http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/tweak-rules-and-let-the-bowlers-switch-it-up-too-urges-kasprowicz-20120202-1qvld.html
Tweak rules and let the bowlers switch it up too, urges Kasprowicz..
Michael Chammas
February 3, 2012
IN AN era of international cricket where the ball is finally starting to make inroads in the battle against the bat, David Warner is threatening to tilt the balance back in favour of the batsman.
His switch-hitting ability, which he demonstrated against India on Wednesday night with a massive six, has the potential to revolutionise the sport and ensure the game of cricket favours those with the willow.
While several former Australian fast bowlers aren't disgruntled by Warner's plan of attack, Michael Kasprowicz has devised a method to ensure bowlers aren't copping the raw end of the deal.
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The former Australian paceman hasn't got a problem with switch hitting but believes the rules need to be tinkered to give the bowler the upper hand. ''He's more than welcome to do that, but on two conditions,'' Kasprowicz said.
''One: the ball cannot be deemed to be pitching outside leg stump for an lbw. And the second one is, the benefit of the doubt should then go to the bowler. If the batsman decides to switch hit, the umpire should drop the outside leg rule and the benefit of the doubt should then go in favour of the bowler, not the batsman. If that happens, they're more than welcome to do it.''
Warner defended the ploy in a series of tweets last night. ''In my mind I think it's OK to do so because we get out we are out, the bowler gets hit and he still has five deliveries,'' he said.
England's Kevin Pietersen was the first to play the shot back in 2008 against New Zealand, which even led to a cola commercial featuring the incredible shot. But Warner has now taken over the mantle as the king of switch, hitting some mammoth sixes for NSW in the Twenty20 Champions League last year and again on Wednesday night against India at ANZ Stadium.
But as cricket continues its accelerated evolution, Kasprowicz hopes administrators take a similar stance and allow bowlers to introduce a variation of their own.
''If batsman can then bowlers should be able to bowl left or right as well,'' he said. ''I had a shoulder reconstruction in 2000 and coming back to training I tried to teach myself to bowl left-arm. Just very gentle swing, nothing much to it, really. But eventually there will be someone that comes along with that sort of skill and I think it will be exciting to see.''
Mike Whitney, who lived next to Warner in Matraville when the master blaster was a child, echoed the sentiments of Kasprowicz. Whitney was at ANZ Stadium when Warner blasted Ravichandran Ashwin into the stands and believes he should be encouraged to do it more.
While some bowlers are opposed to the idea of switch hitting, Whitney said the risk associated with playing the shot outweighed the result, highlighting the chance of picking up a wicket.
''It's a really risky and dangerous shot to play,'' Whitney said. ''But it's also incredible. For some reason, Davey Warner can pull it off. I don't think I'd be fazed by it but I'm sure R. Ashwin wasn't too happy with it. I wouldn't be deterred by it because it's such a risky shot. But he's special, he's really special, and if he can pull that off then I say good luck to him.''
Warner's teammate, David Hussey, is one of several Australian players to feel the brunt of Warner's switch hitting in the nets.
While he admitted he had been frustrated bowling to him, Hussey said rules shouldn't be introduced to prevent him from playing it.''He's a fantastic talent and hopefully he continues doing it,'' Hussey said. ''Dave does it to me in the nets all the time and it frustrated me, so I beamed him. It didn't go down very well.''
