Paddle scoop
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A paddle scoop is a modern type cricketing shot, similar to the Marillier shot, used more and more often in One Day International and Twenty20 cricket matches. The shot is performed by positioning the body square-on with the ball; with both feet pointing towards the bowler at a perpendicular angle. The bat is used to deflect the ball over the batsman's leg side shoulder thus guiding the ball towards the fine leg region.
The shot is regarded to be very unorthodox and not usually included in coaching manuals and textbooks. Many purists suggest that it is not a true, graceful cricketing shot and often describe it as "ugly". But when executed well, the "paddle-scoop" is very useful. This is often because the shot can be used on a delivery that is usually regarded to be a good "line and length" delivery and otherwise a delivery that is difficult to score runs on.
Also, the area where the ball is guided to isn't usually patrolled by a fielder and since the bowler's own force on the ball is being used to send it to the boundary, a fielder may still find it difficult to cover more than a couple of yards either side of him or herself to stop the ball because of the ball's pace.
This shot requires a lot of excellent hand-eye coordination and bravery, especially against the faster bowlers where a miss can not only result in the batsmen being dismissed but also the ball inflicting serious injury on the batsman. However, if the shot is used occasioanally as a calculated risk, it can be very frustrating to the fielding side's captain since putting a fielder in that position to stop a "paddle scoop" can often present gaps and scoring oppurtunites in other areas in the field where scoring is in fact easier.
The shot is a favourite of young batsmen from Indian subcontinental countries especially such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India itself since batsmen from the subcontinent are known to make heavy use of their wrists, which are required to execute such shots. Batsmen that are known to play such shots and popularise them in international cricket are the likes of Robin Uthappa(India), Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh) and Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan). Misbah-ul-Haq is often remembered to have attempted the paddle-scoop in the last over of the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa against India in the finals. The shot wasn't timed correctly, causing the ball to go high in the air and being caught by Sreesanth at short fine leg, resulting in the Indian Cricket Team beating the Pakistani Cricket Team to win the first-ever T20 World Cup.
