Batting technique and strokeplay

Names of orthodox cricket shots and the directions in which they are hit for a right-handed batsman. The batsman is standing at the centre point facing south. The positions are mirrored for left-handed batsmen.

Over time the development of cricket has led to a standard batting technique being used by most players in the game. Technique in this case refers to the batsman's stance before the ball is bowled as well as the movement of the hands, feet, head and body in the execution of a cricket stroke. Good technique is characterised by quickly getting into the correct position to play the shot, especially getting one's head and body in line with the ball, one's feet placed next to where the ball would bounce and then swinging the bat at the ball to make contact at the precise moment required for the particular stroke being played.
The actual movement of the batsman for a particular delivery depends on the shot being attempted. Front-foot shots are played with the batsman's weight on his front foot (left foot for a right-handed batsman) and are usually played when the ball is pitched up to the batsman, while back-foot shots are played with the batsman leaning his weight onto the back foot, usually to bowling that is pitched short. Shots may also be described as vertical bat shots, in which the bat is swung vertically at the ball (e.g. when playing a drive or leg glance), or horizontal or cross-bat shots, in which the bat is swung horizontally at the ball (e.g. when playing the pull or cut shot).

While a batsman is not limited in where or how he may hit the ball, the development of good technique has gone hand in hand with the development of standard or orthodox cricket shots played to specific types of deliveries. These "textbook" shots are standard material found in many coaching manuals
The advent of limited overs cricket, with its emphasis on rapid run-scoring, has led to increasing use of unorthodox shots to hit the ball into gaps where there are no fielders. Unorthodox shots are typically—but not always— more high-risk than orthodox shots due to some aspects of good batting technique being abandoned.