Shadow Batter

In cricket, shadow batting is the act of practicing shots without a ball being bowled, or often without even holding a bat. It’s the most effective way to practice your batting without access to facilities or a coach.

Batters talk of “visualisation” and “shadow batting” as tools to help improve their batting, when not playing or practising, by imagining or miming the shots they play as imaginary balls are bowled at them.

The Shadow Batter app shows a cricket pitch from a batter’s perspective and repeatedly bowls deliveries at the batter, so the batter can visualise or practice the correct shot. 

During each delivery a mark will be left on the pitch where the ball bounced, to aid “getting your foot to the pitch”.

Each delivery can be replayed up to three times.  The first replay will leave a small trail during the first few centimetres to aid “picking the ball early”.  The second replay will trail the whole way to help you visualise the flight of the ball.

After each delivery, there is a short pause for contemplation, and then the next delivery is automatically queued and bowled, allowing for uninterrupted practice. Different delivery types available, from slow to fast, swing, and spin.  Presets can be selected, or can be created or modified if there is something specific you want to work on.  If you have the Windows version, these modifications can be saved on your computer.