennis LH
but the guitar RH.
Alvey is ambidextrous too. He can w*$k with either hand!
--
cheers,
calvin
Takeit Easy
news:8i7bqt...@mid.individual.net:
>
>
> "silly.point" <silly....@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com.
> ..
>> "
>> The advantage to players in one-on-one sports such as tennis, boxing,
>> fencing or judo is that in a population containing perhaps 10% left-
>> handers and 90% right-handers, the left-hander plays 90% of his or
>> her games against right-handed opponents and is well practiced at
>> dealing with this asymmetry. The right-hander plays 90% of their
>> games against other right-handers � thus when confronted with a
>> left-hander is less practiced (see Rafael Nadal). When a left-hander
>> plays another left- hander, they are both likely to be at the same
>> level of practice, as when right-handers play other right-handers.
>> This explains why a disproportionately high number of left-handers
>> are found in sports where direct one-on-one action predominates. In
>> other sports such as golf, this advantage is not present since the
>> one-on-one action is indirect; the handedness of one player has no
>> effect on the other. In cricket, having a left handed bowler gives
>> more of a challenge to right handed batsmen because the angle of the
>> delivery is much more penetrating than a bowler who has the same
>> handedness (see Wasim Akram).
>
> This logic contradicts itself. If the left-arm bowler indeed has a
> 'penetration' advantage to the right-handed batsman, then it follows
> that a right-arm bowler should enjoy a similar advantage when bowling
> to a left-handed batsman. And as a majority of bowlers deliver with
> their right arm, it should also therefore follow that a left-handed
> batsman is at a disadvantage compared with his right-handed
> counterpart because he receives a higher proportion of opposite-handed
> bowler.
Yes, "higher proportion" helps LHBats to get more practice against
RHBowls compared to RHBats against LHBowls. While the angle is equally
difficult for both combination, LHBats are more used to it.
This might explain why Indian bats these days are not that vulnerable to
LHBowls compared to earlier times when they just can't play against any.
Recent times lots of LHBowls in India (ZK, AN, IP, RPS) and probably
getting a fair amount of practice at the nets.
> Clearly there is much more to it than the rather simplistic
> explanation quoted from Wikipedia.
Could be, but the above also contributes IMHO.
Takeiteasy.
> Andrew
Mad Hamish
<silly....@gmail.com> wrote:
>While watching the last match between the recently concluded ODI
>series between NZ and BD, I saw a new NZ bloke (the name eludes me)
>bowling RH and batting LH. This phenomenon is very common in cricket.
>A few examples, off the top:
>
>Bats LH, bowls RH
>
>Anderson
>Asif
>Ganguly
>Hadlee
>
>Bats RH, Bowls LF
>
>Zaheer
>Clarke
>Inzamam
>
>I've always wondered what prompts these players to bowl with one hand
>and bat with the other. Obviously, they are not truly ambidextrous,
>because, as I understand, this quality is much rarer than seen on the
>cricket grounds.
>
>It's also obvious that being a left-hander cricketer gives the players
>a certain advantage. Wikipedia:
>
it's not that certain in all cases.
It's not certain for batsmen because
a) the right hand bolwer angles across them towards the slips
b) they have to deal with rough outside the off-stump more often.
while a left arm quick probably has an advantage over a right arm
quick when the ball is swinging it gets harder for them if either
a) the ball isn't swinging
b) they can't get the ball to swing in
a left arm orthodox spinner probably has an advantage over an offie
I'm not as sure that a chinaman has an advantage over a leggie. The
general feeling about chinamen is that they absolutely have to have a
good googly because their normal turn makes them an inaccurate offie.
>So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
>Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
>predisposition?
Either because thats the way everybody else batted so that's how they
thought it should be done.
They just picked the bat up that way when they started (iirc that's
Hadlee's explanation of why he batted left handed)
there;s also the possibility that they only had access to a right
hander's protective gear...
Bob Dubery
> While watching the last match between the recently concluded ODI
> series between NZ and BD, I saw a new NZ bloke (the name eludes me)
> bowling RH and batting LH. This phenomenon is very common in cricket.
