When batsmen are allowed to switch hit the ball for a six, would bowlers be wrong in demanding to be allowed a variation of their own? Like bowl a bouncer to dissuade batsmen? The iTV Network’s panel of three spinners–Amit Mishra, Danish Kaneria and Monty Panesar–said spinners will bowl bouncers sooner or later in T20 format to counter switch hits. Amit Mishra said a bouncer can surprise a batsman but won’t be very effective. It’s better if bowlers work on their quality and improve variations, he said. Agreeing with Mishra, Danish Kaneria said using a bouncer should be the last resort for spinners.
But soon we will see bowlers like R. Ashwin, Adam Zampa and Imad Wasim using bouncers to good effect, he said. The Pakistan spinner cited the example of Shane Warne, who resorted to quick balls in Test cricket to fluster batsmen. Monty Panesar, the English spinner, differed. He said spinners can use bouncers but also remembered being taken to the cleaners when he bowled bouncers to show his anger. All three spinners admitted that while bowling this kind of delivery, they have to signal the wicket-keeper for this kind of ball because bouncers can cause problems for the keepers if they are standing close to the stumps. The three also differed on the use of saliva. With a debate being waged on the safety of using saliva to shine the ball in the aftermath of Covid-19, Cricket Australia has banned the use of saliva and sweat on the cricket ball.
Leg spinner Amit Mishra said cricketers should be tested for Covid-19 and added the leather used for the ball should be such that it does not carry any infection. Kaneria said that it will be very hard for players not to use saliva and without it, leg spinners will especially face difficulties to drift the ball in Test matches. Panesar said there should be an alternative to saliva while supporting Cricket Australia’s ban on use of saliva.
