A few days after the Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin registered his vexation regarding the current LBW rules and called for a change in them, the former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has also joined the debate. The veteran Indian spinner, a few days back, demanded that a batter should be adjudged LBW out without considering whether the ball is pitched outside the leg-stump while playing the switch hit. As per Ashwin, the rule of the blind spot doesn’t apply when a batter switches his stance.
In case you don’t know, as per the current rules, a batter would not be given out LBW and deemed safe if the ball pitches outside the leg stump, even if the ball is hitting the batter in the line of the stumps after missing the bat. The former Kiwi all-rounder Scott Styris also agreed with Ravi Ashwin’s point but he disagreed with the solutions the Indian off-spinner suggested. He went on to say there is nothing wrong with the current LBW laws.
“I completely disagree with Ravi Ashwin” – Scott Styris
The New Zealand all-rounder spoke in an exclusive interview with the Sports18. He talked about how Ravi Ashwin has raised valid questions but he differed on the solutions the off-spinner has suggested.
“Well, I sort of gotta go back half a step here. I loved a lot of the points that Ashwin made. I completely disagreed with all his solutions. I actually think even though we just had some fun with the switch hit, I think the switch hit should be banned completely. There are rules for captains and bowlers in terms of where their fieldsmen can be, how many behind point, how many on the leg side, all of these things,” said Scott Styris.
He called for a complete ban on the switch hit and added that current LBW rules are absolutely fine. He added that a ban on the shot will allow a fair contest between the bowler and the batter.
“So, I don’t think a batsman should be able to change his hands over and I don’t believe he should be able to change his feet. You can play the reverse sweep or the reverse hit if you like but I don’t like this. In terms of the hands, Kevin Pietersen has completely flipped around as a lefthander. If you take away the switch hit, but allow all the reverse sweeps and reverse hits, then I think you don’t have to worry about the LBW law that Ashwin is talking about. And it allows a fair contest between the bowler and the batsman as well,” Scott Styris concluded.
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