> A few examples, off the top:
>
> Bats LH, bowls RH
>
> Anderson
> Asif
> Ganguly
> Hadlee
Also include
Graeme Smith
Gary Kirsten
Graeme Pollock
Brian Lara (did he bowl though?)
I haven't met Kirsten. I've met the other three and they seem to do
everything right-handed EXCEPT batting.
Lara told me that he made a concious decision to bat left because
having his stronger hand on the top of the bat would help to keep the
ball down. That's what he told me. Don't know if it's true or a useful
invention.
The other 3 all bowl some variety of spin.
>Bats RH, Bowls LF
Include Alan Kourie who played for Transavaal and rebel-era SA in the
80s. Right hand bat with a strong bottom hand (he was also a good
baseball player) and slow left arm bowler. He was a very good slip
fielder, who liked to dive the "wrong" way. This is an interesting
example - Clive Rice would sometimes put Pollock at widish 1st slip,
Kourie at 3rd and leave 2nd open as Kourie was going to dive towards
2nd slip anyway. That, Rice used to say, effectively gave him another
fielder.
I suspect the more you dig the more you will find.
Bob Dubery
> The best reason I can think of is because they grow with RH siblings/
> peers/heroes, and learn to bat watching them.
Graeme Pollock says that his left-handed batting started in a backyard
game when he was very young. The story goes that he told his older
brother (Peter) "I'm Neil Harvey". The reply to which was "well you'd
better bat left-handed." So he did.
Lawrence�Logic
"Calvin" <cal...@phlegm.com> wrote in message
news:op.vku0j...@04233-jyhzp1s.staff.ad.bond.edu.au...
I thought he said that he needed both hands...
--
Lawrence
"Butters, we're done talking about girls' balls right now. Pay
attention!" - Eric Cartman - 14 November 2007
Lawrence�Logic
"silly.point" <silly....@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
>
Rod Marsh batted left handed but played golf right handed.
I played a 3rd grade match with a bloke called Greg Werner in the late 70's.
In the one over, he bowled right arm over the wicket, right arm around the
wicket, and left arm over the wicket.
--
Lawrence
"In the outside world I am a simple geologist, but in here I am Falcor,
Defender of the Alliance." - Randy Marsh - 4 October 2006
John Hall
<2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>,
silly.point <silly....@gmail.com> writes:
<snip>
>So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
>Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
>predisposition?
Though I was useless as a cricketer, I always batted right-handed in
spite of being left-handed. I don't know why. It just seemed natural
that way.
In some cases it may be due to the way that cricketers were coached as a
child. Once you're used to batting right-handed, it would be difficult
to change. Alternatively, it might be more important which eye is
dominant rather than which hand is dominant.
When it comes to left-arm spinners, I wouldn't be surprised if more have
batted right-handed than left. Wilfred Rhodes was perhaps the most
famous example.
--
John Hall
"I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly,
will hardly mind anything else."
Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-84)
Andrew Dunford
"Takeit Easy" <takei...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9E177C6945DFta...@78.46.73.112...
> "Andrew Dunford" <adun...@artifax.net> wrote in
> news:8i7bqt...@mid.individual.net:
>
>>
>>
>> "silly.point" <silly....@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com.
>> ..
>
>>> "
>>> The advantage to players in one-on-one sports such as tennis, boxing,
>>> fencing or judo is that in a population containing perhaps 10% left-
>>> handers and 90% right-handers, the left-hander plays 90% of his or
>>> her games against right-handed opponents and is well practiced at
>>> dealing with this asymmetry. The right-hander plays 90% of their
>>> games against other right-handers - thus when confronted with a
>>> left-hander is less practiced (see Rafael Nadal). When a left-hander
>>> plays another left- hander, they are both likely to be at the same
>>> level of practice, as when right-handers play other right-handers.
>>> This explains why a disproportionately high number of left-handers
>>> are found in sports where direct one-on-one action predominates. In
>>> other sports such as golf, this advantage is not present since the
>>> one-on-one action is indirect; the handedness of one player has no
>>> effect on the other. In cricket, having a left handed bowler gives
>>> more of a challenge to right handed batsmen because the angle of the
>>> delivery is much more penetrating than a bowler who has the same
>>> handedness (see Wasim Akram).
