From being forced: Lately, the game has thrown a series of “change and backhand hitters.” But no one draws those lines with the simple ease of Maxwell.
Glenn Maxwell did not go out for a week once while in elementary school, and his disgruntled classmates complained to the PT Master.
Maxwell switched to basketball for a week or so, but he wasn’t that excited about the game of basketball and went back to cricket.
He was allowed to play on one condition: he should hit lefties.
“So I developed decent shots with my left hand. Then I went home and did a lot of left-handers too. My father always pushed me to keep trying new things, “he explains
Soon he was so good at hitting with his left hand that his friends asked him to hit with his right hand again. Then he began to switch-hitting and reverse sweep as he does now.
Of late, the game has seen the mushrooming of a number of reverse and switch hitters. But no one pulls those strokes with the uncomplicated ease of Maxwell.
No one had made them look so natural, or added more reverse variants to the repertoire. Anything cricket shot a batsman can play conventionally;
Maxwell could produce the reverse version. From reverse sweep to reverse pull, reverse shovel to a reverse deck drive (which he flaunts on nets).
It also improvises its methods depending on the settings you want to undo. But he begins by moving his foot away from behind as if to loosen the mud from the thorns. The forefoot then opens up and takes a big diagonal step to cover the ball line with the toe pointing toward the pitchers, then reverses the direction of the swing by pushing the rear arm forward.
Also, change the handle and place the lower hand on the handle as well as under it so that the bat forms a flat line with the pad and does not twist semi-horizontally. “I do this because I don’t want to bend my wrists to get around the ball so that I could get a nice full swing and offer the full face of the bat,” he elaborates.
The degree of swing varies by shot. For the back round, which is generally thrown against full-length pacemakers, the club swing is minimal and the forefoot does not move as far.
However, when sweeping back, the bat swing is more pronounced to get the required power. Depending on whether you want to hit the ball on the ground or in the air, your body deforms.
“If I am looking to go over the fielders, I lean back and move the body away. But if want to play it along the ground. I lean forward and get the head over the ball,” he explains.
A variety of technical and natural skills support the shots. Good eyes that recognize length, fast hands that allow changes in grip, reflexes. And muscle memory to complement the change of direction while maintaining balance.
But the mind also plays a role because you need absolute faith in yourself to take this photo. The line between inventiveness and carelessness is rarely that fine.
Maxwell himself had been arrested several times in his international career for the reverse of him.
However, nothing would beat practice, says Maxwell. But if I tried to ask him to avoid or limit the shot, he would reply: “For me, it is no different than a cover run. It’s my shooting percentage ”. Many unlucky players would attest to this IPL. In the slow, low lanes where the ball sizzled before hitting the batter, he attacked her with his magic. It could also be a running theme in World T20. And how to stop it would worry the captains and bowlers.
There’s not much you can do but pray that he somehow misses the shot. Or plays poorly with an outfield player.
As a disruptive weapon, reverse variants are almost unprecedented. These not only interrupt the pace of the bowlers and poke fun at the setting of the field. But also change the mood and pace of the game. And Maxwell is the sultan upside down.
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