Batting (cricket)

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.

Goals of batting

In terms of strategic importance in a game, the priorities of a batsman are, in order of importance:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Do not get out.
• Do not get injured.
• Score runs.

Just like baseball, the prime objective is to score runs quickly, even in Test Match cricket but self preservation will allow the batsman to score runs for longer, 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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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. This used to be the case about 15 or 20 years ago but teams like Australia have made aggressive batting a must if you are to compete with them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~