The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) approved on Tuesday the switch-hitting technique used by England batsman Kevin Pietersen to hit two sixes in Sunday's One-Day International against New Zealand. Pietersen changed his stance and grip twice from right-hander to left-hander to hit two balls off Scott Styris over the boundary. “MCC believes that the ‘switch-hit' stroke is exciting for the game of cricket,” a statement said. “Indeed, the stroke conforms to the laws of cricket and will not be legislated against.” The MCC, which acts as the custodian of cricket's laws, was asked by the International Cricket Council to discuss Pietersen's revolutionary tactics at a meeting on Tuesday. Pietersen's shots led to criticisms that batsmen had an unfair advantage over bowlers, who are obliged to tell the umpire with which hand they are bowling, and from which side of the wicket, or risk being penalized. However, following a meeting at it's Lord's headquarters in London on Tuesday, MCC gave Pietersen, and anyone else, the go-ahead to carry on changing from being a right-handed to a left-handed batsman. The MCC statement highlighted Law 36.3 which defines the off side of the striker's wicket as being determined by his stance at the moment the bowler starts his run-up. However, Marylebone Cricket Club accepted that implications remained for both the interpretation of the lbw and wide rules by a batsman attempting a ‘switch-hit'. Its statement added: “MCC accepts that the use of a ‘switch-hit' may have implications for other Laws of the game, principally Law 25 (Wide ball) and Law 36 (LBW), and will continue to research and discuss these implications.” The MCC, often portrayed as a conservative and reactionary cricket body, said that otherwise it had no problems with the ‘switch-hit'. “MCC believes the ‘switch-hit' stroke is a difficult shot to execute and that it incurs a great deal of risk for the batsman. “It also offers bowlers a good chance of taking a wicket and therefore MCC believes that the shot is fair to both batsman and bowlers. “Furthermore, Marylebone Cricket Club acknowledges that while bowlers must inform umpires and batsmen of their mode of delivery, they do not provide a warning of the type of delivery that they will bowl (for example, an off-cutter or a slower ball). “It therefore concludes that the batsman should have the opportunity - should they wish - of executing the ‘switch