>>
>> This logic contradicts itself. If the left-arm bowler indeed has a
>> 'penetration' advantage to the right-handed batsman, then it follows
>> that a right-arm bowler should enjoy a similar advantage when bowling
>> to a left-handed batsman. And as a majority of bowlers deliver with
>> their right arm, it should also therefore follow that a left-handed
>> batsman is at a disadvantage compared with his right-handed
>> counterpart because he receives a higher proportion of opposite-handed
>> bowler.
>
> Yes, "higher proportion" helps LHBats to get more practice against
> RHBowls compared to RHBats against LHBowls. While the angle is equally
> difficult for both combination, LHBats are more used to it.
Yes, that's a fair point.
> This might explain why Indian bats these days are not that vulnerable to
> LHBowls compared to earlier times when they just can't play against any.
> Recent times lots of LHBowls in India (ZK, AN, IP, RPS) and probably
> getting a fair amount of practice at the nets.
>
>> Clearly there is much more to it than the rather simplistic
>> explanation quoted from Wikipedia.
>
> Could be, but the above also contributes IMHO.
I agree that familiarity with a particular style is a significant factor.
Without having any data to back it up, there appear to be more left-handed
batsmen in the current generation playing at international level than ever
before. Certainly the proportion of left-handed batsmen at international
level is much higher than I see in junior cricket.
Andrew
subi...@hotmail.com
i can (or used to be able to) bat rh and lh, bowl rh and lh, though lh
is very slow spin. i am normally rh.
Robbert ter Hart
> In article
> <2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>,
> silly.point<silly....@gmail.com> writes:
> <snip>
>> So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
>> Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
>> predisposition?
>
> Though I was useless as a cricketer, I always batted right-handed in
> spite of being left-handed. I don't know why. It just seemed natural
> that way.
>
> In some cases it may be due to the way that cricketers were coached as a
> child. Once you're used to batting right-handed, it would be difficult
> to change. Alternatively, it might be more important which eye is
> dominant rather than which hand is dominant.
>
> When it comes to left-arm spinners, I wouldn't be surprised if more have
> batted right-handed than left. Wilfred Rhodes was perhaps the most
> famous example.
Being left or right handed and batting 'the other way around' isn't all
that uncommon.
I am left handed myself, but I grew up playing fieldhockey, so for me
there is only one way to hold a hockey stick, golf club, cricket bat or
even an oar.
More interesting would be examples of players bowling left-handed, but
writing right handed. (Or vice versa, of course).
And do I recall a story of a cricketer bowling with one hand, but
trowing with the other?
Cheers,
RtH
Uv
"John Hall" <nospam...@jhall.co.uk> wrote in message
news:RnLhlKD7...@jhall.demon.co.uk.invalid...
> In some cases it may be due to the way that cricketers were coached as a
> child. Once you're used to batting right-handed, it would be difficult
> to change. Alternatively, it might be more important which eye is
> dominant rather than which hand is dominant.
If the right is the dominant eye, then batting left handed should be better,
right?
Or should it be the other way round.
My right eye is the dominant eye, but I bat righthanded - which doesn't seem
right.
Since eye dominance has no relation to hand dominance, so I am wondering
if it's just a habit thingy.
Mad Hamish
<mega...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Brian Lara (did he bowl though?)
leggies iirc.
Takeit Easy
> Without having any data to back it up, there appear to be more
> left-handed batsmen in the current generation playing at international
> level than ever before. Certainly the proportion of left-handed
> batsmen at international level is much higher than I see in junior
> cricket.
I was surprised to see so many LH fast bowlers in Indian team in the past
decade. Before that there were hardly a couple (Ghavri and Valsan IIRC) in
a couple of decades.
Also saw too many LH bats in Tamilnadu team. IIRC, there were 5+ a few
years earlier in the team.
This is in a country where LH is discouraged heavily.
Takeiteasy.
tendulkar.com
[Didn't no there was another thread. So, my rant belongs here]
Right(Left) Handed Batsmen is not the same as Right(Left) Handed. So
calling them ambidextrous is not correct
How can anything be called Right Handed when they are using both
hands?
