Front-Foot Defence

In this lesson you will learn which balls call for a forward defence. The shot is played to a good length or slightly fuller ball that is on line with the stumps and is too good to attack safely. It is your answer to the bowler's best delivery. In a T20 match you might think defence has no place, but every innings contains balls that are simply too good to hit, especially early on or against a bowler on top. Defending them well keeps you in, and a batter who stays in can score heavily later. You will learn that the forward defence is not a sign of weakness. It is a deliberate choice to survive this ball so you can score off the next.

• For good length balls on the stumps
• Your answer to the bowler's best ball
• Survive this ball, score off the next
• Defence keeps you in to score later

In this lesson you will practise the stride that starts the forward defence. Lead with your head and front shoulder towards the line of the ball and take a comfortable step with your front foot, landing close to where the ball will pitch. Getting close to the pitch matters, because it gives the ball less chance to move off the seam or turn past the bat. Bend your front knee so your weight comes forward onto it, and let your back leg trail with the toe still grounded behind the crease. Your front foot should point roughly towards extra cover, which keeps your hips and shoulders side on. You will practise the stride without a ball until it feels smooth.

• Head and shoulder lead towards the line
• Stride close to the pitch of the ball
• Front knee bent, weight forward
• Back toe grounded behind the crease

In this lesson you will learn how to present the bat. As your front foot lands, bring the bat down straight, from the top hand, so that the face is presented to the ball close to and just in front of your front pad. The bat should be angled downwards, with the handle ahead of the blade, so any contact sends the ball into the ground. Keep the gap between bat and pad small. A big gap lets the ball pass through and bowl you. Your front elbow should be high and pointing down the pitch, which keeps the bat straight. Your bottom hand stays light, held mainly with the thumb and first finger, while the top hand does the work.

• Bat comes down straight from the top hand
• Present the face close to the front pad
• Handle ahead of blade, angled down
• High front elbow, light bottom hand

In this lesson you will learn the secret of a good defence: soft hands. Rather than pushing the bat at the ball, let the ball come to the bat and meet it with relaxed hands so that it drops down in front of you. Playing with soft hands, close to the body and under your eyes, means that even if the ball finds the edge it is less likely to carry to the slips. You will also learn to play late, waiting for the ball to arrive rather than reaching out to meet it. A good image is to imagine you are catching an egg with your bat. Practise with gentle feeds and see how close to your front pad you can make the ball land.

• Let the ball come to the bat
• Relaxed hands make the ball drop
• Edges are less likely to carry
• Play late, under your eyes

In this lesson you will look at how the forward defence relates to leg before wicket. Under the Laws of Cricket, a batter can be out leg before wicket if the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps, did not pitch outside leg stump, and hit the batter in line with the stumps. If the ball hits you outside the line of off stump while you are making a genuine attempt to play it, you cannot be out leg before wicket. That is one reason the bat should lead the pad and why it is risky to hide the bat behind the pad. You will learn that a straight bat, presented in front of the pad, protects you from both bowled and leg before wicket.

• Bat should lead the pad
• Hit outside off while playing a shot: not out lbw
• Pitching outside leg cannot be lbw
• A straight bat guards against bowled and lbw

In this lesson you will look at the faults that most often let the ball through. A short stride leaves you far from the pitch of the ball, so movement off the pitch beats the bat. Hard hands push the ball upwards and offer catches. A bat that comes down from gully, across the line, leaves a gap between bat and pad. Falling over to the off side brings your pad across the stumps. Lifting the head to look for runs before the ball has arrived spoils the whole shot. You will learn to recognise each fault in your own batting, from video, from where the ball goes, or from a coach, and to correct it with slow, deliberate practice.

• Short stride lets the ball move past the bat
• Hard hands produce catches
• Bat across the line opens a gap
• Lifting the head too early spoils the shot

In this lesson you will see how the forward defence can still be useful in a fast-paced T20 innings. With soft hands, a well-placed defensive push can drop the ball into the gap in front of the fielders, giving you and your partner a quick single. This is often called a soft-hands single, and it relies on clear calling and a partner who is ready to run. You will learn to look at where the close fielders are before each ball so you know whether a run is on. You will also learn to accept dot balls calmly. A defended dot ball against a good delivery is far better than a wicket, and you can make up the runs later in the innings.

• Soft-hands pushes can steal singles
• Know where the fielders are
• Call clearly and run hard
• A dot ball beats losing a wicket