Cricket Batting Stance: Open, Square, and Side-On — What They Mean and Who Uses Each

The Three Main Stance Types

A batsman's stance describes their body position in the crease when facing the bowler. The three principal variants are: the side-on stance (body pointing side-on to the bowler with the shoulder angled toward mid-off), the square stance (body angled at roughly 45 degrees to the bowling direction with both eyes level and the front shoulder open), and the open stance (body significantly open to the bowler with both eyes and the chest facing more toward mid-on). No stance is inherently superior — each creates advantages for different shot types and different types of bowling. The ideal stance for any individual is the one from which they most consistently return the bat to the ball.

Side-On Stance: Precision and Off-Side Dominance

The side-on stance positions the batter with the leading shoulder pointing toward the bowler and the back foot aligned along the crease. It is the classical coaching model because it naturally promotes playing straight, gives a clear view of the ball approaching over the leading shoulder, and allows the full range of off-side drives. Geoff Boycott, Rahul Dravid, and Len Hutton were exemplary side-on batters: technically correct, difficult to dismiss, producing off-side play of great elegance. The disadvantage is that the side-on position can restrict leg-side play — pulling and flicking requires more body rotation from a side-on base, and the hip movement required can disrupt a high-quality technique built on stillness.

Open Stance: Leg-Side Power and Modern T20

An open stance with the chest more visible to the bowler makes leg-side play more natural. Flicks, pulls, and sweeps are all facilitated by an open chest that has already begun rotating. Adam Gilchrist and David Warner are classic open-stance batters: aggressive left-handers (both play from the left) who pull and hook freely and whose open position allows them to free the arms through the off side as well. The open stance also gives both eyes a cleaner sightline on the ball from release. The coaching criticism of extreme open stances is that they can restrict the straight drive — which requires the bat to travel close to the body — and increase susceptibility to the ball swinging into the body toward off stump.

The Hybrid: Most Modern Batters

Most international batters in the modern era occupy a position between square and side-on — sometimes described as 'two eyes on the bowler' (enough open position to see with both eyes) while maintaining alignment that allows off-side drives. Sachin Tendulkar's stance was close to this: slight open position with the head still, feet approximately parallel to the crease. Joe Root's stance is almost square, allowing him to drive through both sides of the wicket with equal fluency. Steve Smith's famously eccentric stance is deeply unconventional — very high hands, crouched position, weight shifting to leg side before delivery — but functions because it is biomechanically consistent for him regardless of what coaches say it should look like.

Foot Position and Guard

Stance includes not just body angle but foot position. Taking guard (where the batter marks their crease position relative to the stumps) affects which deliveries they consider 'on stump' versus 'outside.' Batters who take leg stump guard open themselves to LBW on off stump deliveries; batters on off stump guard reduce that risk but potentially lose position against balls aimed at leg and middle. Most modern batters take middle or middle-and-leg guard. The batting stance is finalised at guard — the precise foot alignment is set by where the bat mark is placed on the crease before the bowler begins their run-up.