In fact, when a Right Handed Batsmen plays a one handed shot, he
typically uses his left hand and not his Right Hand. So, if you really
have to assign a Hand it should be the other way around
So, Ricky Ponting is more ambidextrous than, say, Hadlee
True Ambidextrous people are
Brian (some cricketer from Zim). Throws the ball right handed while
fielding, but bowls left arm
Sachin Tendulkar (Throws the ball with Right Hand, but writes Left
Handed)
arahim
A true ambidextrous is one who can perform the same skill with either
handedness relatively equally well. This is rare. More common is using
different handedness for different activities.
Andrew Dunford
"tendulkar.com" <tendul...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:230fcba0-4274-4324...@p26g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
> On Oct 19, 11:20 pm, "silly.point" <silly.poin...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [Didn't no there was another thread. So, my rant belongs here]
>
> Right(Left) Handed Batsmen is not the same as Right(Left) Handed. So
> calling them ambidextrous is not correct
>
> How can anything be called Right Handed when they are using both
> hands?
>
> In fact, when a Right Handed Batsmen plays a one handed shot, he
> typically uses his left hand and not his Right Hand.
Good rant, thought I'd join the party. It's very rare for batsmen to play
shots with one hand anyway. Almost invariably when a commentator starts
raving about so-called one-handed shots there are two hands on the bat
handle at the moment bat hits ball, but one hand is removed during the
follow-through. THIS IS NOT A ONE_HANDED SHOT.
> So, if you really
> have to assign a Hand it should be the other way around
>
> So, Ricky Ponting is more ambidextrous than, say, Hadlee
>
> True Ambidextrous people are
> Brian (some cricketer from Zim). Throws the ball right handed while
> fielding, but bowls left arm
> Sachin Tendulkar (Throws the ball with Right Hand, but writes Left
> Handed)
Bryan Strang I think. Wasim Raja could throw well with either hand.
Andrew
Unknown
<nospam...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:
>In article
><2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>,
> silly.point <silly....@gmail.com> writes:
><snip>
>>So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
>>Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
>>predisposition?
>
>Though I was useless as a cricketer, I always batted right-handed in
>spite of being left-handed. I don't know why. It just seemed natural
>that way.
>
>In some cases it may be due to the way that cricketers were coached as a
>child. Once you're used to batting right-handed, it would be difficult
>to change. Alternatively, it might be more important which eye is
>dominant rather than which hand is dominant.
>
>When it comes to left-arm spinners, I wouldn't be surprised if more have
>batted right-handed than left. Wilfred Rhodes was perhaps the most
>famous example.
Bowler at my end was skipper. He was bowling arm over the wicket and
getting slapped about. Mid over he said "time to bring on the
spinner". I was just a bit baffled and just about to enquire when he
said "change of action, left arm around", and he bowled 3 balls left
arm around. Not the best loopy round arm looking things ever, but just
the ticket on a dirty damp pitch.
arahim
> "tendulkar.com" <tendulkar....@gmail.com> wrote in message
The article below talks about handedness in baseball and even training
feilders to throw right handed even if they are naturally left handed.
It also states that catchers are dominantly right handed though
doesn't give a reason. Wonder if that applies to keepers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-dominance
> Andrew
arahim
Baseball does have the asymmetry that players go around the diamond
counter clock wise (looking down from the top). Of course cricket does
not have this asymmetry.
>
> > Andrew- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Calvin
<lawrence-Omit...@amd-p.com> wrote:
>
> "Calvin" <cal...@phlegm.com> wrote in message
>> Alvey is ambidextrous too. He can w*$k with either hand!
>>
>
> I thought he said that he needed both hands...
He's prone to exaggeration too.
--
cheers,
calvin
Mad Hamish
<lawrence-Omit...@amd-p.com> wrote:
>
>"silly.point" <silly....@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
>>
><snip>
>
>Rod Marsh batted left handed but played golf right handed.
>
>I played a 3rd grade match with a bloke called Greg Werner in the late 70's.
>In the one over, he bowled right arm over the wicket, right arm around the
>wicket, and left arm over the wicket.
Freddie Trueman is meant to have bowled pretty respectible LAO in the
nets.
Mad Hamish
<nospam...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:
>In article
><2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>,
> silly.point <silly....@gmail.com> writes:
><snip>
>>So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
>>Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
>>predisposition?
