A furore has erupted over whether Adam Gilchrist's squash ball was illegal. In his whirlwind World Cup winning innings of 149, Gilly batted with a squash ball in his batting glove.
A squash ball is a rubber ball so that when applied pressure unlike cricket ball it compresses and when the pressure is released it take original shape. In short it acts like a spring (e.g.: motor bicycle shock absorber). So what happen when a batman has a squash ball in the palm of his bottom hand? When a batsman swings the bat until it hits the ball there is pressure on his bottom hand. This pressure compresses the squash ball thus storing energy in the ball similar to spring. Just after the ball hit the bat (ball still touching the bat) this pressure starts to relax while the bat is moving forward. At the same time the energy stored in the squash ball release its energy to the bat in the form of kinetic energy. The result is that the bat moves faster than normal (without a ball in the glove). As a result the release speed of the cricket ball become faster resulting the ball traveling further (more 6s and 4s) before hitting the ground. The down side is because the bat travel faster than normal the batmen might loose control of the bat. This happened once in the Adam Gilchrist´s innings.
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The IPL is working out as a trading centre for cricketing tips and Adam Gilchrist's World Cup squash-ball trick is now being used by Deccan Chargers' Venugopal Rao to considerable effect. K Shriniwas Rao find out more in the Indian Express:
ReplyDeleteRao’s exploits in IPL have taken bowlers by surprise. Not known as a batsman who strikes the ball hard and clean, Rao has hit 14 sixes and 19 boundaries in the tournament so far, taking Hyderabad agonisingly close to victory from hopeless situations in two games.
“I am using the ball in my right glove. It gives me the advantage of a better grip. I took Gilchrist’s advice and it’s actually working well,” Rao told The Indian Express.
Rao says he’ll continue using the squash ball as long as he’s comfortable with it. In the match against Delhi at the Ferozeshah Kotla last week, Rao’s 34 off 18 balls contained two sixes and three fours — and one six in particular, off Farveez Maharoof over long-on, was an example of Rao’s comfort factor with the squash ball in his glove. The shot was played as late as possible and close to his body and the timing, says Rao, is reflective of the grip he enjoyed.
Bob Meuleman, the former Western Australian player and selector was pleasantly surprised to learn that Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni used squash ball in his batting gloves during the first one dayer against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. "Oh, is it so? I am really surprised to learn this. He should offer me a glass of beer when next comes to Perth", he said jokingly. "How many runs did he score in this match then", he asked.
ReplyDeleteMahendra Singh Dhoni (61 not out) slammed his 26th ODI fifty guided team India to a six-wicket comprehensive win over Sri Lanka in the first One-Day International in Colombo.
Questions were raised about the legality of using balls in the gloves after Gilchrist did it so. "It is perfectly legal and nothing in the laws can prevent the batsman using this", he further added.
"Apparently the addendum to the inside of the gloves was not for protection from injury but to improve the way the batsman gripped the bat handle. This should not be considered unfair," the MCC official said.