The stroke captains fear above all others – you need 13 fielders

Ilove the reverse sweep and its innovation. It poses a real challenge for the opposition captain, and when it is played in front of square for four, it is a remarkable shot.

It nullifies an off-spinner’s most dangerous delivery – the one turning in sharply from half a yard outside off stump. It would normally bring in bowled, lbw and a catch at short leg. If you play it in an orthodox fashion, which means playing with the spin, it is easy for a captain to set a field. You pack the on side to cut off the runs and have catchers at short leg and leg slip. You have an in-out field on the leg side (close catchers and men in the deep), which is why scoring rates against that delivery are traditionally relatively low.

But it changes as soon as you bring the reverse sweep into play. The opposition captain then has to protect the off side with two extra fielders, creating gaps on the leg side. To cover the reverse sweep, you need a man on the cover-point boundary. Then the captain has to decide, does he go behind or in front of square, because the reverse sweep can be played with deftness, which means it goes finer than when played with power.

You also need a fielder for the top edge just behind square on the off side. All of a sudden, a captain feels like he needs 13 fielders. It is why there were so many singles in the second Test in Kandy. The bowlers were also hit off their length. You could see spinners

trying to bring their length back a fraction to try to find the top edge off the sweep.

To combat the reverse sweep, a captain has to reassure his bowlers that they are allowed to be hit for four by good shots. They should not be intimidated. They just need to make sure the batsman has to nail the shot every time.

By varying pace and flight, a bowler can make that difficult. Do not bowl short, or too full, as that makes the shot much easier. Getting length right is about tiny differences. Bowl a consistent good length but with subtle variations of pace and flight.

Protect the 45-degree angle with a shortish fine leg, and on the off side protect the boundary with a sweeper. Bring up mid-on and mid-off and tempt the batsman to play straight. Encourage him to hit down the ground.

Joe Root did that in the second innings in Kandy. He encouraged Niroshan Dickwella to go a different direction. He did, played a mistimed shot and was nearly caught at extra cover.

Players are a lot more dexterous thanks to Twenty20. The reverse sweep was an option in my time but we mainly relied on the paddle sweep, to move the fine leg a little finer and give the bowler something to think about.

But there was never a consideration of trying to reverse sweep Muttiah Muralitharan until Kevin Pietersen came along and started switch hitting. He instigated all this with that shot. It made that option normal. But it takes hours in the nets before you have the confidence to play the shot in a match.

It is important to be playing in a team where that kind of attacking play is encouraged. When you know you will not be criticised by captain or coach for playing the shot, then it helps you commit to it.