5 greatest players of the straight drive

S Sam
Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond

Each and every shot played by a batsman in cricket has its own aesthetic appeal as far as spectators are concerned. However, certain shots are not only great to watch but also quite difficult to execute for batsmen, and hence the straight drive has attained a special status in the game.

The batsman needs to get his timing, footwork, body position, the position of the head and the ability to judge the length of a delivery absolutely spot on, in order to play the perfect straight drive.

Over the course of cricket's long history, plenty of batsmen have played the shot to perfection but very few have been able to do so consistently over a period of time. Here is a look at 5 of the very best exponents of the straight drive.

5 Wally Hammond

The Englishman who played for his country from 1927 to 1947 is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen to have played the game and during the 1930s, Wally Hammond was the one batsman who often drew comparisons with the great Sir Donald Bradman.

The right-handed batsman could play a wide range of strokes and was regarded as one of the game's best stroke-makers. Hammond was technically superb and was one of the best players of the straight drive the game has seen. His footwork, his judgement of the length early on and his ability to time and place the ball to near perfection made him such a superb player of the shot. Even the Don was not known to play the shot as well as Hammond did.

4 Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting

The former Australian captain is rightly regarded as one of the finest batsmen to play for the country and indeed, one of the best in the world. Arguably, he is Australia's greatest batsman after Bradman.

Ponting was a batsman who was often impossible to contain, and that was primarily because of the sheer range of strokes that he possessed.

Although the hook and the pull became his most celebrated shots, it should not be forgotten that he was easily among the best exponents of the straight drive and he did it superbly during his 17-year long career (1995-2012).

The right-hander was extremely quick at assessing the length of most deliveries and although his bat may have come down at an angle, yet when he met the ball, it used to come down straight. When he got it absolutely right, there was no better sight in cricket and due to his gift with timing, the ball rocketed past the bowler on most occasions.

3 Rahul Dravid

England v India: 1st npower Test - Day Five

As far as number 3 batsmen are concerned, there are very few players who can boast of a better record than former Indian great Rahul Dravid, and throughout the course of his career spanning almost 16 years, he remained one of the best exponents of the straight drive. The right-hander might have been known for his impregnable defence but when he decided to unfurl the strokes, he could match many of his more illustrious peers and the straight drive was definitely one of the more important constituent of his repertoire of strokes.

Moreover, he looked brilliant when he played it.

His excellent footwork, the straight bat and the high elbow made the stroke look particularly superb for anyone who had the privilege to watch him play live.

2 Jacques Kallis

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The former South African greatest not only scored a bucketload of runs in international cricket, but did it with a technique that was right up there with the very best in the game. Jacques Kallis played for South Africa for nearly 19 years and throughout that period, he remained one of the best exponents of the straight drive in the business.

Usually, batsmen with excellent techniques are the best exponents of the straight drive and in that regard, Kallis was supremely gifted. On top of that, his front foot movement, the arc of the bat coming down on the ball, high elbows and a superb followthrough made the straight drive look even better on most occasions.

On the other hand, his excellent eyesight meant that he picked up the length of the ball pretty early and that was another reason why he was such a superb player of the shot.

1 Sachin Tendulkar

 Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar

As far as the straight drive is concerned, Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar might as well have patented the shot and prevented others from attempting to play it. He was that good at it - and the scores of videos on the internet that feature only his straight drives played across his 24-year career, is a testament to his mastery of the shot. The thing with good batsmen is that they pick up lengths early, irrespective of the pace at which a bowler is bowling and what often made Tendulkar's straight drives even better was the fact that even if the deliveries were swinging in or out, he had the ability to smother that before going through with his signature thump past the bowler.

However, what made him the best player of the shot was that he played it to perfection with far more regularity than most other batsmen and in addition to that, the straight bat and high elbows made the shot look even more spectacular.

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Edited by Anuradha Santhanam