Rachael,

Comparing the bounce of a Cricket ball to a Tennis ball is like comparing oranges to apples. The balls react totally diffrently due to weight, material and shape!! Plus a tennis court will not be so damaged by the ball, and the damage will not be concentrated in such a small area.

Finally I have bit hit by a tennis ball and a cricket ball, and I can tell you a tennis ball stings, a cricket ball hurts!!

The fact is that all players, whatever level, are taught to get forward and play the ball as close to the bounce as possible. The most effective shot in the game is the drive, played off a half-volley on the front foot (it also happens to look the best), nudging and nurdling are great for rotating the strike, and keeping the score ticking over, but the best ball to hit is a half-volley and for that you have to be on the front foot!!

I disagree. As the majority of fielders (certainly the catchers- w/k,slips,gullies) are brought into play when playing the front foot drive, it is the highest risk shot in the game.
Hitting a ball off the middle off the bat will result in enough power to reach the boundary, so all shots are as effective as each other in that sense. It is the shot that brings the least fielders into play that is the most effective.

Is it more risk than a back foot cut, pull or hook, where you have much less control because you are utlising your right (left) hand to add the power, and less use of the control hand?

The back foot shots bring the slips, gully, point and deep fielders into play, as well as dragging the ball onto the stumps. Where as the danger of a front foot shot is that you don't get to the ball properly and your head is not still meaning that it becomes a dangerous shot, but the fact is that when you are playing the cut or the pull the ball travels in the air for at least part of it's journey, while front foot shots can be played almost entirely on the floor.

So IMO the front foot shot has more percentages going for it...