The Stance is the "ready" position when the batsman is about to face a delivery.

It is the base to play all your shots, so remember to be comfortable and relaxed.

Points to remember:

The feet should be approximately a foot length apart either side or on the popping crease

The weight of the batsman should be on the balls of their feet, with the knees slightly bent. This means they can transfer quickly to either their front or back foot depending on the length of the ball

The batsman should be side on when the bowler is about to deliver

Some batsmen prefer to open their stance to help them see the ball clearer.

Here's how to... get the correct Backlift and step


Most batsmen will raise their bat as the bowler approaches.

Taking the bat back and stepping to the ball sets the batsman up for playing the correct shot properly.

The bat is taken back towards the stumps and at the top of the backlift the face should open towards second slip.

The front shoulder should roll down as the bat is lifted, with the head kept as still as possible.

Keep the hands close to the back hip, so that toe of the bat is at around shoulder height. 

Ensure any movement forward or back is completed before the downswing of the bat begins.

The batsman's job is to score as many runs as possible.

But to build an innings, a batsman needs sound judgement to work out which deliveries to defend, leave or score off.

Even top class batsmen give their wicket away because of poor shot selection, so it's not an easy science.

The batsman has approximately 12 shots to choose from either side of the wicket.

So stroke selection depends on the line, length and speed of a delivery.

There are three main lines:

Off stump and outside
Middle stump
Leg stump and outside

And there are five main lengths of delivery:

Bouncer/long hop
Short of a length
Good length
Full length/half volley
Full toss
For the best chance of building an innings, a batsman needs to move their feet backwards or forwards to get into the best position to play a stroke.

 BACK FOOT STROKES
A shorter length delivery will usually be played on the back foot.

The main back foot shots are:

Hook shot
Pull shot
Square cut
Back defence
The hook, pull and square cut are cross-batted shots where the arms are fully extended for maximum power.

The hook and pull are usually played to deliveries on middle and leg stump, while the square cut is played to a ball outside off stump.