Footwork
The key to playing a powerful yet controlled stroke is decisive and balanced footwork. A lack of footwork is a common cause for wickets falling, whether it be an edge, an lbw or plain bowled, bad footwork increases the chance of almost every type of dismissal. For full-pitched deliveries, the batsman should look to get a full and balanced stride forward, with the head over the ball. This is commonly referred to as getting your pad to the line of the ball. Not only will this assist the chances of bat on ball and improve power and ability to hit the ball across the ground, it will reduce the consequences of seam movement. For balls that are pitched shorter, a back and across movement to get the head inside the line of the ball is commonly used. When playing a short ball the batsman should move onto their toes allowing them to get above the ball and hit the ball down.