Types of Shots in Cricket:
Cricket incorporates talent, technique, and imagination with its long history and different shots. Batters use cricket shots to score runs and control field placements. They demonstrate the elegance, power, and adaptability needed to excel at the crease. A batsman must score runs and defend his wicket. Defence and assault are not required for all balls. Batsmen may need to change their shots depending on the delivery and field placement. So he should know all types of shots in cricket.
Are you familiar with all cricket shots? In cricket, batsmen play shots based on ball line and length. This article explains all the traditional and modern shots and when to play them. Let’s explore all the types of shots in cricket book and some unconventional ones played by cricket geniuses.
Traditional Cricket Shots:
1. Straight-Drive
The elegant straight drive involves a hitter hitting the ball down the ground with a straight bat. When completed correctly, the batter powers the ball past the umpire to the sight screen. Consider Sachin Tendulkar’s elegance in playing this shot.
2. Cover Drive
The straight drive resembles this shot. On the off-side, the hitter hits it between straight and square. Gracefully and precisely, the hitter drives the ball through the covers with a straight bat. India’s Virat Kohli plays exquisite cover drives.
3. Square Drive
The hitter hits the ball square on the off side with controlled force in the square drive. Risky and offensive, this shot goes between the backward point and cover. In his trademark style, Rahul Dravid executed this shot with precision.
4. Leg Look
The batter flicks the ball to the leg side with a leg glance. Batter can play leg glance on front or back foot to deflect ball to square or fine leg.
5. Sweep
Batsmen adeptly maneuver against the spinners on undulating pitches. The batter adeptly employs a horizontal bat orientation, assuming a kneeling position on his posterior foot. The elegant arc of their swing connects with the cricket ball, expertly delivered either on or beyond the leg stump, propelling it towards the region known as square leg. The stroke in question was indeed mastered by the esteemed cricketers AB de Villiers and Andy Flower.
6. Cut
The cut shot entails the deliberate act of striking a diminutive cricket ball positioned beyond the off stump, utilizing a bat held in a parallel orientation to the ground. The batters executed a powerful stroke, propelling the ball directly along the pitch’s vertical axis. Ricky Ponting, renowned for his formidable assertiveness, exhibited remarkable finesse in executing meticulously calculated cut shots.
7. Late Cut
Late cuts are precise horizontal bat strokes. Batter guides ball past wicketkeeper to third man. Since miscalculations can cost wickets, this shot must be executed perfectly. Mahela Jayawardene’s late cuts were typically beautiful.
8. Pull Shot
Batters exhibit a formidable display of power and precision when executing the pull shot. The batter exerts a considerable amount of force in order to strike a ball that has been delivered at a shorter trajectory, propelling it skilfully into the region situated between the fielding positions of deep fine leg and deep midwicket. Vivian Richards was renowned for his formidable prowess in executing commanding pull shots, while Rohit Sharma presently stands as a prominent luminary in the realm of cricket. He is now the best pull shot player in cricket.
9. Hook Shot
Hook shots, like pull shots, are played against short-pitched balls. Batters hit a boundary or six behind the square leg.
Modern Day Cricket Shots:
1. Uppercut
The batsman uses delivery tempo to lift the ball past the slips in the upper cut. Batters play this shot on the back foot against short balls outside the off stump. Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar excelled at this stroke.
2. Switch Hit
Switch Hit fosters a culture of progressive ideation and propels the advancement of novel concepts. This particular batting manoeuvre entails the batter adroitly modifying their stance during the delivery phase, thereby perplexing the bowler and deftly influencing the positioning of the fielders.
3. Dilcoop
Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan devised this shot. The batter scoops the ball over the wicketkeeper with a low stance in the Dilscoop. Dilshan’s idea made batting unpredictable.
4. Reverse Scoop
The reverse sweep shot in cricketis a stroke wherein the batsman adeptly executes a scoop shot while employing a reversed grip. The spherical object swiftly traverses the cricket field towards the region known as fine leg or third-man, ultimately crossing the boundary line and earning the team four runs. The illustrious AB de Villiers, hailed as Cricket’s Mr. 360°, executed this stroke with utmost finesse and fluidity and his’ is regarded as the best reverse sweep in cricket.
5. Paddle Scoop
The Marillier shot is Zimbabwe cricketer Dougie Marillier’s paddle scoop. This scoop involves the hitter flicking his wrists to scoop the ball over the leg fielders.
6. Periscope
A new shot, the periscope, involves the hitter elevating the bat perpendicular to the ground and taking a wide stance. Bangladesh’s player Soumya Sarkar counters bouncers with this shot.
7. Helicopter Shot
This shot needs little introduction. MS Dhoni popularized helicopter stroke. He uses a powerful bottom hand to flip the ball into the stands in the helicopter shot.
Other Types of Shots in Cricket:
1. Off-Drive
The off drive is a classic straight-bat shot that gracefully hits mid-off and long-off. Kumar Sangakkara and Joe Root have perfected this shot with skill and timing.
2. Driving
It is exactly opposite of off drive. On drives entail the batter striking the ball along the ground toward mid-on and long-on. On drives, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson show their excellent stroke play.
3. Rearfoot
Moving weight to the back foot and driving the ball with precision and power is the back foot drive. The batters hit the short delivery outside the off stump to mid-on and cover.
4. Reverse Sweep
Batting in reverse, the batter switches hands to play a sweep shot. This shot reverses the sweep. Englishman Eoin Morgan had polished this shot, adding surprise to his batting.
5. Slog Sweep
Slog sweeps are powerful against spinners. Batters hit the ball hard over midwicket or long-on to score a boundary. Chris Gayle of the West Indies is known for his massive slog sweeps into the stands.
6. Square Cut
A horizontal bat is used to hit the ball square on the off side in the square cut. They hit short balls outside the off stump with power and timing between the backward point and extra cover.
7. Ramp Shot
To create a ramp, batters deflect chest-high short balls or full tosses behind the square with soft hands. They use ball speed to play the ramp shot. Sometimes this shot gets a boundary or sixer. Wild shots are used by AB de Villiers and Jos Buttler.
Conclusion
These and other cricket shot selection expands a batsman’s arsenal. This shows they can adjust to different bowlers and conditions. Each shot needs talent, timing, and creativity. As cricket evolves, the spectrum of shots will expand, keeping viewers worldwide entertained.