Burgey
Request Your Custom Title Now!
The old “find someone who’s an unorthodox freak of nature and assume every other **** can do it” coaching fail.The theory, at least as I've seen it expressed by current day batting coaches, is that it helps you line up your off stump better and it allows you to access the straight ball more efficiently, which in principle turns good balls on the stumps into scoring options all over the legside. It also makes you lethal against anything short as you're already in a natural position to pull or cut. The downsides are... well, we saw them.
My understanding is that it's much much more common these days than it used to be, in no small part because of the success of the guy batting #4 in this game. Though I remember Clarke transitioning more to an open stance in the second half of his career as well.
I’m left handed, so I get opening up your stance a bit because it was necessary to actually be in line with a right arm over bowler, but I don’t get the idea of inviting lbws by squaring up so much you’re offering both edges and your pads to the bowler for the sake of being able to play a leg glance, which tbh you should be able to do anyway ffs - it’s the off spin of batting - everyone should be able to play it.