Post your obscure cricket questions here!

[abu2abu]

I have a nerdy question about the rules and thought I'd post it here.

When I bat I have this sort of reverse sweep shot that I play. It's not really a sweep, but I switch the bat to my other hand and put my bottom hand lower down, behind the blade. Does anyone know if this is legal?

[Padosan]

legal !

[Tigers_eye]

Can you bat with the opposite side of the bat in Intl cricket? (Not the flat side)

Like in Field hockey you can not.

[Padosan]

TE, guess he didnt mention about reversing the bat to the wrong side, he just mentioned he will put the hand way below, which i think is legal though i doubt the effectiveness of the shot.

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by Padosan
TE, guess he didnt mention about reversing the bat to the wrong side, he just mentioned he will put the hand way below, which i think is legal though i doubt the effectiveness of the shot.

no i believe TE was asking another question.

TE any luck in the icc website? i went there but couldnt find the section for batting rules or lbw....

[abu2abu]

Originally Posted by Padosan
TE, guess he didnt mention about reversing the bat to the wrong side, he just mentioned he will put the hand way below, which i think is legal though i doubt the effectiveness of the shot.

Ghopal Bhai is right, TE was asking a different question.

I've found the shot fairly effective against slow bowlers. I've used it quite a bit, until last week when some chap told me it was illegal. I doubted him, looked it up but couldn't find anything in the laws prohibiting it. The laws aren't a guide on how to play cricket (they don't tell us how to hold the bat or ball for example) but they just tell us what we can't do.

I guesssed BC members might be able to help...

[JonBain]

Totally legal. He's just trying to sledge you. Tell him he's a chucker.

My first ever ball I bowled in a cricket game, came about a yard short of being 6 wides. Has anyone ever heard of 6 wides before?

[One World]

How do you differentiate between a Chinaman and a Flipper? (Obscure)

[abu2abu]

Originally Posted by One World
How do you differentiate between a Chinaman and a Flipper? (Obscure)

Very good question. I'm not even going to pretend to know the answer, but isn't a "chinaman" just a term for a left arm wrist spinner rather than a type of delivery?
I'm not sure, but I'd always thought chinaman meant that...

[MohammedC]

How to loose a winning match?

[WarWolf]

How much seconds do you have to hold the ball to make it a valid catch?

[AsifTheManRahman]

Doesn't matter as long as you are in control of the ball and your body. For example, the catch won't be complete if you grab the ball on the fly and throw it into the ground before recovering to a stable body position.

[AsifTheManRahman]

A chinaman is a delivery bowled by a left-armer that spins from the off to the leg of a right-hand batsman. In essence, it's a left arm leg break.

A flipper is a flighted delivery that skids after pitching and stays low on its way to the batsman. It may be very handy in getting lbw's as the batsman may be late in putting his bat down.

[AsifTheManRahman]

In case anyone is curious about the physics behind the flipper, the back spin exerted on the ball produces a Magnus effect on it. The downward force on the ball leads to a turbulent mass of air beneath it while the air above it is fast and flows smoothly, thereby producing the slow dip that results in the low bounce after pitching.

[WarWolf]

Thanks ATMR for the answers.

Is there any restrictions for the length of a cricket bat? Any minimum and maximum lengths are set by standards?

( In fact, I think Mushy's bat became too long for him. If possible he needs to use a shorter bat. This will make his life much easiler).

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by WarWolf
Thanks ATMR for the answers.

Is there any restrictions for the length of a cricket bat? Any minimum and maximum lengths are set by standards?

( In fact, I think Mushy's bat became too long for him. If possible he needs to use a shorter bat. This will make his life much easiler).

"The rules of the game limit the allowable size for a bat as not more than 38 in (965 mm) long and the blade may not be more than 4.25 in (108 mm) wide. Bats typically weigh from 2 lb 8 oz to 3 lb (1.1 to 1.4 kg) though there is no standard." -wikipedia



What decisions by umpires can a 3rd Umpire/Match referee overturn? And only the captain has the ability to challenge or hear the umpire's decisions right?

[One World]

Thanks for your reply ATMR.

Why US is reluctant to adapt cricket though it has all the taste of a classic sports?

[Puck]

why doesn't derek pringle get paid a penny from pringle's crisps?

[WarWolf]

Thanks Gopal Bhar for your answer.

[One World]

Originally Posted by Puck
why doesn't derek pringle get paid a penny from pringle's crisps?

Good perspective but wrong thread to ask. Its the adaptation at large.

