Whakapohane is a famous word in New Zealand. It’s offensive, and I haven’t seen many people doing or using it, but whenever I see Rory Burns bat, he reminds me of that word.

People say don’t judge a book by its cover and in cricket, with their stance. If there is a list of weird batting stance in this world, Burns would certainly within the place more than he fits in the England XI.

A squat to make sure he is comfortable when he twists his body stands closed off with his head, turning unusually to the left, so that his left eye, the dominant one, sees the ball. It seems like he is looking at the mid-on fielder and trying to hold a conversation with him. Then there is a twist with his hands that relaxes him and he whips the bat like it’s a sword. While looking at him, you might feel it weird, but for Burns, it is normal. His technique might not be pretty, but it’s pretty effective. Everybody plays the game in their unique way and as long as they are doing good, there is nothing wrong in that.

Burns is not seeking our approval and he doesn’t care at all. With years, he has developed resilience to make sure nothing gets into the mind through his ears. He developed a sense of responsibility to score. Now, Burns is not your finisher, but he would make things easier when he is in the middle. He is powerful through the covers, has a pleasing cut and loves to play those leg glance often.

Well, at least by grabbing the attention and taking the pressure off from the other batters. Sometimes, just with his stance and most of the times by scoring runs. He doesn’t like to stand there and wait till the bad ball comes but would try converting the best balls into the bad ones. That’s what good players do. He undoubtedly a better player on his given day and today was one of them.