‘Helicopter' shot, ‘Marillier' scoop, switch-hitting, ‘Dilscoop'... the list of unorthodox one-day strokes is likely to grow by the time the World Cup ends in Mumbai on April 2.
Batsmen have become more audacious and innovative since 1971 when the first One-Day International was played in Melbourne between England and Australia, just like a “normal game of cricket”.
“In those days it was ordinary white clothing with two or three slips and a gully,” said Australian off-spinner Ashley Mallett, who bagged three wickets in the game.
“There were no fielding circles. It was just played like a normal game of cricket.”
England batsman Kevin Pietersen was not just playing a “normal game of cricket” when he switch-hit (right-hander batting like a left-hander) Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for a six in the 2006 Edgbaston Test.
Cleared by ICC
Pietersen sparked a debate over the legality of the shot, which was cleared by the ICC.
The shot wrongfoots the opposition because the field has already been set for a right-hander before he turns into a southpaw.
“Unbelievable as it may seem, the first time I played the switch-hit was in an international game, when Muralitharan was bowling at me at Edgbaston,” Pietersen recently wrote in his column in an Indian newspaper.
“I was batting with Freddy Flintoff and there were not many on-side scoring opportunities what with Murali bowling a tight, uncompromising line.
“I decided to give the switch-hit a go and it paid off. Thankfully, I caught it sweet and I hit a six. Freddy came down and said ‘What was that?' and laughed.”
Pietersen, who said he had always been attracted to innovation, has also confounded the opposition with his ‘flamingo' shot-pulled from wide of off-stump through mid-on while standing on one leg.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has found his own way of playing a yorker-length delivery over mid-on, leading the shot to be named ‘helicopter' because of the rotation of the arms.
Zimbabwean Doug Marillier repeatedly scooped the ball over the wicketkeeper's head for fours to sink India in a one-dayer in Faridabad in 2002.
He came in to bat at No. 10 when his side was facing defeat at 210 for eight chasing a 275-run target, but turned the match upside-down with a 24-ball 56 not out to script an unlikely Zimbabwean victory.
New strokes
The emergence of Twenty20 cricket in 2005 added new strokes to the batsmen's repertoire do not hesitate playing high-risk shots.
Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan plays the scoop over the wicketkeeper's head with amazing consistency in both one-day and T20 cricket after being promoted as an opener. The shot was eventually named ‘Dilscoop'.
He won the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award in 2009 for his unbeaten 96 off 57 balls against the West Indies in the semifinal at the World Twenty20.
“It was a thrill for me to do well in England and do well for my team. I'm really proud of myself for having a new shot named after me (the Dilscoop),” Dilshan said after receiving the award.
More unpredictable
A sweep now has many variations — paddle, reverse and slog — as batsmen try to become more unpredictable .
Indian batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar has virtually mastered the paddle sweep to fine-leg, while many have started playing a slog-sweep, an aggressive leg-side shot.
