BUTCHER’S 4-POINT PLAN

11 USE YOUR FEET Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravi Ashwin have shown a willingness to leave their crease. Not to bang the ball out of the park, but to get to it before it does anything. This allows batsmen a rare chance to use their pad, and kick the ball away without worrying about DRS. 2 DEPTH OF CREASE One of the noticeable things Joe Root did when h he h reeled ld off ff th those th three hundreds at the start of the year was make his foot movement as exaggerated as possible. When he got forward, he was miles forward — getting right out to the pitch and smothering the spin. And he was able to get right back on to his stumps, too. 3 THE SWEEP Root (left) used the stroke very effectively in Sri Lanka but it is harder to execute against Ashwin, who is able to dip the ball with subtle changes of pace and d flight fli ht from f an upright action. When the ball drops quickly on a batsman, it increases the risk of a mishit — and that spells danger. 4 LOWER YOUR STANCE This is something Ben Stokes started to do in the second innings of the third Test. I noticed in Chennai that he was getting a half stride in, and thought he could make better use of his height in getting forward. A lower stance allows you to get closer to the ball and pick the length a little bit quicker.