>
>Though I was useless as a cricketer, I always batted right-handed in
>spite of being left-handed. I don't know why. It just seemed natural
>that way.
>
I had a bit of an experiment batting left handed at one stage, I found
that I drove well but couldn't keep the horizontal bat shots down.
As I was under 5 foot at the time I was getting a lot more chances to
score by pulling than driving so it was back to right handed.
silly.point
> >In article
> ><2a3a2ccf-f1de-4237-a61f-3509d39df...@a37g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>,
> > silly.point <silly.poin...@gmail.com> writes:
> ><snip>
> >>So, why do genuinely LH cricketers (Clarke, for instance) bat RH?
> >>Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
> >>predisposition?
>
> >Though I was useless as a cricketer, I always batted right-handed in
> >spite of being left-handed. I don't know why. It just seemed natural
> >that way.
>
> I had a bit of an experiment batting left handed at one stage, I found
> that I drove well but couldn't keep the horizontal bat shots down.
> As I was under 5 foot at the time I was getting a lot more chances to
> score by pulling than driving so it was back to right handed.
I also dabbled with batting LH (I'm RH), mainly to exploit the shorter
boundary on the RH's off side (didn't have the luxury of rotating the
striking ends), but I couldn't get any force behind horizontal bat
shots, so had to revert to RH pretty soon.
Calvin
wrote:
> On Oct 20, 8:30 pm, Mad Hamish
>> I had a bit of an experiment batting left handed at one stage, I found
>> that I drove well but couldn't keep the horizontal bat shots down.
>> As I was under 5 foot at the time I was getting a lot more chances to
>> score by pulling than driving so it was back to right handed.
>
> I also dabbled with batting LH (I'm RH), mainly to exploit the shorter
> boundary on the RH's off side (didn't have the luxury of rotating the
> striking ends), but I couldn't get any force behind horizontal bat
> shots, so had to revert to RH pretty soon.
Me three. I found the grip, power and playing most shots came quite
naturally. The two problems were the pull which I just couldn't get in to
position for, and the footwork which felt all wrong and made going forward
and (especially) back clumsy/unnatural.
--
cheers,
calvin
Andrew Dunford
"Calvin" <cal...@phlegm.com> wrote in message
news:op.vkwl3...@04233-jyhzp1s.staff.ad.bond.edu.au...
I tried bowling with the wrong arm in the nets the other day. The first
ball was perfect, but turned out to be a fluke. I can do the arm action ok
but my feet get totally confused and ruin my delivery stride.
Andrew
Andrew Dunford
"Mad Hamish" <newsunsp...@iinet.unspamme.net.au> wrote in message
news:1q5vb6pp7bh5cbe8b...@4ax.com...
Bah! Fred Trueman didn't do anything respectably.
Andrew
arahim
> "Calvin" <cal...@phlegm.com> wrote in message
>
> news:op.vkwl3...@04233-jyhzp1s.staff.ad.bond.edu.au...
>
>
>
>
>
> > wrote:
>
> >> On Oct 20, 8:30 pm, Mad Hamish
>
> >>> I had a bit of an experiment batting left handed at one stage, I found
> >>> that I drove well but couldn't keep the horizontal bat shots down.
> >>> As I was under 5 foot at the time I was getting a lot more chances to
> >>> score by pulling than driving so it was back to right handed.
>
> >> I also dabbled with batting LH (I'm RH), mainly to exploit the shorter
> >> boundary on the RH's off side (didn't have the luxury of rotating the
> >> striking ends), but I couldn't get any force behind horizontal bat
> >> shots, so had to revert to RH pretty soon.
>
> > Me three. I found the grip, power and playing most shots came quite
> > naturally. The two problems were the pull which I just couldn't get in to
> > position for, and the footwork which felt all wrong and made going forward
> > and (especially) back clumsy/unnatural.
>
> I tried bowling with the wrong arm in the nets the other day. The first
> ball was perfect, but turned out to be a fluke. I can do the arm action ok
> but my feet get totally confused and ruin my delivery stride.
>
try wrong footing ie use the footwork you would use for your normal
arm but use the wrong arm.
