LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE SLOG SWEEP | TROGON CRICKET ACADEMY

All of the variations of sweep shots are played with the back leg on the ground and the slog sweep is no different - the only change with this compared to the others, is some batters even play it against pace bowlers!

And not just any pace bowlers… Brett Lee, who regularly clocked over 90 miles per hour when steaming in for Australia from 1999 to 2012, was used to seeing batters ducking out of the way of his deliveries. So you can imagine the shock on his face, let alone that of his team-mates, when Mal Loye, an experienced England white-ball opener, opted to slog sweep him for six in January 2007. The shot was all the more unexpected as England had just been ‘whitewashed’ 5-0 by Australia in the 2006/7 Ashes series and the hosts were not used to being pushed around by the tourists.

In subsequent years, batters from all countries have dared to slog sweep quicker bowlers, ushering in an era where now some batters reverse-sweep or even reverse-scoop the pacers in all formats of the game. Rishabh Pant even did this against Jimmy Anderson with the new ball during a Test in 2021!

But even nowadays, you are far more likely to see the slog sweep come out against a spin-bowler.

The goal of the slog sweep is to clear the infield.

The shot is played in a similar manner to the conventional sweep but the batter does not care about hitting the ball in the air. In fact, they are often backing themselves to clear the ropes and put the ball into the crowd so any field placements become irrelevant.

That said, there is always the chance of a top edge or not timing the shot perfectly so if there is a gap either backward or in front of square on the leg-side, it would be smart to aim there when slog sweeping.

Other considerations when playing this shot is the direction of turn of a spinner and of any wind. Hitting against both poses additional risks.

But many international players who have regularly taken on this shot are entertainers. The likes of Marcus Trescothick, Suryakumar Yadav, Ben Stokes and Nicholas Pooran don’t care much for risks when there’s an opportunity of a maximum!

The Slog Sweep Technique

When playing the slog sweep you need to be committed to the shot, if you are not committed this is where problems occur. If you have decided to play it and go over the infield, then commit and hit the ball hard, because if you are swinging hard and mishit the chances are the ball with fly away.

As with all sweep shots, when playing the slog sweep, the batter needs to get low with the back leg bent on the ground.

In the below image the batter is still in his stance and has picked up the line and length of the ball - at this point he has made the decision to play the slog sweep.

Next the batter has moved his front foot towards the ball, keeping his head over the leg and his weight is going forward.

However, the front leg does not necessarily need to be pressed forward, some slog sweeps move it out of the way and ‘clear the road’ for a full swing of the bat!

The slog sweep can be played to a ball slightly shorter than a traditional ‘sweeping length’ as the batter is looking to elevate the ball as opposed to sweeping down on it.

From this point the batter is preparing to strike the ball. In the below image you can see how he is striking the ball, with the bat face pointing slightly upwards, his weight is still over his front foot, he is in control, balanced and is full-blooded going to strike the ball over the infield.

Although the batter is targeting plenty of distance on the shot, don’t just think about power. Instead, concentrate on full extension of the arms to straight, a full follow through and a smooth swing.

In the below image you can see the full follow through and although the batter in this image is still facing where the ball has been bowled from, you can now start looking at where the ball has gone and make a decision if you need to start running between the wickets or just sit back and watch the ball sail over the boundary ropes.

Conclusion

No one ever wants to be slog-swept into the crowd, so mastering this shot as a batter is sure to put fear into the minds of the opposition bowlers. It will also provide plenty of entertainment for any of the watching crowd - as well as moving the scoreboard along at a rapid rate!

This is a great shot to practice in the nets so that you can enjoy sending the ball a distance with a clean hit but not have to go and fetch. Let’s start slog-sweeping and take your attacking game to new heights.

The pro player we have used for the videos and images uses a Trogon Cricket Grade 1+ English willow bat with our black and white sticker range.

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