Some of my all time favourites are
1. Trumper, his right fot three feet out of the crease, with his bat raised in a huge backlift, far above his shoulders, his left foot far forward and still in midair in a huge forward stride, the left shoulder pointing down the wicket, sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms showing rippling muscles. It is a fantastic study and it is 102 years old and technicallyyou cant find a fault with Trumper's technique !
2. Tyson On his follow through, both feet up in the air about 12 inches above the ground, left arm stretched far back and high above his head and the right wrist having followed through has bent and is almost touching his left arm pit. A classic.
3. Bradman Having stepped out to drive, Bradman is foxed by the flight, falls flat on the ground and in that position has managed to late cut the ball pefectly away from the waiting hands of the keeper. Bradman's entire body and his stretched out arms and the bat are all either touching or within a couple of inches of the pitch surface. An amazing shot.
4. Hammond has completed a glorious cover drive, he is perfectly balanced, you can feel the timing (and lack of apparent power) of the shot, there is a dark handkerchief sticking out of his right pocket, Oldfield(I think its him) still has his left foot behind the off stump but he has moved alongwith the line of the ball(pitched much outaside the of stump it appears), his left pad is resting on the ground(parallel to the crease) as he has transferred his weight to the right foot and his gloves close together are just a few inches above the ground right behind the line of delivery. He hasnt got up yest though he has moved sideways since the ball did not rise of the wicket being a half volley ! A lesson in the technique of wicket keeping and it comes from one of the most famous batting pictures of all time.
