Indeed, it's the support at the ball of the foot that gave my pair their distinct feel.
With the low, slow pitches at home, Indian batsmen are naturals at going forward to play the ball off the front foot, hitting confidently through the line, even if they're not particularly over-pitched, with the hands characteristically low down.
Even though he plays on the left for Villa, he is really good at shaping to take the ball down the wing and then checking back on his right foot to deliver a good ball into the box.
But it was the briefest of honeymoons for Cook, lasting only until the last ball of the eighth over, when he played a half-hearted force off the back foot to a ball well wide of off-stump - and to the delight of the bowler Hilfenhaus, Michael Hussey dived expertly in the gully to take a fine one-handed catch.
With Sale on the back foot, the ball was spread down the line and outside centre Jamie Noon fed Williams to score in the corner.
Morais worked the ball on to his left foot on the edge of the United box on the hour mark and sent his shot swerving over the bar.
Bell made it 4-2 with a great shot from the edge of the box and then Dallas burst through to clip the ball in with his left foot for the home side's fifth.
Plus, rather than kicking the ball with your foot, where you at least have some level of sensitivity, you strike it with the bony part of your heel.
Messi stepped up to take the free kick but though the ball beat the wall it flashed a foot wide of the post.
Ja added the third in the 53rd minute with a touch of individual brilliance, twisting past two defenders and hitting the ball home on the outside of his foot from an acute angle.
Fabio Aurelio's cross from the right curled to the far post for Jamie Carragher to head back across goal, where Ngog guided the ball with the outside of his right foot in off the keeper and the far post.
Substitute Ruud van Nistelrooy - who had replaced Diego Forlan - broke down the right and coolly squared the ball for Giggs to wrong-foot the keeper before slotting home.
This is the perfect length to get on the front foot and ease the ball through the covers or mid-off.
Lee Westwood whiffed a shot on his opening hole then his club nicked a pine tree on his downswing and the club went nearly a foot past the ball, leading to double bogey.
It was chiefly thanks to the brilliance of Iniesta once more as he clipped an outrageous diagonal pass into the path of Alves, who took a superb touch to take it round Pyatov and with the outside of his right foot flick the ball into the net.
Steven Thomson crossed for Higdon but the striker could not get his foot around the ball enough to test the Rangers goal.
The one thing Kentucky could do was dump the ball to Anthony Davis, the 6-foot-10 national player of the year.
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By inches, the ball off the hands of the 6-foot-1 Garland cleared the outstretched hands of Reginald Buckner, the Rebels' muscular 6-9 center.
Pujara, promoted to bat at number three above Dravid, timed the ball to perfection off the front and back foot as he sensed the chance to make a name for himself.
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Lance Allred remembers pre-season tryouts for the Stampede, when bad shoes literally ripped the skin off the ball of his foot.
Kamara's corner from the right corner found Loovens in the heart of the penalty box and the Dutchman mis-controlled it, but still managed to switch the ball from right foot to left and clinically finish.
The Sporting defender quickly worked the ball on to this right foot and unleashed an unstoppable curling shot into the roof of the net.
However the clearance ran invitingly to Elliott, who superbly wrapped his foot around the ball and found the top corner of the net beyond the despairing dive of Paddy Kenny.
The grown-up Ronaldinho pulls off one move, rolling his foot around the ball in midair, and then darting off in a new direction that's so breathtaking, I've been watching the clip over and over.
He jumped in front of the 385-foot marker and caught the ball above the fence.
Often, right down to how many steps back the quarterback will take before he plants his foot and throws the ball.
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He moved the ball forward and his third left him eight foot from the hole, making the putt for a valuable par.
Soon after, Nderim Nedzipi's well-hit shot forced a hurried save from Jaaskelainen and Bolton were fortunate that neither of the two Rabotnicki players closing in could get a foot to the loose ball to turn in the rebound.
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Dickinson had been relatively well marshalled by Stanton but the Stockport striker stole a yard and struck the ball crisply first time with his right foot past Tommy Lee at the near post.
Skacel almost completed his hat-trick when he ran on to Kevin Kyle's flick-on and tried to place the ball into the net but Langfield blocked well with his foot.
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