5 batters with the most unique batting stances in cricket
Cricket is currently one of the most popular and most-watched sports across the world. One of the big reasons behind cricket's success is the constant innovation made by the players in the game. Initially, batters would look to play in the V and score runs down the ground.
But now players like AB de Villiers, Dinesh Karthik, Suryakumar Yadav and others have changed the trend. They have proved that runs can be scored across all parts of the ground. Even the bowlers have evolved as the years have passed. Along with pace, swing and spin, bowlers now rely on variations for success in cricket.
Speaking of the different things that have happened in cricket over the last few decades, some batters have introduced new batting stances in the game. A stance is the way a batter stands at the crease while waiting for the ball to be delivered by the bowler.
On that note, we will look at the five most unique batting stances by batters in cricket.
#1 George Bailey
Former Australian skipper George Bailey played with a unique stance, where his back faced the bowler and his bat in the direction of the point fielder. He introduced this stance during the final phase of his career.
Bailey tried to play with that stance during one of the games against the South African side. Faf du Plessis, standing in the slip cordon, could not control his laughter after looking at the way Bailey batted.
#2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Shivnarine Chanderpaul became popular because of his weird-looking stance. He stood 90 degrees to the orthodox stance but shuffled quickly when the bowler came close to bowling the delivery.
Chanderpaul has achieved enormous success in international cricket despite his unique stance. He has scored 11,867 runs in 164 Tests for the Caribbean team.
#3 Rory Burns
Rory Burns' Batting stance be like https://t.co/GvOjzRKjoq
One of the top openers in England, Rory Burns has one of the weirdest batting stances in the modern era. In one of his interviews, Burns said that he is a left-eye dominant, which is why he bats with an unusual stance.
Burns has scored 1,789 runs in 32 Tests for England thus far, with his highest score being 133.
#4 Ravichandran Ashwin
What do you make of R Ashwin’s batting stance from last night’s #IPL match? 👀 https://t.co/UI3Is3Ks2y
While the aforementioned names on the list batted with their unusual stance regularly in matches, Ravichandran Ashwin introduced a new stance while playing against Kuldeep Yadav in an IPL match earlier this year.
It was a crouched batting stance which seemingly helped Ashwin counter the spin bowler. He scored a half-century in that game against the Delhi Capitals.
#5 Fawad Alam
Fawad Alam is one of the top batters in Pakistan at the moment. The left-handed batter has a stance similar to former West Indies player Shivnarine Chanderpaul. In one of his interviews, Alam revealed that since he achieved success with that stance, he has persisted with it.
Even Chanderpaul advised him to continue batting with the unique stance since he has scored heaps of runs for his team.