Name the best exponent of these shots you have seen?

[Burgey]

Phil Hughes deserves a mention for his square cutting. Was ferocious on any width.

Also, I remember Tendulkar playing back foot straight drives off the quicks in the 98 series against Australia in India, which I think were maybe the best cricket shots I’ve ever seen.

 

[burr]

Whoever these people are who have nominated Martyn for the flick and the on drive have clearly never watched the man. He was a master of the off side. The back foot cover drive. No one in the history of cricket, and I mean no one, has played it better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS9IKkXxgbI

 

[subshakerz]

nobody played the cover drive better than Mark Waugh, nobody

Saeed Anwar's was pretty darn elegant and effortless too.

 

[vcs]

I thought about nominating Martyn and then I realized that if I started doing that, I would have to put down his name in pretty much all the categories. Heck, if the guy dropped his pants and did a No. 2 in the middle of the pitch, he'd somehow make it look classy.

Who needs porn when there are Damien Martyn videos on YouTube...

 

[jimmy101]

Martyn could execute just about any shot in the book with grace.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Hook: Viv
Pull: Ponting or Greenridge's swivel pull on one foot
Square cut: Robin Smith
Late cut(spinner): Dravid
Upper cut: Sehwag
Frontfoot Square drive: Lara
Backfoot Square drive: Bbradman
Cover Drive: Wally Hammond
Straight drive: Barry Richards
Straight slog in the V: V. Richards.
On drive: G. Chappell
Flick: Laxman
Leg glance: M. Taylor
Scoop shot: probably McCullum
Switch hit: Well there is only Pietersen and Warner who do it - correct? Pietersen I suppose.
Reverse sweep: Ben Duckett has a nice one but I suppose I need to go with someone with more test experience, ABV perhaps.
Paddle sweep: Azharudden or Tendulkar
Square sweep: Younis Khan
Slog sweep: S. Waugh
Helicopter shot: There is only really Dhoni, isn't there?
Forward defensive: Tendulkar
Backfoot defensive

Bradman

 

[Himannv]

nobody played the cover drive better than Mark Waugh, nobody

Agree completely.

 

[The Battlers Prince]

Hook Inzamam Ul Haq
Pull - Ponting
Square cut - Damian Martyn
Late cut(spinner) - Lara
Upper cut - Gilchrist
Square drive - Lara
Cover Drive - Martin Love, Mark Waugh, Sangakkara
Straight slog in the V - Matt Hayden, Kev Pietersen
On drive - Ponting
Dog shot - Steve Smith
Forward defensive - Glenn McGrath, anytime he didn't get out was a positive

 

[S.Kennedy]

Let's not forget Ian Bell in his pomp. His drive was of compactness and elegance,

Easily the most eye-catching batsman of England's Strauss/Cook era, unless you prefer Pietersen's pyrotechnics.

 

[andruid]

none of the above. Shiv Chanderpaul

 

[watson]

Hook - Stan McCabe
Pull - Garry Sobers
Square cut - Barry Richards
Late cut(spinner) - Alan Kippax
Upper cut - Virender Sehwag
Frontfoot Square drive - Graeme Pollock
Backfoot Square drive - Rohan Kanhai
Cover Drive - Alan Melville
Straight drive - Sachin Tendulkar
Straight slog in the V - Shane Watson
On drive - Viv Richards
Flick - Steve Smith
Leg glance - Kumar Ranjitsinhji
Scoop shot - Tillakaratne Dilshan
Switch hit - David Warner
Reverse sweep - AB de Villiers
Paddle sweep - Sachin Tendulkar
Square sweep - Alan Knott
Slog sweep - AB de Villiers
Helicopter shot - MS Dhoni
Forward defensive - Geoff Boycott
Backfoot defensive - Sunil Gavaskar

 

[watson]

Victor Trumper invented the ‘Dog Shot’ to an inswinging yorker - that is, ****ing either the front or back leg so the ball can be squirted down to the boundary.

Has anyone seen it played in modern cricket?

To this day, Australian batsmen fail, fail, and fail again to emulate Trumper’s famed dog shot – let the ball pass your front pad, jam the closed bat face down, and squirt the ball through the gap left by your raised back leg. Another, slightly easier version involves raising the front leg. Try it some time.

http://m.wisdenindia.com/full-story.php?category=Wisden Cricketers Almanack 2015&id=178782&

The first ball from Barnes was a yorker, but Trumper dismissed it in a flash, playing what he called the "dog shot". As the ball careered towards leg stump, having moved from off to leg in the manner of a late reverse swinger, Trumper merely lifted his front leg, swivelled neatly on his back leg, meeting the ball on the half volley and dismissing it from his presence to the backward-square fence.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/555408.html

 

[srbhkshk]

Straight slog in the V - Hardik Pandya.

 

[The Battlers Prince]

Victor Trumper invented the ‘Dog Shot’ to an inswinging yorker - that is, ****ing either the front or back leg so the ball can be squirted down to the boundary.

Has anyone seen it played in modern cricket?

Mate I included it in my list as I swear it's the only time I've seen it played and it was by Smith in an ODI a few seasons ago

 

[Daemon]

Victor Trumper invented the ‘Dog Shot’ to an inswinging yorker - that is, ****ing either the front or back leg so the ball can be squirted down to the boundary.

Has anyone seen it played in modern cricket?

Smith did it recently.

More impressive however, was Nat Sciver's "natmeg". Essentially the same thing, but with both feet on the ground and the bat literally pointing towards square leg.

 

[Austerlitz]

nobody played the cover drive better than Mark Waugh, nobody

Ganguly,Sangakkara,tendulkar if on the backfoot.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Ganguly's back foot coverdrive was very good.... when he wasn't edging it to slip, which was actually one of his most glaring weaknesses. I reckon a lot of the mentions in this thread are just examples of a batsman looking elegant while playing it, not necessarily the shot actually being a reliable one for him.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Defense, forward to the spinner- Shai Hope

 

[srbhkshk]

Ganguly's back foot coverdrive was very good.... when he wasn't edging it to slip, which was actually one of his most glaring weaknesses. I reckon a lot of the mentions in this thread are just examples of a batsman looking elegant while playing it, not necessarily the shot actually being a reliable one for him.

Ganguly also had the most amazing dancing down to the spinner sixes I have ever seen, hit em long and clean.

 

[KW22NZ]

Hook: ABD, Sir Vivian, McCullum
Pull: S Smith, Ponting, Hussey
Square cut: Brian Lara, AB de Villiers, Ross Taylor
Late cut(spinner): Virat, Kane, Babar, Mayank
Upper cut: Sachin, ABD, Guptill, O Pope
Frontfoot Square drive: Sachin, ABD
Backfoot Square drive: Sachin, Kane, ABD, S Smith
Cover Drive: Sachin Tendulkar, Kane Williamson
Straight drive: Sachin, Kohli, ABD
Straight slog in the V: Kohli, Guptill, Hayden
On drive: Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers
Flick: Kohli, S Smith, Sanga, Lara, Sachin, ABD, Amla, Kane, Pujara, Dravid
Leg glance: Same as above (flick)
Scoop shot: AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler
Switch hit
Reverse sweep
Paddle sweep: Sachin, Lara, Root, Taylor
Square sweep: Younis, Root, Kallis, Hussey, Stokes
Slog sweep: ABD, Hayden, Hussey, Stokes (no Taylor)
Helicopter shot
Forward defensive: Sachin, Kane
Backfoot defensive: Sachin Tendulkar, AB de Villiers