Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting are anything but conventional, and you can't frown on Steve Waugh for playing his slog-sweep because it's so effective.
The 'Natmeg' from England's Natalie Sciver attracted a lot of attention as a brilliant piece of improvisation, which requires every bit as much talent as a Tillakaratne Dilshan 'scoop,' or a Jos Buttler 'ramp' shot.
In 50over cricket there are different ways of playing. It's not all about smacking it over the top. It's important someone bats through the innings. That would be one of the options for me.
In tennis ball cricket, even it's hit from the toe of the bat, the ball still travels a lot, but in normal cricket, it has to be the middle part of the bat, so it requires a lot of work.
Well, I've always prefered playing spin off the back foot because, to my mind, it takes short leg and silly point out of the equation.
In the U.A.E., the wickets are on the slower side. You can't play through the line; you need to take your time and be patient.
When I was playing the game we never had the benefit of TV or video to analyse our techniques or look at faults, we depended on other cricketers to watch us and then tell us what they thought we were doing wrong.
I cannot think that I am a good cricketer and just become one. For this, one needs skill.
In Twenty20s, you have to bowl a lot fuller, especially at the death, and you've got to be mindful of what you're doing. But it's still cricket.
If the keeper is standing up, in the fear of getting stumped, the batsman will not try to walk down the wicket to negate the swing.
You have T20 and that also plays a part in some of the shots batsmen play. You see guys playing the same shots in T20s and Tests and are sometimes lucky to get away with it.
I never play cricket. It requires one to assume such indecent postures.
I've seen how Rahul goes about his innings & that's something I want to get myself involved with.
There is a lot of talk about how Twenty20 has changed batting techniques in Test cricket. But it has also had an impact on bowling.
In the old days we were probably educated in cricket in a far more serious way than now.
We want to swing the ball as much as we can. We try and get it to reverse, putting more sweat on one side and things like that. But we don't cheat.
One thing common with me and Shikhar Dhawan is that we play a lot of orthodox cricketing strokes. We look to play the ball along the ground and while lofting the ball, it's more with a vertical bat.
I became a professional cricket teacher about 20 years ago. I had a son born to me when I was 50, and I thought, he needs someone to bowl to him.
