In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke. The terms batsman or specialist batsman are also used generically to describe players who specialise in batting (as opposed to e.g. bowlers who would specialise in bowling).

During an innings two batsmen from the team bat: the one facing the current delivery from the bowler is denoted the striker, while the other is the non-striker. When a batsman is out, he is replaced by a team mate. This process continues until the end of the innings, whereupon the other team gets a turn to bat.

Batting tactics and strategy vary depending on the type of match being played as well as the current state of play. The main concerns for the batsmen are not to lose their wicket and to score as many runs as quickly as possible. These objectives are generally in opposition to each other - to score quickly, some risky shots may need to be played thereby increasing the chances that the batsman will be dismissed. Depending on the current situation, batsmen may forgo attempts at run-scoring in an effort to preserve their wicket, or may attempt to score runs as quickly as possible with scant concern for the possibility of being dismissed.

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on a field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the runs scored by the batting team. A run is scored by the striking batsman hitting the ball with his bat, running to the opposite end of the pitch and touching the crease there without being dismissed. The teams switch between batting and fielding at the end of an innings.

In professional cricket the length of a game ranges from 20 overs of six bowling deliveries per side to Test cricket played over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches and One Day Internationals.

Cricket was first played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had developed into the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first international matches were being held. The ICC, the game's governing body, has ten full members. The game is played particularly in Australasia, the Indian subcontinent, the West Indies, Southern Africa and England.

Robert Andrew Woolmer (14 May 1948 – 18 March 2007) was an international cricketer, professional cricket coach and also a professional commentator. He played in 19 Test matches and 6 One Day Internationals for England and later coached South Africa, Warwickshire and Pakistan.

On 18 March 2007, Woolmer died suddenly in Jamaica, just a few hours after the Pakistan team's unexpected elimination at the hands of Ireland in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Shortly afterwards, Jamaican police announced that they were opening a murder investigation into Woolmer's death. In November 2007, a jury in Jamaica recorded an open verdict on Woolmer's death, after deciding that there was insufficient evidence of either a criminal act or natural causes.

Woolmer was born in the hospital across the road from the cricket ground in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in India. His father was the cricketer Clarence Woolmer, who represented United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) in the Ranji Trophy. Woolmer went to school in Kent, first at Yardley Court in Tonbridge and then The Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells. When he was 15, Colin Page, the coach and captain of the Kent second XI, converted him from an off-spinner to a medium pace bowler.

Corey James Anderson (born 13 December 1990 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for Canterbury.

Anderson came into the Canterbury Wizards Squad in the 2006-07 season freshly promoted from his performances for the New Zealand under 19 cricket team. He also played for his High School 1st XI team at Christchurch Boys High School including playing in the side which won three consecutive Gillette Cups from 2005-2007. Anderson was also jointly named player of the Gillette cup in 2006 when he shared this honor with current Blackcap Tim Southee.

In 2007 Anderson received a playing contract from New Zealand Cricket, making him the youngest player in New Zealand first-class cricket history to gain a contract.

Anderson has yet to show his full potential at first class level and after several injury interrupted seasons with shoulder and groin injuries, Corey Anderson transferred to Northern Districts at the start of the 2011-2012 season to restart his promising career.

Anderson is a hard hitting left-handed middle order batsman with the ability to hit the ball cleanly with amazing power and timing. He natural scores runs at a good strike rate. This has been demonstrated on several occasions but none more so than when he scored 74 n.o. off 31 balls for the Northern Knights versus the Wellington Firebirds a day after his 21st birthday. Anderson is also a left arm fast-medium bowler with recorded speeds of up to 144 km/h. He is also a agile fielder with a strong throwing arm.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar ( pronunciation (help·info); born 24 April 1973) is an Indian cricketer widely considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the first player to score a double century in ODI cricket. In 2002, just 12 years into his career, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one-day-international (ODI) batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. Tendulkar was a part of the 2011 Cricket World Cup winning Indian team in the later part of his career, his first such win in six World Cup appearances for India. He is currently nominated for receiving the Bharat Ratna award.