The different types of shots a batsman can play are described by names:
Block:
A defensive shot played with the bat vertical and angled down at the front, intended to stop the ball and drop it down quickly on to the pitch in front of the batsman.
Drive:
An offensive shot played with the bat sweeping down through the vertical. The ball travels swiftly along the ground in front of the striker. A drive can be an on drive, straight drive, off drive, or cover drive, depending in which direction it goes.
Cut:
A shot played with the bat close to horizontal, which hits the ball somewhere in the arc between cover and gully.
Edge, or Glance:
A shot played off the bat at a glancing angle, through the slips area.
Leg Glance:
A shot played at a glancing angle behind the legs, so that it goes in the direction of fine leg.
Pull:
A horizontal bat shot which pulls the ball around the batsman into the square leg area.
Sweep:
Like a pull shot, except played with the backmost knee on the ground, so as to hit balls which bounce low.
Hook:
Like a pull shot, but played to a bouncer and intended to hit the ball high in the air over square leg - hopefully for six runs.
French Cut:
An attempt at a cut shot which hits the bottom edge of the bat and goes into the area behind square leg.
Reverse Sweep:
A sweep with the bat reversed, into the point area.
Most of these shots can also be lofted, in an attempt to hit the ball over the close fielders (or the boundary). The batting strokes can be divided into two categories: Straight bat and cross bat. The straight bat shots are played with the bat held close to the vertical, and are the blocks, drives and glances. Cross bat shots are played with the bat held more horizontally, like a baseball bat. These include cuts, pulls, sweeps and hooks.
The following terms are used more informally and are not standard:
Hoik:
A wild swing intended only to hit the ball as hard and as far as possible, usually with little or no control.
Agricultural Shot:
Any shot played with very little skill.
