The Art of Bouncing

Since the birth of cricket there have been many "weapons" open to all bowlers of all ilk used to not only get a batsman out, but also to unsettle a batsman in the road to achieving the first points aim. Spinners have their tricks, medium pacers have their ones, and fast bowlers have an array that is both effective and at times awesome.  And one of those tricks is now in the public arena all for the very wrong reasons.


It is utterly regrettable a death has occurred as a result of The Bouncer, but really, was it on the cards?  Since the Body Line series fast bowlers have been taking aim at batsmen's upper regions and since that series it has continued, but maybe not to the same extent as that series, though many fast bowlers in that timeframe have over indulged.  What is evident is that most batsmen also added a weapon to their armoury in defense of The Bouncer, Ducking, weaving, or a subtle head shift and missing contact.

And let's be clear about the Art of the Bouncer.  It is by and large used to unsettle batsmen that are batsmen primarily, though you do see fast bowlers throw one or two down to their fellow fast bowlers that have the misfortune to be batting, But generally it's aimed at the batters in the team.  However there was one bowler that did get hit, and he was a New Zealander.  How many folks remember Ewen Chatfield being felled?  Yes there are many more that have suffered a knock to the head or two and survived, but regrettably one hasn't survived and my thoughts go out to the family of Phillip Hughes, the Australian Cricket team and public (fans) and the cricketing world at large.

However is there a reason many batsmen are getting hit by the bouncer these days?  It's fair to say nothing has changed in the delivery of the bouncer nor it's application so where has a shift occurred that it makes it highly likely there will be more serious injuries?  Well I have one theory.  The Helmet.  When it was first introduced I applauded the idea of protecting a seriously important part of the anatomy (just like the wearing of the Box protects the jewels).  And for a while it looked like the best move in years.  But then I noticed a lot of batsmen taking soft options in avoiding the bouncer by ducking into the ball and trusting the helmet would stop any serious injury.  And avoidance options weakened too over time.  No I am not saying Hughes made a wrong decision but there are many batsmen over the past 20 years that have had near misses in international cricket and some have suffered injury despite the helmet.

Maybe it's time international cricketing batsmen revisited the art of avoiding the bouncer through the old means, duck, jump, weave, Don't trust the helmet will protect you (just as the Box barely protects those jewels - some have suffered)

In closing I will stand tall and say the Bouncer remains in cricket but can not be used against lesser batsmen (bowlers)  Safety is paramount, enjoyment of the game evident, and The Bouncer is as a part of the game as a Leggie turning it 90 degrees out of the leg stump rough or a batsmen reverse sweeping it at 1st slip's shoulders..