Cricket Australia showed the rest of the world that ball-tampering – aka cheating – has no place in the sport by banning Steve Smith and David Warner for 12 months and Cameron Bancroft for nine.
Cricket Australia can show the same leadership for the kids of today and the internationals of tomorrow by banning the trick shots of reverse sweeping, ramping and paddling.
Ask any kid who their heroes are and a large percentage rate Glenn Maxwell at the top because he likes to play the ‘exciting’ reverse sweep and he’s a great fieldsman.
And it doesn’t help when Adam Gilchrist, one of the most devastating strikers of the ball in the history of cricket, has Maxwell in front of the Fox Sports cameras praising his massive reverse sweep six at Bellerive on Christmas Eve that travelled 83 metres for the Melbourne Stars against the Hobart Hurricanes.
Kids will always follow their heroes, even though most of them find it hard enough to lift the bat, let alone play harder shots than the norm.
Like the Wallabies must vastly improve their grip on rugby basics if they are to get back into the winning habit, kids must be taught the normal and accepted batting techniques if they are to become internationals.
Australia’s most successful Test batsmen of all-time – Sir Donald Bradman, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Allan Border – never played a reverse sweep, a ramp or a paddle in their entire careers, but they sure concentrated on their techniques to become champions.
I bet Jos Buttler and Moises Henriques have seen replays of their most recent Big Bash dismissals and shuddered at their stupidity.
Both were cruising in their 50s having played every ball on its merits in quick time – until they had brain fades.
Buttler, a highly-intelligent cricketer and vice-captain of England, was on 55 for the Sydney Thunder in even time on a very difficult wicket when he suddenly decided to reverse sweep, totally out of character.
He overbalanced to a slower ball from Scorcher paceman Jhye Richardson and, trying to compensate to catch up with the delivery, cleaned out his castle and departed hit wicket.
Fortunately for Buttler, the Thunder won by one run, but they should have been so far in front that the Scorchers wouldn’t have stood a chance.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Henriques has suffered a couple of lean seasons, but this year he’s back to his best as captain of the Sydney Sixers – but he won’t forgive himself for his ramping attempt.
He was travelling smoothly on 20 in even time when he had his brain fade.
Facing Jack Wildermuth, Henriques dropped his hands, leaned back and helped his ramp into his leg stump instead of over the keeper’s head. He left the field shaking his head, as he should.
The Sixers won by 33, no thanks to their irresponsible skipper – it was largely due to 21-year-old offie Ben Manenti on debut not only capturing 2-13 off his four but also claiming man of the match as well.
But Glenn Maxwell is the perfect example late in his career of where Cricket Australia can make him one of the world’s best by banning all trick shots.
Matthew Wade did Maxwell no favours by originally tabbing him the ‘Big Show’ – who became the No Show with a series of wipe-outs.
I’ve already written it’s time for Maxwell to realise his God-given natural talent, and that can be achieved overnight by Cricket Australia banning all trick shots from the juniors up.
Instead of Maxwell always thinking, ‘How can I entertain by playing trick shots?’, by concentrating on the basics with all his wonderful talent and power he will still entertain – but more importantly he will play a very serious role in Australia’s cricket revival in all formats.
Glenn Maxwell on fire is on one the great sights cricket can provide. Minus the trick shots, the firing will be far more regular.
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
Let them play their shots but teach them patience. Pujara was 16 off 59 at one stage and brought up his 100 in 199 balls. He waited, watched, checked the conditions and then started to move ahead with his strike rate. How many Aussies lately have even lasted 59 balls in an innings lately? For too long Australia has had another obsession other than an all-rounder and that is trying to score fast. Patience is needed, something this generation of Australian players dont have.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
Buttler reverse sweeping is "out of character"?? I've seen quite a lot of Jos batting, and nothing is out of character for him, including the reverse sweep, the paddle, the lap, the ramp.
lesterlike
Roar Rookie
Old man yells louder at cloud.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Dear Cricket Australia, There are too many trick shots being played today. Please eliminate 3. PS I am not a crackpot
Internal Fixation
Roar Rookie
Hi David. I think you and I would both agree many players lack greatness in the 6 inches above the ears. I also get frustrated with Maxwell. We have seen him apply himself both internationally and at Shield level in the longer form - but now the idiotic selectors won’t give him a chance. However, I don’t have a problem with his trick shots in the BBL as he is perfectly capable of playing them and they give him an advantage. I don’t think his application in the longer form now has any relation to T20. He has been able to shift mindset in the past, depending on the format (AB DeVilliers is the greatest exponent of this I have ever seen). This is going to be a necessary skill going forwards for many players.
