Left-handed Legerdermain

During those murky days of 1975 in England, as the crowd clad heavily in thick jackets and watched the game, the batsmen relaxed in the middle, enjoying the mild zephyrs crossing the park, seldom rotating the strike and changing ends. A run rate of about 3 rpo was the norm, and anything above 4 rpo never fell short of deserved eulogy. There was a certain Vivian Richards, known for his ability to send the ball out to tremendous distances, but a player of his caliber was too occasional and hence, outstanding. The better percentage of the deliveries were left for the wicket-keepers behind to collect, and if there was a wicket to fall, it mostly would have been a nick to the slips. More than half of the softest dismissals in cricket belong to those days of yore.

Two decades later, things were markedly different. The overall run rate jumped considerably to over 5. In came a new brand of cricketers, whose natural prowess belonged to their left arms. These were cricketers who perhaps drew inspiration from legends like Gary Sobers, who excelled in many sports along with cricket. Sobers played soccer, golf and basketball for native Barbados. You would be mighty surprised when looked into his bowling options. Left-arm-fast-medium, Slow-left-arm-orthodox and Slow-left-arm-Chinaman. Any thing else?

In the case of left-handed batting, one can actually notice that the striking arm is the right arm. And vice versa.


Sultan(s) Of Swing. The Dire Straits found a better match for their name in Wasim Akram. Very few know that Wasim Akram was struggling to make it to his college team. Gracious indeed. How can someone miss a cricketer of the highest embodiment? Wasim Akram, is known for his tremendous left-handed dexterity. That he could swing the ball either way, off or leg, change of pace, cut, length and angles is absolutely unprecendented. In the 1992 World Cup final, the two deliveries he produced to get rid of Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis were almost unplayable. His bowling statistics speak for themselves. Not only this, he also has a Test best score of 257*, better than that of Sachin Tendulkar. Wasim is an inspiration for younger quicks who include Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan.

The most notable of the batsmen is the ever-damaging and punitive Sanath Jayasuriya, who single-handedly threatened to finish the game in a jiffy. His aggressive batting is one of the cornerstones of the birth of a new cricketing strategy, which was to be carried successively in the later years. A virtuoso performer that he is with the bat, his off side flicks which send the ball over the ropes are the shots which any aspiring batsman would love to emulate. Those shots defy the laws of gravity and projectile motion, else why would Jayasuriya be the lone man to hit them? And if the batting is not sufficient, Sanath possesses the ability to choke the run rate with his slow left arm tweaks. His form is perhaps, getting better with his age.

Around this time in Perth Down Under, Adam Gilchrist was gradually making progress from an ordinary wicket-keeper to a specialist one endowed with fantastic batting abilities. Spending couple of years with the domestic Western Australia Warriors, Gilchrist successively topped the seasons most dismissals by a wicket-keeper. Initially being tried at the number seven position, Gilchrist went on to score at a brisk pace which prompted the think-tank to promote him to the opening order. In the 1999 World Cup Final, Gilchrist slammed Shoaib Akhtar's express deliveries to all corners of Lord's to script an emphatic victory. And in 2003 World Cup Final, Gilchrist rubbed into Indian woes by striking a well-timed 57 at the top. More was to come in the 2007 World Cup Final, when he lambasted a potent Sri Lankan attack to rip 149 off a mere 104 balls. Perhaps, bigger occasions ignite his spirits. GIlchrist is equally punishing in his white jersey. The distinction of being the first person to club hundred sixes in test cricket will always remain in his name.

Kevin Pietersen's switch-hit may have caused controversies but given the power he can derive, one can fairly give him the license. It is after all, not an easy shot to play. To swivel the arm in the reverse direction and pull is quite innovative.

Other names such as Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Marcus Trescothick, Kumar Sangakkara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Graeme Smith, Saurav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Andrew Strauss have all carved special niche for themselves in the world of international cricket.

Left-armers have not dominated only cricket. Ask John McEnroe. One of the most prolific tennis player of his time, McEnroe had an odd technique which added to his strength of hitting the ball a considerable distance as early as the age of 4, which was the result of an extra-ordinary combination of hand-eye coordination plus power. Same with Martina Navratilova, her angle asked new questions to those facing her at the opposite end. Former Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanisevic is another in the list. Not surprisingly, many of the guys are ambidextrous today. One of my pals named Praveen (Blogspot), bowls left-arm and bats right-arm. It definitely is worth a try. The left armers have a special charm arising out of the difference they create.