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In the sport of cricket,
batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball
with a cricket bat in order to score runs without getting out.
A person either skilled at batting or presently taking his turn at batting is called a batsman.
Goals of batting
In terms of strategic importance in a game, the priorities of a batsman are, in order of importance:
- Do not get out.
- Do not get injured.
- Score runs.
Arguably, avoiding injury is of primary importance to the batsman himself, but in terms of the team's goal in winning the game
it is more important not to get out. This is because an injured batsman can leave the game temporarily and resume batting in the
same innings once recovered, whereas an out batsman cannot bat again in the same
innings.
Scoring runs is generally the least important goal, as a batsman can score runs relatively easily as long as he continues
batting—something he cannot do at all if out.
This contrasts with baseball, in which the primary goal of batting is scoring
runs. This is reflected in the difference in terminology of attack and defence between the sports. In baseball, batting is
considered the offensive role, whereas in cricket batting is primarily a defensive role.
Batting skills
Given the goals of batting, a batsman must possess good hand-eye coordination, reflexes, strength, running speed, sound judgment, and of course knowledge of cricket rules and an understanding of cricket strategy
and tactics.
These basic skills are put to use in specific actions such as:
- Preventing the ball from hitting the wicket (which would result in the batsman
being out bowled).
- Avoiding being hit in the legs in front of the wicket (which may result in the batsman being out leg before wicket).
- Avoiding hitting catches to any fielders (which would result in the batsman being out caught).
- Avoiding being hit by the ball in a way that might cause injury.
- Hitting the ball with the bat with precise placement, timing, and strength to avoid fielders.
- Judging when it is safe to take a run, and taking the run.
Types of batting shots
The act of hitting the cricket ball is called a shot or stroke. Batting involves knowledge and skill in
several different types of shot. These have different names:
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- Block
- A purely defensive shot designed to interpose the bat in front of the wicket so as to stop the ball from hitting the wicket.
This shot has no strength behind it and merely stops the ball moving towards the wicket. Also known as a forward
defensive or backward defensive, depending on whether the batsman plays the shot from the front foot or the back
foot.
- Cut
- A shot played at a ball wide on the off side, slapping the ball as it passes
the batsman so that it is hit in the region square or backward of square on the off side. Also upper cut, deliberately
cutting the ball over the slips, and Chinese cut, accidentally cutting the ball with the inside edge so it escapes to
the leg side.
- Drive
- A shot played by swinging the bat in a vertical arc through the line of the ball, hitting it in front of the batsman.
Depending on the direction the ball travels, a drive can be either a cover drive, off drive, or on
drive.
- Hook
- An aggressive shot played at a bouncer aimed at or near the batsman's head. The
batsman must step inside the line of the ball and swing his bat around his head, hooking the ball around behind square
leg, usually in the air and sometimes for six runs.
- Leg glance
- A delicate shot played at a ball aimed slightly on the leg side, using the bat
to flick the ball as it passes the batsman, deflecting it to the fine leg area.
- Pull
- A shot played to a ball bouncing around waist height by swinging the bat in a horizontal arc in front of the body,
pulling it around to the leg side.
- Sweep
- A shot played to a low bouncing ball, usually from a slow bowler, by kneeling on one knee and swinging the bat around in a horizontal arc near the pitch, sweeping it around to the leg side. Also
slog-sweep, an aggressive stroke seeking to sweep the ball in the air to the boundary.
See also
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