"It is in the roots, not the branches, that a tree's greatest strength lies."
- Matshona Dhliwayo.
My readers must be in a dilemma. What do roots, branches and the batting stance have in common? If I ask - what is common among - Power hitting, Cricket Shots, and Backlifts? Or What is the prerequisite of a perfect cricket shot?
The answer will be Batting Stance.
If you are amazed by how the batting stance holds key positions in batting skills, this blog is for you.
As young cricketers start their cricket learning journey, batting stance is the first thing that coaches teach them. Coaches and experienced batters get much information about a batter's shot selection and batting style by looking at their stance.
We intend to cover batting stance basics to complex levels of correlation with other key elements of batting skill. So be with us till the end.
What is the Batting Stance?
Batting stance is the way the Batter faces the bowler and stands in a particular position before release of the ball from the bowler's grip. Batter's stance comprises a series of steps.
A relaxed, comfortable and balanced stance is considered ideal for a sound batting. The more a batter feels comfortable with their batting stance, the more ease they will have to hit the shots.
Now let's understand those mini steps that help a batter take an ideal batting stance.
- As Batter takes position on crease and takes a guard.
- Batter draws a leg, middle or off stump line, and stands with both toes parallel to this line.
- Ideally, the gap between both feet should be equivalent to the span of the batter's shoulders.
- Knees slightly bent, Head in line with shoulders, facing the bowler.
- Head should be in line of the stumps, chin closer to shoulder, still focussing on the bowler.
- Batter’s body weight should be on the balls of their both feet.
Reasons behind the basics of Batting stance regarding the gap in the legs:-
Less gap between the legs:- If a batter keeps less gap between his legs, then their posture will not get stronger. Consequently, chances of falling, poor drives will go up.
The broader gap between the legs: By taking a wider gap between two feet, Batter will get stability at the base, but their footwork will be limited in response to the line and length of the ball.
Batting stance and Stump Guard
We all have seen how batters draw a line on the crease with a bat.
But why is this stump guard important in batting?
Batters take guard to adjust their position and stance during batting. Generally, batters ask the umpire for a middle or leg stump guard.
As per Law 41 of unfair play, batters can not take a stance or guard in protected areas to avoid frequent encroachment. Thus the empire's opinion is essential to keep the Batter safe from unlawful encroachment allegations.
The stump guard gives confidence and clarity to the Batter about the stump's positioning during batting. In one leg stump guard, the Batter's toes are in line with the leg stump, and the right-handed Batter's eyes focus on the line of the middle stump.This provides better clarity about the offside and leg side area.
Same way, when the Batter takes the middle stump guard, the Batter's right eye focuses on the line of off stump. The Batter gets clarity on which off stump ball they can leave or hit.
Taking a guard for batting stance is important.
Can Batter change guard during the inning?
Yes, once a batter has clarity about where his or her stumps are, they can easily change their guard during an innings.
Role of pitch and ball delivery in selecting leg stump guard
Pitches where the ball doesn't bounce much; pitches are dry, and the ball doesn't swing more. In such cases, the line of attack comes toward the line of stumps. Bowlers generally attack on stumps on such pitches.
If such is the case, then playing on one leg stump guard is beneficial to play. Batters get more space to play the shot.
When the ball swings outside, the ball bounces more; the line of attack comes a bit outside the off stump, so the Batter takes guard at the middle stump. This way, they can cover the line outside off stump easily.
Ideally, when a batter plays a left-arm in-swing bowler, a batter can take a leg stump guard. As the ball comes in, the batter can drive it powerfully in the desired direction.
Against an out-swing bowler or off-spinner, the batter can play from a middle stump guard. This way, the batter can make use of the leg stump area and exploit different deliveries in that direction.
Basics of a good Batting Stance
The batting stance helps to judge the line and length of the ball. Good ball judgment makes footwork natural. The Head should not be loose but always be aligned with the feet.
Although not all batters have the same batting stance. Players amend their batting stance with experience.
The main takeaway is that your batting stance should be natural, which helps you judge the ball better, and you enjoy the freedom with your footwork to play various types of shots with ease.
Can a batter change their batting stance within an inning?
Yes, there is no rule or restriction in this regard. But the Batter should feel comfortable and relaxed to play shots. If a batter finds any difficulty, then it is always advisable to stick to their natural batting stance.
There are professional batters who shift open to closed batting stance as per the need of the situation.
Here is one exciting video from Greg Chapel, where he addresses how he changes weight on the foot and his backlift technique by judging the length of the ball.
The correlation between batting stance, backlift and timing of the shot
Batting stance, backswing and timing of shot have a close correlation. The Batter takes a backswing while the bowler starts running from the other end. A slight delay in the process can increase the possibility of poor drives. This is one of the major mistakes that budding batters make, either take their bat swing late or get orientation issues.
With the best batting stance, the Batter can analyze the line and length of the ball better. Another important thing that a batter needs to understand is that during backswing, the Batter's head and feet should be still and in alignment. Even a slight movement in the batting stance due to backlift can put the Batter in danger.
Timely backlift and static orientation have a direct effect on the timeliness of the shot.
Now here are some of the famous Batting stances of professional batters. These examples state that a batter must have good practice over batting stance. Their batting stance can be conventional or self invented. It is the practice that bats in their favor.
Sachin Tendulkar Batting Stance
To discuss technique and not mention Sachin Tendulkar is near impossible. People who monitored Sachin's batting closely can vouch how beautifully he changed his stance during the course of time.
Initially, Sachin used to bat at the leg stump, and his Head fell toward the off stump. But later, in the late 90's he changed his stance to a middle stump. A major reason for this change was his injuries.
Sachin holds the bat in V grip. This grip gave him the flexibility to play various types of shots and, at the same time, safeguard his face against high ball delivery.
Rishabh Pant Batting stance
In a match against England, Rishabh Pant was asked to change his batting stance during the middle of the match. As per Rishabh Pant, he was standing outside the crease and his front foot was coming into the danger area, thus, the empire instructed him not to stand there. Hence, Rishabh Pant changed his batting stance.
KL Rahul Batting stand
KL Rahul has worked really hard on his batting technique. One can give credit to his hard work for his batting technique and stance. KL Rahul has evolved as a batter, he has learned a lot from his failures, and one can see a rise in his batting now. Now Rahul doesn’t take pressure but he builds pressure on bowlers.
While it comes to his batting stance, one can see his alignment at the crease. His right toe points but doesn’t get too close into a side on stance. His front shoulder points towards the non-striker or mid-on. While the bowler approaches the crease, he takes tiny steps with his left foot.His both feet join as the ball is released. Rahul doesn’t stretch forward too much, but his front foot does skip further.
Batting stance of Shivnaraine Chanderpaul
Chanderpaul had quite a different batting stance. He had a habit of keeping his chest toward the bowler. With a wide leg gap, Chanderpaul drew a lot of attention. Although his batting stance was riskier, still, he was a good run-scorer.
Mahender Singh Dhoni
Dhoni did not have a faulty batting stance. But he had a habit of playing with a high backlift with an open chest stance. This stance was good on short deliveries but vulnerable on others.
George Bailey
In one match against Pakistan, George Bailey kept his back toward the bowler while facing the wicketkeeper. Although it was not his natural stance, cricket lovers could not stop laughing.
Purpose of mentioning above batting stance…..
There is no specific rule for an ideal batting stance. My idea of sharing these stance types is simple. The Batter needs to feel comfortable and relaxed to hit the best of his shot.
