Simon Hughes
The cut is probably the most commonly-used shot in the game.
It is particularly favoured by small, compact players who haven't got much 'reach' for drives and other forward shots. However, to a ball that is widish and shortish, they can jump back on their stumps
in a jiffy and bring the bat down like an axe.
The cut is certainly where Sherwin Campbell (below) comes into his own. His usual batting position means he is already well back on his stumps
most of the time, so in a perfect position to put anything away that is wide and short outside the off stump. The sequence below shows Caddick's first ball of the 2000 Lord's Test and Campbell was quick to show who was boss. Look at the final flourish and how close he is to the stumps when he completes the shot. The ball flew to the boundary head high, giving the batsman a strong feeling of one-upmanship. Significantly, after this Caddick was not at his best and Campbell made a rapid 82.
 The cut
Small batsmen are often very strong cutters because they tend to take
a step back as the bowler releases. Sherwin Campbell does this in the second picture (left), and therefore can seize on anything fractionally short.
Judging width
Left-handers love to cut. They get lots of opportunities because the
natural angle of a right-arm bowler takes the ball across them towards the slips. But their judgement of width must be spot on. If the ball is fractionally too straight, it might get them into trouble.
This is illustrated below, the first ball from Walsh (below) pitched a couple of inches straighter than the later one (far below). In the first example Trescothick was cramped for room to play the cut shot and had to lean back slightly. He got a top edge which was dropped in the slips. Being a tad wider, the ball in second picture invited the cut and was hit for four.
 Too tight
This ball (left) is marginally too close to the stumps to cut. Trescothick
has to lean back to hit the ball and still edges it.
 More space
Here (left) the ball is wider and he gets his whole body over the shot and middles it.
Being a cross-batted shot, the cut can be very productive but can also cause a batsman's downfall.
Atherton (not a left-hander) is a good cutter, but plays it in a more controlled way, making sure he's over the ball and hitting it down. Against top bowling you don't get many chances to play this shot. You need a trustworthy pitch (in this case, below, the Oval) and must feel well 'in' .
 Perfect timing
This is one of Atherton's favourite shots, the controlled square cut,
chopping down on a wide ball, hopefully sending it whistling through the covers.
Copyright material reproduced under license from Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London, England
Copyright © Simon Hughes 2001
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