Meaning & use
cross bat
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounsporttechnical
in cricket, describing a shot played with the bat swinging across the line of the ball rather than straight.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a cross-bat shot, a cross-bat swipe. It is not usually used after a linking verb.
Patterns
- cross-bat shot
- cross-bat swipe
He played a cross-bat shot and nearly got out.
The coach told him to avoid cross-bat swipes early in his innings.
nouncountablesporttechnical
a shot in cricket played with the bat swinging across the line of the ball.
Grammar: Countable: a cross bat, two cross bats. Often used in the phrase 'play a cross bat'.
Patterns
- play a cross bat
- a cross bat to the leg side
He tried a cross bat but missed the ball completely.
That cross bat sent the ball to the boundary.
Word forms
| plural | cross bats |
|---|
Common combinations
- play a cross-bat shot
- He played a cross-bat shot and got a boundary.
- cross-bat swipe
- The batsman attempted a cross-bat swipe but missed.
- cross-bat stroke
- A cross-bat stroke is risky on a turning pitch.
Synonyms and how they differ
- across the line
- A more general phrase describing the same idea in cricket; 'cross bat' is more specific to the bat's movement.
Commonly confused: cross bat or crossbat?
cross bat vs crossbat
Sometimes written as one word, but the standard form is two words: cross bat.
Practice
In cricket, what does a 'cross bat' shot mean?
Choose one answer.
A cross-bat shot involves the bat moving across the line of the ball, not straight. Option A describes a straight-bat shot, option C is not a standard term, and option D describes footwork, not the bat's angle.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cross bat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.