 |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat in order to score runs without getting out.
Each team usually consists of eleven players, and all the players are expected to bat. A person either skilled at batting or presently taking his turn at batting is called a batsman, and a batsman's main aim is to try and score runs for the team without getting 'out'.
At a given moment only, two batsmen from one team can bat (the other team all take the field as fielders). A batsman can bat in each innings until he is not 'out'. Once a batsman is 'out', he is replaced by a team mate until ten out of eleven players in his team are 'out' and their innings is closed.
In terms of strategic importance in a game, the priorities of a batsman are, in order of importance:
Arguably, avoiding injury is of primary importance to the batsman himself, but in terms of the team's goal in winning the game it is more important not to get out. This is because an injured batsman can leave the game temporarily and resume batting in the same innings once recovered, whereas an out batsman cannot bat again in the same innings.
Scoring runs is generally the least important goal, as a batsman can score runs relatively easily as long as he continues batting—something he cannot do at all if out.
This contrasts with baseball, in which the primary goal of batting is scoring runs. This is reflected in the difference in terminology of attack and defence between the sports. In baseball, batting is considered the offensive role, whereas in cricket batting is primarily a defensive role.
Given the goals of batting, a batsman must possess good hand-eye coordination, reflexes, strength, running speed, sound judgment, and of course knowledge of cricket rules and an understanding of cricket strategy and tactics.
These basic skills are put to use in specific actions such as:
The act of hitting the cricket ball is called a shot or stroke. Batting involves knowledge and skill in several different types of shot. These have different names:
As one-day international matches have a limited set of overs, batsmen try and score quickly. Scoring quickly means trying to score at least one run per ball bowled. Most batsmen manage to score at an average of four runs an over.
When a team goes out to bat, the best players bat first. The first four batsmen (number 1, 2, 3 and 4) are known as the top order; the next three (numbers 5, 6 and 7) form the middle order, and the last four (numbers 8, 9, 10 and 11) are the lower order or tail.
The first two batsmen are called the openers and are supposed to play a quick innings (more runs in fewer balls), reflecting the fact that the fielding side is subject to restrictions on the placement of fielders in the first 15 overs which makes it easier to score runs. The next three players (3, 4 and 5) are capable of playing an anchor role. The best batsman of the team is usually put at number 3 or 4, to protect him from the difficulties of batting against the best bowlers on a fresh pitch.
The best batsmen of a team usually bat at the top of the order, so as to score more runs. The lower order consists of the bowlers of the team, who are not known for their batting prowess and so bat as low down the order as possible. However, there are no restrictions as to the batting position. The batting line-up is flexible and it can be changed as the scenario of the game demands it. For example, a lower-order batsman can come in at number 3 and pinch-hit (playing agressively in an attempt to score more runs in fewer balls) to score quick runs and shield better players, as his wicket (as less accomplished lower-order batsman) is less valuable anyway.
In Test cricket, the real aim is to score as high a total as possible. As the overs are unlimited, a batsman can take his own time to score runs. If the batting innings of the team begins after the last two hours of the day, the team can employ a nightwatchman to bat after a batsman gets out. The nightwatchman is usually a lower-order batsman, but not a complete rabbit.
In the third innings, the batting team may score quickly to set a large target to the opposition. This scenario usually occurs on the fourth day's play. In general, 90 overs have to be bowled per day in Test match cricket. The batting captain decides how many overs he is preparely to allow the opposition to chase his total (say 110, 90+20) and can declares his innings at the predetermined time on the fourth day so that the he can bowl 20 overs in that day and 90 overs in the last day. To make the target as difficult as possible, the batting side speeds up the run rate (runs per over) till the captain declares.
|
||||
| View Live Article | This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License | |
||
