A paddle scoop or Marillier shot is a modern cricketing shot . Players have used it more and more often in One Day International and Twenty20 cricket matches, since it appeared in the early 21st century. The player makes the shot by positioning the body square-on with the ball, both feet pointing towards the bowler . The player uses the bat to deflect the ball over the batter 's leg side shoulder, thus guiding the ball towards the fine leg region.
19-397: The shot is considered unorthodox, and not usually included in coaching manuals and textbooks. Many purists suggest it is not a true, graceful cricketing shot. However, executed well, the paddle-scoop is useful—often because it can be used on a delivery that is usually considered a good " line and length " delivery, and otherwise difficult to score runs on. Also, the area where the shot sends
38-409: A ball controls how high the ball rises from the pitch as it reaches the batsman's position. A ball pitched too short may rise high and lose some of its pace, making it easy for the batsman to hit. A ball pitched too full does not necessarily deviate horizontally in its flight, also making it easy for the batsman to hit. A good length ball is a compromise between these two options, bouncing far enough from
57-399: A catch to a fielder, or ricochet the ball into the wicket. Line can also be used strategically to restrict run scoring. One method is to stack the fielders predominantly on either the leg or off side of the field, and then bowl consistently with a matching line, to make it difficult for the batsman to hit the ball to the opposite side of the field. A deliberate policy of aiming the line of
76-476: A chance in the team. He could hardly have had a more testing experience, as a fine Zimbabwe batting performance after Australia scored 303 meant that he came in at number seven needing to score 15 to win the match in the final over, which was to be bowled by Glenn McGrath . Marillier moved across to the first and third balls he received from McGrath and flicked them over his shoulder to fine leg for boundaries, reviving hopes of an incredible Zimbabwe victory. But he
95-414: A delivery is the direction of its trajectory measured in the horizontal plane . More simply, it is a measure of how far to the left or right the ball is travelling, compared to a line drawn straight down the pitch. It is usually referred to in terms of the directions off (away in front of the batsman ) and leg (in towards or behind the batsman), rather than left and right, however. Different lines that
114-605: A miss can not only result in the batsman being dismissed, but also injury if the ball hits the batsman. However, used occasionally as a calculated risk, the shot can frustrate the fielding side's captain, because positioning a fielder to stop a paddle scoop may present gaps and scoring opportunities in other areas. The shot was developed by Zimbabwean batsman Dougie Marillier . In a triangular tournament in 2001 in Australia with Zimbabwe , Australia and West Indies , Zimbabwe played their final match with Australia and Marillier got
133-431: A similar shot: "Dropping on one knee to a fast rising ball, he would hold his bat over his shoulder and parallel to the ground. The ball would touch the blade, and shoot high over the wicket-keeper's head to the boundary." Line and length Line and length in cricket refers to the direction and point of bouncing on the pitch of a delivery . The two concepts are frequently discussed together. The line of
152-410: The corridor of uncertainty , may cause the batsman to be in two minds whether or not he needs to hit the ball to prevent it hitting his wicket. In this state, the batsman has little choice but to attempt to hit the ball, as not doing so could be disastrous. By thus forcing the batsman to play at the ball with some element of uncertainty, the bowler's goal is to induce a poorly executed shot that may offer
171-442: The back foot and, if he misses the ball with his bat, in danger of being out either bowled or leg before wicket . Another attacking ploy is to pitch a ball very short, making it bounce up around head height as it passes the batsman. Such a bouncer requires the batsman to avoid being hit, and may intimidate him into uncertainty about the next few balls. Corridor of uncertainty Too Many Requests If you report this error to
190-462: The ball at the batsman's body was employed by England during their 1932-1933 tour of Australia . This dangerous tactic has since been outlawed. See Bodyline for full details. The length of a delivery is how far down the pitch towards the batsman the ball bounces. It is described as being either short (bouncing closer to the bowler), full (bouncing nearer the batsman), or a good length (an optimal length, somewhere in between). The length of
209-411: The ball is often not patrolled by a fielder —and since the bowler's pace on the ball (faster than the pace imparted by a batsman's hit) sends it to the boundary, fielders may still find it difficult to cover more than a couple of yards on either side of themselves to stop the ball, because of its momentum. This shot requires good hand-eye coordination and bravery, especially against faster bowlers, where
SECTION 10
#1732783572695228-418: The ball may be said to be travelling on may be towards off stump, middle stump or leg stump, outside leg stump, or outside off stump. Balls on a line outside off stump may be said to be in the " corridor of uncertainty " if they are within 12 inches of the line of off stump. Wider deliveries may be said to be giving a batsman "width". Balls delivered on a line outside leg stump are often referred to as "going down
247-403: The ball will result in the batsman being out bowled , whilst a batsman blocking the ball with the body is likely to be out leg before wicket . Despite this most direct method of getting the batsman out, bowlers often concentrate their line outside off stump , where the batsman does not necessarily have to hit the ball to avoid being out. A line just outside off stump, sometimes referred to as
266-401: The batsman for lateral deviation to be significant, but not too far that he can react easily to hit it. For fast bowlers the "good length ball" is usually six to eight metres in front of the batsman, and for slower bowlers (spin) it is usually at about three to four metres before the batsman, though the optimal length will vary according to the state of the pitch, prevailing weather conditions and
285-454: The height and playing style of the batsman. A bowler can use variation in length to upset the rhythm of a batsman. A typical sequence would be a series of slightly short balls to force the batsman into playing shots with his weight on the back foot, to allow him more time to hit the ball, followed by a full ball bouncing near the batsman's legs. If the batsman does not react to the change in length quickly enough, he can be left with his weight on
304-414: The leg side", or alternatively "on the pads", referring to the batsman's leg protection. Short pitched leg-side deliveries are often referred to as bodyline , literally meaning on the line of the body. Line controls how much room the batsman has to play various shots, and sometimes dictates what shot he must play. A line directed at the wicket , for example, must be defended with the bat, as failing to hit
323-458: The shot against Zaheer Khan . During 2009 ICC World Twenty20 tournament, Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan mastered a similar shot to the paddle scoop. Dilshan's success with a similar shot led Dilshan's shot being titled the Dilscoop. The Dilscoop is different from the paddle scoop because Dilshan's scoop is played straight over the head of the wicketkeeper, rather than to one side of
342-551: The wicketkeeper. The "Paddle scoop" shot was played much earlier, by then Somerset captain, Brian Langford , in an English county match at the Edgarley ground in Glastonbury in 1962. It probably escaped the headlines because Langford, as primarily a spin bowler, batted well down the order - usually at 9. In the nineteenth century the indigenous Australian player Johnny Mullagh , who toured England in 1868 , liked to play
361-531: Was just unable to complete the job, and his team lost by two runs. His two courageous and unorthodox boundary strokes made him famous, with the shot becoming known as the Marillier shot. Marillier continued to do reasonably well for the national side. In 2002 he "Marilliered" Zimbabwe to a famous win in India in a One Day International at Faridabad, India with 56 not out at the death, although this time he used
#694305