Front-foot drive and defence
Ready when: Hit off a tee (b2) done.
What you are learning
Two front-foot shots to a ball that bounces close to the batter: the drive, a full swing that hits along the ground into a gap, and the forward defence, bat and front pad close together with soft hands so the ball drops safely in front. The head stays over the ball for both.
Words on this card Batter, Fielder, Over, Caught, Off side, Front foot, Drive, Defence, Tee
- Batter
- The player with the bat.
- Fielder
- A player on the fielding team.
- Over
- Six balls bowled by one bowler.
- Caught
- Out because a fielder caught the hit before it bounced.
- Off side
- The two halves of the field. For a right-handed batter the off side is to the right of the bowler's view, the side the batter faces; the leg side is behind the batter's legs.
- Front foot
- Stepping forward toward the ball, or back toward the stumps.
- Drive
- A front-foot shot with a full swing, hitting the ball along the ground.
- Defence
- A shot that just stops the ball, with soft hands, so it drops in front of the batter.
- Tee
- A stand that holds the ball still for the batter to hit.
Set up
A bat, a soft ball, an underarm feed from 6 m, a helmet if the ball is hard.
Weather: dry ground
Show it first for the one teaching
- From the stance, step the front foot just inside the line of the ball, head over it.
- Drive: a full swing, front elbow up, top hand in control, bat close to the front pad; hit along the ground.
- Defence: the same step, but the bat comes down straight beside the pad with soft hands; the ball drops in front.
Your part while they practise
Feed at a gentle pace to the batter's front foot.
Step by step
- Off a tee first, then a dropped ball, then a lobbed ball.
- Step to just inside the line of the ball, head over it.
- 10 drives: full swing, front elbow up; to a fielder on the off side, then move the tee and drive on the leg side.
- 10 defence shots: full face of the bat, bat and pad together, soft hands.
How much: 10 drives and 10 defence shots, 3 rounds 15 min a session 2 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Batting zones
Drives along the ground into a near zone score 1 run, into a far zone 4.
Who plays: a batter and a feeder; fielders if you have them. Swap after 10 balls.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Mark a near zone 5 to 10 m out and a far zone beyond 15 m
- The feeder feeds 10 balls underarm to the front foot
- The batter drives each one along the ground
- Fair play
- A grown-up batter plays defence shots only for the first 5 balls.
- Points
- 1 run for a drive into the near zone; 4 runs into the far zone, along the ground.
- Fouls
-
- A ball hit in the air scores nothing
- A ball caught by a fielder costs the batter 4 runs
- A ball that goes through a gap between bat and pad costs 2 runs
- Winning
- The most runs after 10 balls each.
- 8 runs for 1 star
- 16 runs for 2 stars
- 24 runs for 3 stars
Easier or harder
A tee.
A faster feed, add fielders.
What you will see, and what to say
- the ball goes in the air
Hit it along the ground
Head over the ball, the bat finishing low. - the bat and pad have a gap
Close the gate
The bat comes down right next to the front pad.
Self-check
6 of 10 drives along the ground into the open zone.
Stop and get a coach when
Pain in the finger, hand or wrist.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains front-foot shots, timing.
awiseathlete.com/sports/cricket/cricket-i1