The spinner’s hand velocity is a giveaway: Barry Richards

Do you agree that the artwork of enjoying spin in difficult circumstances is all however gone?
Not solely spin, countering seam additionally. Batsmen nowadays fairly concentrate on the IPL/T20 cricket.
You talked about IPL and T20 cricket, however loads of cricketers nonetheless put Test cricket on a pedestal. From a batsman’s technical viewpoint, what are the downsides of T20 cricket?
See, to begin with, bat is an element. Modern-day bats have a lot wooden and spring in them that it severely provides to the arrogance issue. You carry the arrogance to swing, realizing that mishits, too, would possibly clear the fielders. T20 batting is about clearing your entrance leg and swinging confidently. And whenever you internalise that, if you end up swinging more durable on the ball, it turns into tough to play with smooth fingers. You are likely to push on the deliveries, which brings about your downfall.
As a batsman, how do you go about your job on a turning pitch?
On seaming pitches, you attempt to choose the seam place from the bowler’s hand, however it’s important to anticipate the ball to bounce earlier than you play the shot. On turning pitches, choosing the size early is much more vital. You set to work the ball round, which Rohit Sharma did. Sweep is a scoring shot on turning pitches, however you do this solely when the size is true to play the shot. The drawback with loads of modern-day batsmen is that they don’t bat for time. They bat for runs. So after they get low-scoring wickets, they’re in bother.
In Ahmedabad, on a turning pitch, straighter ones did the trick – the deliveries that skidded off the floor. Batsmen by and enormous tried to play inside the road, unsure about which one will flip and which one will skid.
What I’ve present in loads of modern-day batsmen is that they take a look at the bowler’s hand however they don’t take a look at it intensely. From a batsman’s viewpoint, detecting the hand velocity is vital and no matter crimson ball or pink ball, a spinner’s hand velocity is totally different when he’s bowling a quicker, straighter one or giving it a tweak. So watching the hand intensely turns into crucial.
How vital is footwork on a turning pitch?
Massively vital. On a spinning pitch, it’s important to dictate the size to the bowlers. That will provide you with sufficient alternative to attain runs. Without that you’re permitting the bowlers to bowl with none strain. They will dictate the size as a substitute. For you to dictate the bowler’s size, you want good footwork. See how nimble Rohit’s footwork is towards spin. That allowed him to dictate the size.
A bowler like Axar Patel, who’s faster via the air and extracts steeper bounce off the floor due to his top, do you assume sweep is an effective choice?
Once once more, choosing the size to play the sweep shot is vital. There’s no foolproof strategy to choose the size however it’s one thing high batsmen do effectively. Length will decide whether or not you play a flat-bat sweep or hit the bat on high of the ball and roll the wrists. Riding the size is vital.
On a pitch like Ahmedabad, what would have been your strategy to play spin?
I might attempt to dictate the (bowler’s) size. Against an off-spinner like (Ravichandran) Ashwin, I might fairly take an off stump guard and attempt to play his off-breaks outdoors the road of the off stump. On low-scoring wickets, it’s vital to cut back the danger elements. When you’re enjoying the ball outdoors the road, you’re taking LBW out of the equation.
Also, your again foot sport turns into vital. By having a great again foot sport, you’re permitting your self that bit of additional time to regulate to the flip and bounce. At the identical time, in case your method is sweet sufficient, you’re in flip forcing the bowler to bowl fuller the place you may have scoring alternatives off over-pitched deliveries. Not straightforward although, for Ashwin is a unbelievable bowler.
You performed County cricket in an period when pitches was uncovered. You confronted the likes of Bishan Bedi and Derek Underwood on sticky wickets. How did you counter them on these pitches?
I bear in mind one County championship match that we performed towards Northamptonshire at Southampton. Our second innings goal wasn’t very huge, however Northamptonshire had Bishan and the wicket was treacherous. Bishan wasn’t a vicious turner of the cricket ball. He would mesmerise you together with his variations in flight. He was magnificent. I scored 45, however I fee it extra extremely than loads of my centuries. Once once more, the important thing issue was eliminating the dangers as a lot as attainable and being decisive in strategy to place strain again on the bowlers.