Always an interesting discussion. I've read heaps about it, most recently in Greg Chappell's book and also in Don Bradman's The Art of Cricket.

Anyway, it is important to me because as an opening batsman playing a reasonably high standard of club cricket, I regularly have to face quick bowlers.

I've tried the different styles (even though it is something that should come naturally) i.e.

1) plant foot across sub-continental style, and look to attack;
2) back and across for perfect balance as in chappellway
3) Stay dead still and have no trigger movement at all.

Both 1) and 2) can come to me naturally with practice. I've had problems with 1) with quick left armers swinging the ball in and getting lbw though.

Bob Woolmer actually recommends the front foot plant as opposed to back and across.

What does everyone else think?

ive started a new one that originated from watching kallies, ab devilliers and boeta dippenaar, i find dippenaars one very comfortable and have basicallyh adopted it, but funny thing is it feel like his to me, but actually looks slightly different!

if i were you i would give micheal vuaghans one a go, nice and comfy, but doesnt suit me as ive always had slightly lower hands than most people

I've tried Michael Vaughans and yes it is nice and comfy but I find that I am not in complete control of off and cover drives for some reason. I like to get really in line and feel in control.

I think sometimes against slow medium bowlers it is easy to get wound up with trigger movements when in reality if your in you can play even a medium pacer rather like a spinner - i.e. wait and play naturally even without trigger movements.

fair enough what cricko says, but my trigger helps me, especially against the quicks, before hand i used the aussie style of automatically moving forward, and if its short than going back and playing the pull, where as now, so long as the trigger is timed right, i either go forward or back, not one then the other, which means i have alot more time than i used to!

against a couple quickes that before it was simply trying getting bat on ball, but now i can pull, cover drive etc with out feeling rushed as i can now make my decision earlier,

i think people should try new things such as triggers, different bowling grips types of bats etc, as like me you might find one that seems to change your game alot!

i don't use a trigger movement but i don't know if i should or not. when not playing properly, i have tried moving my back foot across and then front foot forward, like one of my mates does. he plays really well with it.

i find that when i do that, as i tried it out in the nets once, i cant play off the legs that well.

do they take time getting used to, ive only tried it once.

i do, do it when i practise in front of a mirror and it feels fine, i feel its better than standing still and no trigger at all, but when i tried it in the nets, it was hard.

do you think i should try it more frequently and then make my desicion?

I think colts don't need to worry too much about trigger movements, purely because the pace of bowling they tend to face does not necessitate trigger movements to help timing/footwork.

I don't mean to sound patronising, and I accept that even in colts cricket there can be nippy bowlers around.

Main thing is that batting should be natural without conciously thinking about trigger movements etc whilst playing a shot. Best thing is to practice, practice and practice and make plenty of mistakes in the nets.

I have adopted the ricky ponting movement,well atleast im trying to

wow. how old are you thats pretty impressive

estimation i don't have a gun Very funny

My movement is stand there and just move back lift from 2nd slip to 1st to get ready, works for me and was selected for state a few years back none of this fancy stuff, cricket is simple when you think about it, its a ball coming at you and you hit it.

It worked for jason gillespie he didn't even look like a cricketer.

i prefer to stay still when facing a bowler. However as you say sometimes you can come across nippy bowlers and in these circrumstances i have brian lara type knees bent then into a half jump. I wasnt trying to emulate lara this is just the movement that came to me once in the nets and ever since i've been using it.

I tried the Inzi sub continent style shuffle across to the off stump and i also tried the back across movement that a lot of professional cricketers use. However i didn't like either of them as i found it harder to judge the line of the ball compared to batting dead still. Also the back across can have you in trouble on english pitches with variable bounce as if one keeps low you might be trapped lbw.

initial trigger movements were introduced for people who shuffle at the crease or who have trouble playing back foot deliveries. Some people just do it because they feel more comfortable getting on their toes before the bowler comes in. personally i just stand still like matty hayden. But nowadays i see most people who use the trigger movement fall across the line of the ball and get LBW alot. the trigger movement makes some players heads fall outside the line of the ball. thats my critism of it all. but hay, at the end of the day its what you feel comfortable doing.

 I never saw this?!

my initial trigger movement has been banished....

during the winter season i decided on the shuffel, thats the start outside leg and move into position, a lil like chanderpaul. feels comfortable and lets you get into a good position on a ball that is not swinging...first game of the season was hellish i was bowled around my legs . now i dont have any trigger movements i wait for the ball to come to me. but if its spin bowling i like to get to the pitch as best i can.....

trigger movements are good for aggressive batsman, unlike me who likes to take it easy and pick my balls....

Instead of the intial movement of moving your back foot back, I move my front foot forward. It looks a bit like ricky ponting and it works quite well for playing drives.Try it

Due to the ridiculously crappy wickets, it seems that I no longer can flick a ball off my pads because everything just stays down low the time I go in to bat.  Just 4 years ago, anything on my pads was accumulated runs to my name, usually dispatched for 4!!  Can't even remember the last time I got one single run from a flick off the pads.  I got to be more on the lookout for balls staying low and trapping me lbw.  Man, I'd give anything to migrate off to bouncier pitches so I can bat the way I use to.