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.

Tactics of field placement

With only nine fielders (apart from the bowler and wicket-keeper), the captain of the fielding team must decide which fielding positions to cover, and which to leave vacant. The placement of fielders is one of the major tactical considerations for the fielding captain.

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Attacking and defending

The main decision for a fielding captain is to strike a balance between setting an attacking field and a defensive field. An attacking field is one in which fielders are positioned in such a way that they are likely take catches, and thus likely to get the batsman out. Such a field generally involves having many fielders close to the batsman, especially behind the batsman in either slip or short leg positions.

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A defensive field is one in which most of the field is covered by a fielder; the batsman will therefore find it hard to score large numbers of runs. This generally involves having many fielders far from the batsman and in front of him, in the positions where he is most likely to hit the ball.

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Many factors govern the decisions on field placements, including: the tactical situation in the match; which bowler is bowling; how long the batsman has been in; the wear on the ball; the state of the wicket; the light; or even how close you are to an interval in play.

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Some general principles:

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;Attack new batsmen : A batsman early in his innings is more likely to make a miscalculated or rash shot, so it pays to have catching fielders ready.

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;Attack with the new ball : Fast bowlers get the most swing and bounce with a newer ball, factors that make it harder to play without making an error.

Related Topics:
Fast bowlers - Swing

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;Attack when returning from a break in play : Batsmen must settle into a batting rhythm again when resuming play after an overnight or meal break.

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;Attack with quality bowlers : A team's best bowlers take the most wickets, so get the most benefit from the support of an attacking field.

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;Attack when the pitch helps the bowler : A moist pitch helps fast bowlers get unpredictable movement of the ball, while a dry, crumbling pitch helps spin bowlers get unpredictable spin. Both situations can lead to catches flying to close attacking fielders.

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;Attack when the batting team is under pressure : If the batting team is doing poorly or has low morale, increase the pressure by attacking with the field.

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;Defend when batsmen are settled in : It is difficult to get batsmen out when they have been batting for a long time and are comfortable with the bowling. The best tactic is often to defend and force the run scoring rate to slow down, which can frustrate the batsman into playing a rash shot.

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;Defend when the batting team needs to score runs quickly : In situations where the batting team must score quickly in order to win or press an advantage, slowing down the rate of scoring runs lessens their chance of doing so.

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;Defend when the batting team is scoring quickly : If the batsmen are managing to score runs quickly, it is unlikely they are offering many chances to get them out, so reduce the run scoring rate.

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;Defend when the ball and pitch offer no help to the bowlers : If there is no movement of the ball and the batsmen can hit it comfortably every time, there is little point in having lots of close catching fielders.

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;Defend when using weak bowlers : If a relatively poor bowler must bowl for any reason, the best tactic is often to limit the potential damage by containing the free scoring of runs.

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Off and leg side fields

Another consideration when setting a field is how many fielders to have on each side of the pitch. With nine fielders to place, the division must necessarily be unequal, but the degree of inequality varies.

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When describing a field setting, the numbers of fielders on the off side and leg side are often abbreviated into a shortened form, with the off side number quoted first. For example, a 5-4 field means 5 fielders on the off side and 4 on the leg side.

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Usually, most fielders are placed on the off side. This is because most bowlers tend to concentrate the line of their deliveries on or outside the off stump, so most shots are hit into the off side.

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When attacking, there may be 3 or 4 slips and 1 or 2 gullies, potentially using up to six fielders in that region alone. This would typically be accompanied by a mid off, mid on, and fine leg, making it a 7-2 field. Although there are only two fielders on the leg side, they should get relatively little work as long as the bowlers maintain a line outside off stump.

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As fields get progressively more defensive, fielders will move out of the slip and gully area to cover more of the field, leading to 6-3 and 5-4 fields.

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If a bowler, usually a leg spin bowler, decides to attack the batsman's legs in an attempt to force a stumping, bowl him behind his legs, or induce a catch on the leg side, the field may stack 4-5 towards the leg side. It is unusual to see more than 5 fielders on the leg side, because of the restriction that there must be no more than two fielders placed behind square leg.

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Another attacking placement on the leg side is the leg side trap, which involves placing fielders near the boundary at deep square and backward square leg and bowling bouncers to try to induce the batsman to hook the ball into the air.

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