How to Play the Leg Glance Shot in Cricket

Old-fashioned as it looks next to a scoop or a ramp, the leg glance still gets a batter off strike against a ball they can’t drive or pull. Angle the bat face toward fine leg as the delivery arrives on or just outside leg stump, and deflect it rather than hit it. Soft hands, and weight moved onto the front or back foot depending on length, are what let a batter time it safely and pick up runs square or behind square on the leg side.

What Makes the Leg Glance Different

Most attacking shots drive through the line of the ball. The leg glance works against it, redirecting momentum rather than adding to it. Done well it looks effortless; timed badly, the same thin contact that sends the ball to the boundary can just as easily find the wicketkeeper’s gloves.

The shot goes back to the earliest days of Test cricket and still works well against seam bowlers targeting the body, or in-swingers drifting into the pads.

Footwork and Stance

Getting into position early matters more here than in almost any other shot.

• Front-foot leg glance, for a full-length delivery: step forward and across so the head moves toward the ball’s line, weight transferring onto the front foot, knee slightly bent.
• Back-foot leg glance, for a shorter ball angled into the body: rock back and across, creating room to glance the ball behind square leg or down to fine leg.

Either way, keep the head still and the eyes level.

Bat Angle and Hand Position

Element	What to Do
Bat face	Open slightly, angled towards fine leg
Bottom hand	Relaxed grip, guides but doesn’t force
Top hand	Controls the angle; stays dominant through contact
Contact point	In front of the body, just outside off the pad
Follow-through	Low and controlled, pointing towards fine leg

Resist flicking the wrists aggressively early in an innings. Softer hands mean more control.

Common Mistakes

Closing the face too early. Rolling the wrists before contact sends the ball to mid-on or the square-leg fielder instead of behind square.

Swinging hard. This is a deflection, not a flick. Hard hitting causes mistimed shots and edges to the keeper.

Poor weight transfer. Falling away toward the leg side takes the bat off line. Stay upright with the head over the ball.

Playing too late. Contact needs to happen in front of the body. Let the ball get alongside or past you and control drops off fast.

Drills to Develop the Shot

1. Throw-down practice: have a partner throw full-length deliveries into the body. Focus only on bat angle, not power.
2. Cone placement: put a cone at fine leg and practice angling the ball toward it deliberately.
3. Tee work: set a batting tee at pad height and practice the angled bat face without any footwork.
4. Shadow batting: repeat the footwork and bat path in front of a mirror until it’s automatic.

Reading the Bowler

The leg glance is safest when you’ve already picked the line early in the ball’s flight. Watch the seam position and wrist angle at release; an in-swinger aimed at middle stump is a prime candidate. Against spin, it works on a delivery that turns and stays on the leg side, but watch for the googly or anything that drifts further in, since that’s an easy way to miss the line entirely.