The stance is the position in which a batsman stands in order to have the ball bowled to him. An ideal stance is "comfortable relaxed and balanced," with the feet 40 cm apart, parallel and astride the crease. Additionally, the front shoulder should be pointing down the wicket, the head facing the bowler, the weight equally balanced and the bat near the back toe. As the ball is about to be released, the batsman will lift his bat up behind up in anticipation of playing a stroke, and will shift his weight onto the balls of his feet. By doing this he is ready to move swiftly into position to address the ball once he sees its path out of the bowler's hand.
Although this text-book, side-on stance is the most common, a few international batsmen, such as Shivnarine Chanderpaul, use an "open" or "square on" stance.