In batting, it’s all about perfecting strokes on the front foot and the back foot. The last post about different batting drills definitely taught us a lot. Moving on, this blog is everything you need to master back foot drills.

Unlike the front foot defence or the cover drive for deliveries that are pitched near the stumps, the idea is to take a stride forward and with eyes over the line of the ball, strike the ball towards the on-field region. However, when you start practising playing shots on the back foot, ensure your stance is relaxed, focus on the grip and most importantly, don’t rush but wait for the ball to arrive.

To start the first drill, place a cone with a ball on top around the middle stump and another cone a little wider from the off stump. The position of these cones should give an impression of a short-pitched delivery. Next, ask a friend of yours to throw balls around these cones. With a steady position and eyes level on the ball, get on the back foot, present the full face of the bat and practise playing the straight drive, the cover drive and the square cut.

The next drill is to test your reaction time. Ask your coach or your friend to use a tennis racquet and hit the ball along the ground. As this is a tennis racquet, the ball will obviously rush to you. As one of the back foot drills, this is your chance to perfect your stance, balance and most importantly, the choice of the stroke. When you notice deliveries aimed at your shoulder, defending them is definitely not the ideal choice.

Keep practising as the ability to judge the length of the ball and the bounce of the wicket can be challenging. For the next blog, we focus on on-drive and off-drive drills.