Cricket Batting Strategy

In Baseball Pitching controls the game - in Cricket it is batting that defines the game. When playing any game it is important to understand some basic strategies that will help you improve over time. Since the batter (Batsman) can hit in any direction there are many different strokes (starting with straight swing and going clockwise):

• Straight Drive
• Off Drive
• Cover Drive
• Square Cut
• Late Cut
• Fine Leg (Glance)
• Square Leg (Hook)
• Midwicket (Pull)
• On Drive

There are two main goals of batting - Do not get out, and score runs. Cricket batting differs from Baseball since the Batsman can continue to bat in the same inning if they are injured but cannot if they get out. In Baseball batting is used only to score points and is not used as a defensive move as it is in cricket.

As with baseball and golf, stance can be very important to a successful batting strategy. Below is a diagram showing proper cricket batting stance:

When batting you want to make sure that the ball does not hit the wicket. If this happens then the batsman is out and cannot bat again this inning. Like baseball you will want to make sure not to hit the ball to any fielders as you will be out and unable to bat again in the inning. Stay safe - self preservation is a key batting strategy as an injury could seriously set you team back.

In One-day international cricket the goal is to score points as quickly as possible. This means that each team must try to score one run every time a ball is bowled. In this form of cricket the best player on the team will bat first (top order) followed by the two next-best batters. The next four batters are called the "middle order" and then the last four are known as the "lower order" or the "tail".

In test cricket the goal is usually to score a high total. This means that batters do not need to score their runs quickly at all and can take their time. Opening batsmen are usually chosen as people with a strong record of being able to defend their wicket.

Fielding Strategy

While most of the focus in cricket is usually placed on batting, fielding is a very important element of the game. There are two main fielding style's; defensive fielding, and attacking fielding.

In defensive fielding the goal is to prevent the opposing team's batsman from scoring runs. While it is unlikely that you will prevent every run the general idea is to reduce the number of runs a batsman can make. This strategy is usually used in One-Day Internationals and requires the placement of fielders around the boundary edge in order to stop any fours or sixes from being hit.

Attacking fielding focuses on taking as many of the opponents wickets as quickly as possible. This strategy is used if a team has a very large lead and needs to get wickets very quickly. Remember - this isn't about stopping runs, it's all about getting wickets.