[abu2abu]

Here's something that's always bothered me (and led to heated arguments with family members):

An offbreak (helpfully known by a variety of other names such as, offspin, left arm orthodox and finger spin) is a ball which turns from the offside to the leg side.

A legbreak (aka, wrist spin, chinaman, leg spin) turns from leg to off.

However, a legbreak is also distinguished from a offbreak because it comes out of the back of the hand (with the spin largely induced by the wrist), whereas as an offbreak comes out of the front of the hand (with the spin induced mainly by the fingers).

In that case, if a ball is bowled out of the back of the hand (that is, with a legbreak action) but actually turns like an offbreak (that is from off to leg) is that delivery still a legbreak? I know many of you will say that's a googly, but what I want to know is does that still make it a legbreak?

Put another way:

What is the defining factor when determining what is offspin and what is leg spin? Is it what direction the ball turns in or whether the ball is delivered with a legbreak or offbreak action? Or is it a curious combination of both?

[AsifTheManRahman]

When bowling a leg break, the seam is usually under all of the fingers, i.e. the fingers run over the ball and right before release an anticlockwise spin is exerted that causes the ball to turn from the right to the left (as seen by a right arm leg break bowler) after pitching. During this process, the wrist is usually moved to the left (of a right arm bowler).

A googly is a unique delivery bowled with a similar action, except that the wrist comes down straight. This causes a clockwise spin on the ball, something that can also be achieved by spinning the ball further than a usual leg break right before release with the help of the fingers.

An off break, as you have pointed out, doesn't quite involve the use of the wrist but rather the fingers that exert a clockwise spin on the ball. So to answer your question, a googly is not an off break but rather a special delivery used quite effectively by seasoned leg break bowlers.

Yes, it's a curious combination of both.

[abu2abu]

Thanks Bhai. One more question that stems from this. Murali seems to use a lot of wrist in hsi deliveries, yet he is termed an offspinner, why is that? If he uses his fingers to spin the ball, why does he contoort his wrist in such a fashion?

[Nocturnal]

found it very interesting: carrom ball
i.e. ajanta mendis
________________________________
LINK
Things You'll Need

1. A love for cricket and spinning
2. Expertise at playing carroms
3. A Strong Middle Finger!!
4. Motivation to practice a lot!

Steps

1) The carrom ball is similar to the “Doosra” that Muthiah Muralitharan delivers. It is a delivery normally delivered by an off-break bowler but only it behaves like a leg-break ball. While Murali delivers it by turning the palm of his hand towards himself and by flicking his wrist, Ajantha Mendis delivers it differently.




2)
The Grip To bowl the Carrom ball that behaves like a Doosra - Hold the ball as show in the picture with the seam facing gully. Place the index finger on the seam and the thumb below the ball. Essentially you’re gripping the ball between your thumb and index finger. Now place your middle finger folder underneath the seam of the ball (similar to how you get ready to srike a carrom with your middle finger), supporting the ball.



3)
At the time of delivery Push your middle finger out (similar to the strike in caroms) by flicking it quickly. This causes the ball to not only spin like a regular leg-break but also provides it the additional lateral force to skid or shoot through causing further difficulty to the batsman.

4) Bowling other variations By using this concept of flicking your finger (or squeezing the ball out) with other grips you can get a similar spin/shoot combination on an off-break, leg-break, etc.

Tips

• Watch videos of Ajantha Mendis in the coming weeks as he is sure to cause a sensation.
• Continue to work on strengthening your fingers so that you can continue to deliver the flicking action.
• You can also get a very good effect by starting of with a cricket-tennis ball for practice.

Caution
Don’t make the carrom ball your stock ball. Instead use it as a surprise variation to confuse batsmen.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Originally Posted by abu2abu
Thanks Bhai. One more question that stems from this. Murali seems to use a lot of wrist in hsi deliveries, yet he is termed an offspinner, why is that? If he uses his fingers to spin the ball, why does he contoort his wrist in such a fashion?

Sorry, didn't notice this before. Murali is really unique; well, I shouldn't say unique because more and more young bowlers are using the wrist as well as the fingers in their bowling these days. The use of the wrist not only offers greater bounce and turn but also enables you to bowl with more variation. In Murali's case, the wrist comes down in the opposite direction to that of a leggie. While traditional definitions have it that leggies use the wrist and offies don't, Murali's action has been up for much debate and my personal conclusion is that we could have a whole new name for his type of bowling: he uses his wrist, but not exactly like a leggie AND he uses his fingers, not like a leggie either.

Obscure, I know.