Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket,
batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke. The term
specialist batsman are also used generically to describe players who specialise in batting, and the term
batsman is also used in this context. The latter term can, however, refer to any player during their turn at bat. In women's cricket, the term
batswoman is sometimes encountered, as is
batter, but the "male" form is widely used in both men's and women's cricket. During an innings two members of the batting side are on the pitch at any time: the one facing the current delivery from the bowler is denoted the striker, while the other is the non-striker. When a batsman is out, he is replaced by a teammate. This continues until the end of the innings or 10 of the team members are out, whereupon the other team gets a turn to bat. Batting tactics and strategy vary depending on the type of match being played as well as the current state of play.