‘It’s impossible’: Former umpire defends Glenn Maxwell’s switch-hitting tactic

Much like the dreaded Mankad, cricket seems divided on whether switch-hitting should be banned, and now the umpires have had their say.

Australia's Glenn Maxwell reverse sweep six.

Footage of Glenn Maxwell’s 100-metre reverse sweep against India at Manuka Oval went viral on Wednesday evening, and rightfully so.

The Aussie powerhouse executes the unorthodox shot better than anyone in the game, and it proved an effective weapon during the one-day series.

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English cricket fans will never forget when Maxwell calmly smacked the first delivery of a T20 Blast match over point with a reverse sweep in 2015.

But inevitably, the 32-year-old’s entertaining cameo in the nation’s capital reignited a debate which has raged within the cricket community for several days.

Much like the dreaded Mankad, cricket seems divided on whether switch-hitting should still be allowed in a game which continues to favour the batters.

Settle in and watch this on loop. So good @gmaxi_32 😍😍 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/TiQte333Y6

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 3, 2020

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell wants the practice to be deemed “illegal” and encouraged India’s players to revolt by challenging the on-field umpire.

“If I’m captain, I’m going to take the ball myself and I’m going to tell the umpire, ‘I’m bowling right-arm over,’ and then I’m going to run in and bowl around,” Chappell told Wide World of Sports.

“Obviously the umpire’s going to complain, and I’m going to say, ‘Well, you stop him doing something I think is totally unfair, and I’ll stop doing something unfair’.

“If he’s good enough to do it by excellent footwork or whatever other means he can devise, I don’t have a problem with it. But when it’s blatantly unfair, it annoys the hell out of me.”

But highly respected former umpire Simon Taufel has a convincing argument the other way, believing it would not be practical to outlaw the shot.

“The game of cricket is not a science, it’s an art. We’re not perfect,” Taufel said, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

“When we say that we want to ban that type of shot, how does the umpire officiate that? It’s impossible.

“The umpire has an enormous number of decisions — front foot, back foot, protected area, seeing where a ball is hit — it’s impossible to have an official then watch for the changing of the grip or stance. It’s an impossible ask for a standing umpire to make that determination.

“We can’t make a law that we can’t apply.”

Taufel umpired 74 Test matches and 174 ODIs before quitting in 2012. The Australian official was named ICC Umpire of the Year for five consecutive years from 2004 to 2008.

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Australia's Glenn Maxwell plays a reverse sweep shot.

Australian great Shane Warne sided with Chappell, arguing that although the shot was undeniably entertaining, it gave the batter an unfair advantage.

“I’m not sure I like it,” Warne said on Fox Cricket. “It’s worth a discussion, worth a debate to work out what’s the right thing.

“Maybe the bowler can run up behind the umpire and bowl over or around.”

Those who defend switch-hitting are quick to point out it’s within the laws of the game, something Maxwell reiterated after his classy 59 off 38 balls in Canberra.

“Batting has evolved in such a way, that it has got better and better over the years, which is why we see these massive scores are getting chased down and the scores are going up,” Maxwell told reporters on Wednesday evening.

“It is up to the bowlers to try and combat that.”

The three-match T20 series between Australia and India commences on Friday evening at Canberra’s Manuka Oval.