Fielding (cricket)

Fielding in the sport of cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the batsman in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball or running the batsman out. A fielder may field the ball with any part of his person. However, if, while the ball is in play he wilfully fields it otherwise, the ball becomes dead and 5 penalty runs are awarded to the batting side unless the ball previously struck a batsman not attempting to hit or avoid the ball. Most of the rules covering fielders are in Law 41 of the Laws of cricket.

Fielding position names and locations

Since there are only 11 players on a team, one of whom is the bowler and another the wicket-keeper, at most nine other fielding positions can be used at any given time. Which positions are filled by players and which remain vacant is a tactical decision made by the captain of the fielding team. The captain may move players between fielding positions at any time except when a bowler is in the act of bowling to a batsman.

Related Topics:
Bowler - Wicket-keeper

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There are a number of named basic fielding positions, some of which are employed very commonly and others that are used less often. However, fielding positions are not fixed, and fielders can be placed in positions that differ from the basic positions. Such refinements are described by a system of adjectives which are used to modify the basic fielding positions.

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The image shows the location of most of the named fielding positions.This image assumes the batsman is right-handed. The area to the left of a right-handed batsman (from the batsman's point of view) is called the leg side or on side, while that to the right is the off side. If the batsman is left-handed, the leg and off sides are reversed and the fielding positions are a mirror image of those shown.

Related Topics:
Right-handed - Leg side - On side - Off side - Left-handed

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Catching positions

Some fielding positions are used offensively. That is, players are put there with the main aim being to catch out the batsman rather than to stop or slow down the scoring of runs. These positions include: Slip (often there are multiple slips next to each other, designated First slip, Second slip, Third slip, etc, numbered outwards from the wicket-keeper); Fly slip; Gully; Leg slip; Leg gully.

Related Topics:
Catch out - Slip

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Other positions

Other positions worth noting include:

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• Wicket-keeper.
• Long stop, who stands behind the wicket-keeper towards the boundary (usually when a wicket-keeper is believed to be inept and almost never seen in professional cricket).
• Sweeper, an alternative name for deep cover, deep extra cover or deep midwicket (that is, near the boundary on the off side or the on side), usually defensive and intended to prevent a four being scored.
• Cow corner, an informal jocular term for the position on the boundary between deep midwicket and long on.

Also the bowler, after delivering the ball, must avoid running on the pitch so usually ends up fielding near mid on or mid off, but somewhat closer to the pitch.

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Modifiers

; Deep : Further away from the batsman.

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; Short : Closer to the batsman.

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; Silly : Very close to the batsman.

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; Square : Somewhere along an imaginary extension of the popping crease.

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; Fine : Closer to an extension of an imaginary line along the middle of the pitch joining the wickets.

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; Wide : Further from an extension of an imaginary line along the middle of the pitch joining the wickets.

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; Forward : In front of square; further towards the end occupied by the bowler and further away from the end occupied by the batsman on strike.

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; Backward : Behind square; further towards the end occupied by the batsman on strike and further away from the end occupied by the bowler.

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Additionally, commentators or fans discussing the details of field placement will often use descriptive phrases such as "gully is a bit wider than normal" or "mid off is standing too deep, he should come in shorter".

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