Klaasen against spin: three leg-side hits

Illustrative explainer. Independent technical commentary by BatSwing, from a short official SA20 clip (Fabian Allen to Heinrich Klaasen, Durban's Super Giants v Paarl Royals, SA20 2024). Not affiliated with or endorsed by the player, SA20, Cricket South Africa, any team or any broadcaster. Qualitative only: no angles, speeds or scores.

The hit, in one picture

Five moments from the first hit, from behind the bowler. The skeleton lines are an automatic estimate of the joints on the flat picture, drawn to guide the eye. On a phone, swipe the strip sideways.

Watch the real thing first

This is the exact clip we analysed: SA20's own video of the three hits, on the official channel. Jump straight to each ball; the slow replays of the first two show the bat through the ball far better than any still.

• Hit 1 0:06
• Hit 1 replay 0:33
• Hit 2 0:40
• Hit 2 replay 1:05
• Hit 3 1:46

From the Betway SA20 YouTube channel (uploaded 28 January 2024). All rights remain with SA20 League. The lined-up clip further down is a short excerpt hosted by BatSwing for commentary.

Walk through it, one phase at a time

Keep scrolling. The picture follows the text.

Three hits, one method

Same player, three balls, lined up at the moment of impact and played at half speed. The upright line drops from the back foot and the dot marks the head. If the picture looks nearly the same three times, that is the point: the habit repeats.

See hits 2 and 3 in full

Where it pitched, where it went

Two of the three balls were around a good length, and none was a short ball asking to be pulled. That is why we call these leg-side hits rather than pulls: they are hit across the line from a base that is wide and settled. Turn the pitch to see it from the bowler's end, or press play to watch the swing. The shaded fan is a broad leg-side zone read from the swing, not tracked ball flight.

Approximate · marked by eye Drag to turn

The swing, one frame at a time

Scrub through hit 1 from the behind-square replay. The green arc traces the toe of the bat and draws itself as you go. It starts low, comes through flat and finishes high over the front shoulder: a full, committed shape, drawn from one camera as a path to look at, never as a number. Each phase you pass stays behind as a faint ghost of Klaasen himself.

Real footage · cut-outs Drag across the picture

What a coach would take from this

• Check the base firstWide and planted through contact. If it narrows or a foot lifts early, the power usually leaks with it.
• Make room by opening up, not by lungingIn these frames the feet open and the front leg braces, which clears space for the arms. Look for that clearing in your own players.
• Finish the swingFull follow-through, no hold-back. A shot that stops at contact is usually a shot that was half-decided.

Use it as a vocabulary, not a template. Hitting spin over the leg side is a high-risk shot, played here by an elite player late in a T20 innings. Every player's version depends on age, build, the ball and the situation.

Sources

• SA20 League, "Heinrich Klaasen 3 back-to-back Sixes off Fabian Allen | Match 22 #DSGvPR | Betway SA20", Betway SA20 on YouTube. About two seconds of each hit were used.

This is an independent technical analysis produced by BatSwing for editorial and commentary purposes. It is not an official assessment, endorsement or ranking, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Heinrich Klaasen, his management, SA20, Cricket South Africa, any team or any broadcaster. Overlays, cut-outs and the 3D pitch diagram are derived illustrations made from short excerpts of publicly broadcast footage for critical commentary. Footage remains the property of the rights holder. Takedown requests can be sent to [CONTACT EMAIL] and are actioned within 24 hours.