David Lord
Expert
Internal Fixation, your basketball example if self-penalising, if you miss the three pointer the opposition can score up to three points at the other end - a six-point penalty. My argument is Glenn Maxwell with his trick shots and lack of patience, has cost him a place among the greats. Nobody comes within cooee of The Don, but Maxwell has the same natural ability as Ricky Ponting, but only a fraction of applying it, and Maxwell has more natural ability than both Steve Waugh, and Allan Border, but only a fraction of Waugh's determination to succeed, and Border's doggedness to make the most of what he was given. As a result, The Don. Ponting, Waugh, and Border are legends - Maxwell is just making up the numbers. And that Internal Fixation, is a bloody tragic waste of talent.
Paul D
Roar Guru
You're actually serious. You know what should be banned? Poor quality click-bait journalism on the roar. "kids must be taught the normal and accepted writing techniques if they are to become journalists" "Australia’s most successful journalists of all-time – Sir Keith Murdoch, Andrew Ollie, Kerry O'Brien– never wrote word quota for pay, clickbait headlines or a deliberately antagonistic piece in their entire careers, but they sure concentrated on their techniques to become champions."
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
Lordy I enjoy your view on the game and have great respect for your experience but I think you've got the wrong end of the stick here. Khawaja frequently bested the great Yassy Shah with the reverse sweep in the UAE during his epic 85 and 141. Probably wished he'd played another one against Jadeja in the first innings at Melbourne too instead of getting caught in an orthodox manner at short leg, albeit from an excellent ball. They are legitimate shots well executed. I reckon you would have ramped Thommo if you thought about it. Just on Maxwell, he's done nothing wrong. The selectors should be sacked for favouring less credentialled players, over batsman most likely to succeed, mainly Maxwell, Burns and Renshaw. Seriously, how can they justify playing debutants over test century scorers at a time when Australia's batting is paper thin?
BA Sports
Roar Guru
I am no fan big fan of Big Bash or what is happening to batting, but you obviously can't ban shots. While I am sure kids try these shots in the park and backyard, I can't imagine many are trying to do reverse sweeps on a Saturday playing on bouncy synthetic turf pitches (which is the pitch for most kids). I am sure once upon a time it was considered a trick shot to advance up the pitch out of one's crease - yet here we are today where players often bat outside their crease. The game evolves...
Spanner
Roar Rookie
"The only thing necessary for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing " and 20 over cricket is pure evil. Fight the good fight Dave, you have supporters, albeit we are the silent majority !
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
“Australia’s most successful Test batsmen of all-time – Sir Donald Bradman, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Allan Border – never played a reverse sweep, a ramp or a paddle in their entire careers‘ Of course, only one of these batsmen actually played T20 cricket. So yet again David makes an utterly irrelevant point to try to justify a ludicrous opinion about something.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
You’re very diplomatic max...
Paul
Roar Guru
David, the only players who used to play what's now called the slog sweep, were tailenders and that shot was known as "a hoick to cow corner", until Steve Waugh made it fashionable. Fast bowlers also now get reverse swing and the dusrah is an accepted part of the game. Should Benaud have been banned from bowling his flipper because it was experimental? Our game is evolving as guys search for ways to make runs or take wickets. By all means teach the basics in junior cricket but trying to stop the game from progressing is not going to happen - especially when these sorts of shots are so much fun.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
I saw the headline and thought this was going to be one of those spoof articles. Then I had this dreadful realization that David’s actually serious.
Spanner
Roar Rookie
What's field hockey - is it like ice hockey but in a paddock ?
Wayne
Roar Guru
"It was first regularly played in the 1970s by the Pakistani batter Mushtaq Mohammad, though Mushtaq's brother Hanif Mohammad is sometimes credited as the inventor." Source Wikipedia So a shot they've been playing since the 70s should be banned because reasons? I can't drag flick very well in Field Hockey, doesn't mean they should ban the move.
max power
Guest
poor comeback David
Don
Roar Rookie
Realistically, the shots are high risk and high reward. And BBL is an entertaining, cash cow drawing the fans who largely aren’t the “rusted on sit in the stands for every minute of a test” types. And it all happens when there’s some clear air from most major footy codes and taking advantage of school holidays. So a player decides to have a crack at a reverse sweep? So what? Just don’t take that stinky cheese into test cricket where there’s more opportunity to plan a strategy to get a batsman out. And as far as ramp shots go? We are seeing half as many now as we did when Brendan McCullum was at his peak for NZ in T20 because it’s too hard to get right.
Simon G
Guest
How dare these guys try shots to manipulate the field placings and bowlers to score as many runs as they can in 20 overs! In regards to the reverse sweep, it’s not even a “trick shot” these days. Khawaja utilised it constantly and brilliantly a few months back in the UAE to combat the Pakistani spinners and score his century and save a Test Match for Australia.
David Lord
Expert
So Matt Simpson, and danwain, you would be quite happy to have the national anthem played out of tune before an international, or when an Australian has won an Olympic gold medal? No way.