Reverse Sweep
Also known as: reverse sweep
The reverse sweep is an attacking stroke where the batter kneels on the front knee and sweeps the ball to the off side — the mirror image of the conventional sweep, played in the opposite direction.
Typically deployed against spin bowling, the reverse sweep catches the field off-guard because the batter repositions the hands and angles the bat to play the ball behind point on the off side instead of the expected leg side. The batter drops the front knee low, rotates the grip, and sweeps across the line. The stroke is high-risk — mistiming can result in an edge, a top edge caught, or LBW if the ball takes the inside edge — but when timed well it is almost impossible to field, especially if the spinner has set a leg-side field for the conventional sweep.
Example
Against a leg-spinner bowling to a packed leg-side field, the batter audaciously reverse-sweeps the ball past point for four.
Why it matters
The reverse sweep disrupts the bowler's field plan and scoring intent. SwingVantage's cricket analysis (in development) will study grip rotation and sweep angle to help batters develop this specialist stroke safely.
Related terms
- Sweep ShotThe sweep is a cross-bat shot played on one knee to a (usually spinning) good-length ball, sweeping it around to the leg side to counter turn and length.
- Slog SweepThe slog sweep is a powerful, high-risk batting stroke where the batter sweeps a short-pitched or good-length ball over deep mid-wicket, aiming to hit it out of the ground for six.
- Off-SpinOff-spin is a style of finger-spin bowling that turns the ball from the off side into a right-handed batter (right to left), the stock delivery being the off-break.
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