Cricket Question

Interesting question. My guess is that a true left handed bats person* will have some advantage over a bowler because more bats persons* are right-handed than left -handed.
And a talented ambidextrous person could switch batting styles to provide even more of a challenge.
But whether someone can be taught/trained to bat equally well if they are naturally right-handed, in a left-handed mode is beyond my ken. * altered for political correctness.

Don’t know about advantage as cricket isn’t my hobby, i’d ask my son but he isn’t home at the moment, but my brother, who is right handed in absolutely everything, bats left handed or “caggy” handed as they call it here in Leicester.

SaskiaKC said:

Watching Midsomer Murders tonight -- Ben Jones at batting practice. He is batting right-handed but is left-handed. Is it as common for batsmen in cricket to bat with their non-dominant hand as it is for baseball batters to bat with their non-dominant hand? For instance, Tom Selleck is right-handed but bats left; and I once read a biography of a right-handed man whose dad taught him as a boy to bat left so he would have an advantage over more pitchers (and be closer to first base, too, I think).

Does batting left-handed in cricket give the batsman any advantage over a bowler?

Click to expand...

Having a sporting background and working in football, a good young cricketer, and having a son and nephews playing cricket at a reasonable good level. I would say that I have seen all the above and more, natural right handed batsman(person) can kick with either left feet or both feet equally. Just like ambidextrous people, sports persons can be totally comfortable using both.
My son's, two of them write left handed but kick with their prominent feet which is right. And so on.
So anything is possible.
Can you train to use both, well yes, it's all about how you can adapt your body to use both hands and feet, a lot of training and practice at junior levels is to use both hands and feet, to become more versatile and improve your talent, to try and help your weak hand or foot to become more natural to use.

I've played and watched cricket since the age of 10 and always thought for some reason that left-handed batsmen looked more elegant shot-players. Then I thought for a while that all the most successful batsmen were in fact left-handers, probably because most bowlers were right-arm then. Nowadays batsmen reverse their grip, while the ball is in the air and play their shot the wrong way round - the switch-hit. I believe there is a young Sri Lankan who can bowl with either arm.

SaskiaKC said:

Watching Midsomer Murders tonight -- Ben Jones at batting practice. He is batting right-handed but is left-handed. Is it as common for batsmen in cricket to bat with their non-dominant hand as it is for baseball batters to bat with their non-dominant hand? For instance, Tom Selleck is right-handed but bats left; and I once read a biography of a right-handed man whose dad taught him as a boy to bat left so he would have an advantage over more pitchers (and be closer to first base, too, I think).

Does batting left-handed in cricket give the batsman any advantage over a bowler?

Click to expand...

It is because the dominant hand (right) allows the bat to be better played straight down the line of the ball and nullifies the possibility of the bottom hand (left) taking over

I'm right handed but I bat left handed. I can't explain why but it just feels wrong to do it any other way. When I was young I studied campanology (look it up) and for some reason I did that left handed as well - again it just felt right; I can't explain why. I do everything else right handed. Odd