Ambidextrous bowler

[Hope]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/35482072

Anyone willing to face this?   

[SqueakyVoice]

My phone keeps crashing just after the batsman has hit the first slow full toss out to long off.

Based on that, yes please.

[ProfessorDavey]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/35482072

Anyone willing to face this?   

Not sure really whether this is an advantage in cricket. I always thought that the umpire told the batsman what type of bowling to expect - e.g. right arm over. If so I don't think that a bowler is allowed to tell the umpire 'right arm over', the umpire tell the batsman and then bowl left arm round. So there can't be the surprise element.

So there might be a slight advantage for the bowling side of variety, but nothing like the benefits of a genuinely two footed player in football where a defender won't know whether the player is likely to cut in or go round the outside.

I think there are more advantages to being a genuinely ambidextrous batsman rather than a bowler, as I don't think there is anything to stop a batsman suddenly swivelling round to play the ball left handed when taking a right handed guard. That said I think you'd have to be pretty quick unless it was a slow bowler.

[Hope]

I think there are more advantages to being a genuinely ambidextrous batsman rather than a bowler, as I don't think there is anything to stop a batsman suddenly swivelling round to play the ball left handed when taking a right handed guard. That said I think you'd have to be pretty quick unless it was a slow bowler.

As a left-handed batsmen and a right-handed bowler, I often found that by walking into bat as if I was right-handed (it has to do with which hand you hold the bat as you walk in), the field would stay as for a right-handed batsman, even as I took my left-handed guard!!  Towards the end of my career, I would open the bowling and bat at #3, and I can count on one hand the number of innings that I failed to score a 4 off the first ball of my innings - a feat that usually resulted from the fielding side's failure to get into the left-handed way of thinking.

[Outrider]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/35482072

Anyone willing to face this?   

No, but mainly on the basis that it would require me to play cricke... zzzzz!

O.

[ad_orientem]

No, but mainly on the basis that it would require me to play cricke... zzzzz!

O.

Heathen!

[Rhiannon]

Surely the only thing worse than playing cricket is watching it?

[Hope]

Surely the only thing worse than playing cricket is watching it?

Basketball and American Football are two things I can think of that are worse than playing or watching cricket     Yesterday's One Day international between South Africa and England seemed pretty exciting

[Rhiannon]

Basketball and American Football are two things I can think of that are worse than playing or watching cricket     Yesterday's One Day international between South Africa and England seemed pretty exciting

Haven't played basketball for nearly thirty years but it's huge fun. One of those sports best played rather than watched though. Netball's more skilful but the rules are a lot more complicated and it doesn't flow like basketball. I believe it was invented by accident when someone got a set of written instructions on how to play basketball completely wrong.

[Hope]

Haven't played basketball for nearly thirty years but it's huge fun.

Have only played it a couple of times, but perhaps my view that it is pretty boring explains why I've only ever played it a couple of times.  After all, at 6ft tall, I satisfied the height requirements 30+ years ago quite easily.  Perhaps I prefer more complex sports.

[Outrider]

Basketball and American Football are two things I can think of that are worse than playing or watching cricket     Yesterday's One Day international between South Africa and England seemed pretty exciting

Basketball I find quite dull to watch, but it's alright to play. It's not my favourite, by a long stretch, but it's non-stop. American football is like even more disjointed rugby than rugby league is, but it's involved enough that it can be entertaining to watch (highlights only, the constant interruptions for adverts and team changes just completely disrupt the flow).

Baseball's down there, as well, but cricket... ah cricket... If you can have a game that takes five days and you somehow still can work out a draw, you're doing something dreadfully wrong.

O.