I’m 16 and want to ask how do you know if you should be playing a cut shot or a back foot drive?

Hi Will.
The back foot drive is used when the ball is on a tighter line to the stumps (just outside off stump) and also when not bouncing too high (just above the stumps). Where as the cut shot is to be used when bouncing more and wider in line.
I hope this helps…..!

Hi Will,
Phil has nailed the two shots above. I'd encourage you as 16 year old to set up some practice to improve your play with both. Lot's of cricketers can throw their hands and bat through a cut shot and make contact to some affect, not so many can stand tall and balanced and hit a back foot drive through the off side for runs. As Phil says make sure your back foot drives are balls that are tight and allow a balanced more vertical bat swing and, that are not too short and bouncing above where you can swing the middle of your bat. i.e. just above stump high.
Good luck, hope you have fun exploring and improving your game.

Both Phil and Bryan are correct. You may want to make sure that your balanced on the balls of your feet and not flat footed at executuon by doing this your leverage at execution is improved.

Thank you Phil, Bryan and Rod for your answers. They all make sense to me and hopefully I can put them into practice.