More than executing every shot in the book, it’s important that as a batter, you know to read the line and the length of the delivery, especially in fast bowling. Learning the back foot punch in the last blog was a challenging one for sure. Today, we talk about techniques that can help you comfortably bat to fast bowling. Let’s get started!

Now that we know how to grip the bat the right way along with how to perfect the right batting stance, let’s learn how to face fast bowling. We hope the last lesson about the back foot punch was fun. To set the ball rolling, let’s first master the fundamentals.

Always practise how to grip the bat the right way. Before facing the delivery, irrespective of the pace, remember that as a right-handed batter, your top hand is the leading hand. On the other hand, your bottom hand should grip the bat rather loose and is used to steer the ball.

Before you learn to master facing fast bowling, ensure that you read the line and length of the delivery. This will eventually help you in judging the bounce, changing your position and the batting stance.

Now, before you face a fast bowler, where you tap the bat isn’t important. To get ready for the delivery, you can either tap the bat between your feet or right behind your back foot near the crease. The important thing here is to know when to leave the ball. When you notice that the ball is pitched short and is around the middle and the off stump, take a stride forward using your front foot, place your back foot in line with the off stump and lift both your hands up with your left hand firmly gripping the bat. Now, when you do this, it becomes easy to judge the bounce or the swing of the delivery. Next comes how to play fast bowling on the front foot.

If the ball is pitched full and is aimed between the off stump and the middle stump, with a balanced stance, shift your weight on the front foot, take a stride forward and with your eyes over the line of the delivery, play the forward defence stroke. Ensure that you point the face of the bat towards the ground. Alternatively, if the ball is pitched fairly short and is aimed at the stumps, shift your stance, get on the back foot and defend the ball.

Now, how about when a fast ball is pitched short and angled at your shoulders? This can be tricky. Remember that playing the back foot defence when the ball is aimed at your shoulders doesn’t serve the purpose because you aren’t protecting the stumps. In such cases, right after the first bounce, with weight equally distributed on both your feet, lean back and drop your hands down so the ball passes to the wicket keeper.

A tip for the best batting technique – if you’re a right-handed batter, before facing the delivery, avoid bending a lot. Distribute the weight equally on both your heels, have a relaxed posture and slightly bend your knees.

Unless you choose to play the pull shot for short-pitched deliveries, don’t consider playing the forward defence shot. Instead, drop your hands and let the ball pass to the wicket keeper.

As for the next blog post, we learn self-batting drills.