Reverse Sweep
A cricket batting shot in which the batter reverses their hands to sweep the ball to the opposite side from a normal sweep.
Definition
The reverse sweep is an unorthodox cricket stroke played mainly against slower and spin bowling. The batter drops into a sweep position but reverses the wrists and turns the bat face so the ball is deflected to the off side (for a right-hander) instead of the leg side — effectively hitting to the opposite side from a conventional sweep.
It is used to counter fielding placements and spin by opening up areas of the field that are usually protected. The shot carries risk because the batter plays across the line with an unusual grip, but skilled players use it, and its close relative the switch-hit, to manipulate the field and disrupt a bowler's plans.
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Techniques
- Forward and back defenceThe two strokes a batter survives with — the forward defensive and the back defensive — when each is the right choice, and why a defensive stroke is a decision about length rather than intent.
- The sweepThe stroke that turns a good-length spinning delivery into a scoring opportunity — the conventional sweep, the slog sweep and the reverse sweep, and the LBW risk each one accepts.
- Cricket batting grip and stanceThe starting position every cricket stroke is built from — how the hands sit on the handle, how the feet and head are set, and what the setup decides before the ball is even bowled.
- Swing bowlingHow a cricket ball is made to curve in the air — the seam position and surface asymmetry behind conventional and reverse swing, and why swing is a property of the ball as much as the bowler.
- Pace bowlingWhat fast bowling is actually for — how speed reduces a batter's reaction time, what the short ball and the yorker each achieve, and how a pace attack uses length as its main variable.
Disciplines
Tactics
- Playing spin bowlingWhat a batter actually does against a spinner — using the crease and the feet to change the length, picking the ball from the hand, and the options when the pitch is turning sharply.
- Strike rotationWhy singles matter more than they look in cricket — how rotating the strike unsettles a bowler's rhythm, protects a struggling batter, and is decided by the over structure itself.
- Counter-attackWinning the ball and moving forward at speed to attack before the opponent can reorganise their defence.
Exercises
Positions
- OppositeThe opposite is a volleyball attacker who plays on the right side of the net, opposite the setter in the rotation, and is often a key scorer.
- Cricket fielding positionsHow cricket names the places a fielder can stand — the off-side and leg-side halves, the forward and behind-square split, and why the same spot has a different name for each batter.
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- 2026-09-01
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