A batter in cricket has the task of scoring runs. These runs are most effectively earned when the ball reaches the boundary lines. The fielding side is tasked with preventing the ball from reaching the boundary. Along with the bowlers, the fielders ploy to dismiss the batters and restrict the flow of runs.
Cut shots in cricket are those that are usually hit on the off-side. The batters plays the shot with a crossed angulation, thus deriving it’s name. The batters have the liberty to free their arms against a delivery outside the off stump, slightly back of the length. When executed perfectly, the shot can generate immense power. Another cut shot is called the French Cut, and this is played on the leg-side.
It is a rare feat to see a batter intentionally play the French cut. This is because the French cut is a shot wherein the ball clicks the inside edge of the bat, is directed between the batter’s legs and the leg stump, and eventually races to the fine leg region for the boundary. The ball travels in a direction which is even difficult for the wicket-keeper to stop. When played intentionally, the batter has to be vary of the timing of the shot. If miscued, the ball can strike the batter’s legs and cause an injury, or can strike the leg-stump and dismiss them. Australia’s Mark Waugh is the only notable player who could play this shot efficiently with intention.
The name French cut was a mocking term for non-English Europeans who didn’t play the sport as efficiently as the founders of the game. Since it was the Europeans who struggled with the bat, the English contemporaries called this lucky shot the French cut. The term French cut later was the root phrase for the term French cricket, a recreational and minimal version of the sport highlighted by a batter standing in the center, surrounded by players aiming for the batter’s legs to deem him/her out.