Calvin
wrote:
> try wrong footing ie use the footwork you would use for your normal
> arm but use the wrong arm.
And then let us know how the operation goes.
--
cheers,
calvin
gokrix
<snip>
> More interesting would be examples of players bowling left-handed, but
> writing right handed. (Or vice versa, of course).
>
> And do I recall a story of a cricketer bowling with one hand, but
> trowing with the other?
Tendulkar. Writes left-handed, bats, bowls and throws right-handed.
Thanks,
--gokrix
>
> Cheers,
>
> RtH
Bob Dubery
> Without having any data to back it up, there appear to be more left-handed
> batsmen in the current generation playing at international level than ever
> before. Certainly the proportion of left-handed batsmen at international
> level is much higher than I see in junior cricket.
Maybe that's to do with the role that spin has played the last few
years. Not just with demon tweakers such as Warne & Murali, but
gentler stuff which has become very effective in over limit games.
Nirvanam
r.ter...@chello.nl says...
If you may indulge there is one cricketer who plays today who bowls right
but writes left - Sachin Tendulkar
arahim
> On Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:37:36 +1000, arahim <arahim_ara...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > try wrong footing ie use the footwork you would use for your normal
> > arm but use the wrong arm.
>
> And then let us know how the operation goes.
>
:)
If his action is front on he may be ok. If its side on ... some
adjustment may be required.
> --
>
> cheers,
> calvin
arahim
> While watching the last match between the recently concluded ODI
> series between NZ and BD, I saw a new NZ bloke (the name eludes me)
> bowling RH and batting LH. This phenomenon is very common in cricket.
> A few examples, off the top:
>
> Bats LH, bowls RH
>
> Anderson
> Asif
> Ganguly
> Hadlee
>
> Bats RH, Bowls LF
>
> Zaheer
> Clarke
> Inzamam
>
> I've always wondered what prompts these players to bowl with one hand
> and bat with the other. Obviously, they are not truly ambidextrous,
> because, as I understand, this quality is much rarer than seen on the
> cricket grounds.
>
> It's also obvious that being a left-hander cricketer gives the players
> a certain advantage. Wikipedia:
>
> "
> The advantage to players in one-on-one sports such as tennis, boxing,
> fencing or judo is that in a population containing perhaps 10% left-
> handers and 90% right-handers, the left-hander plays 90% of his or her
> games against right-handed opponents and is well practiced at dealing
> with this asymmetry. The right-hander plays 90% of their games against
> practiced (see Rafael Nadal). When a left-hander plays another left-
> hander, they are both likely to be at the same level of practice, as
> when right-handers play other right-handers. This explains why a
> disproportionately high number of left-handers are found in sports
> where direct one-on-one action predominates. In other sports such as
> golf, this advantage is not present since the one-on-one action is
> indirect; the handedness of one player has no effect on the other. In
> cricket, having a left handed bowler gives more of a challenge to
> right handed batsmen because the angle of the delivery is much more
> penetrating than a bowler who has the same handedness (see Wasim
> Akram).
> "
> Shouldn't it be more opportune for them to stick to their genetic
> predisposition?
Nadal (not in cricket but about taking advantage associated with a
given handedness) is a "right hander" who plays left and it was
supposedly done on purpose by his coach.
arahim
general population) because most batsmen are right handed and the
keeper would have to be much better on the off than the leg.
>
> > Andrew- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
Unknown
<arahim...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On Oct 20, 9:09=A0pm, Calvin <cal...@phlegm.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:37:36 +1000, arahim <arahim_ara...@hotmail.com> =
>=A0
>> wrote:
>>
>> > try wrong footing ie use the footwork you would use for your normal
>> > arm but use the wrong arm.
>>
>> And then let us know how the operation goes.
>>
>
>:)
>If his action is front on he may be ok. If its side on ... some
>adjustment may be required.
Lots of people bowl off the wrong foot, and they are always chest on
bowlers. It's like they just run through the crease and release the
ball. Not much of a bound or leap.
max.it
>> --
>>
>> cheers,
>> calvin
>
Calvin
> Lots of people bowl off the wrong foot,
No they don't. They may approach the crease that way, but at the moment of
delivery they are orthodox.
--
cheers,
calvin