Fielding (cricket)


Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the striking batter, to limit the number of runs that the striker scores and/or to get a batter out by either catching a hit ball before it bounces, or by running out either batter before they can complete their current run. There are a number of recognised fielding positions and they can be categorised into the offside and leg side of the field. Fielding also involves trying to prevent the ball from making a boundary where four "runs" are awarded for reaching the perimeter and six for crossing it without touching the grass.
A fielder may field the ball with any part of their body. However, if, while the ball is in play, they wilfully field it otherwise the ball becomes dead and five penalty runs are awarded to the batting side, unless the ball previously struck a batter not attempting to hit or avoid the ball. Most of the rules covering fielders are set out in Law 28 of the Laws of cricket. Fake fielding is the action when a fielder makes bodily movements to feign fielding to fool batters into making mistakes and is a punishable offence under the ICC rules.

Fielding position names and locations

There are 11 players in a team: one is the bowler and another is the wicket-keeper, so only nine other fielding positions can be occupied at any time. Where fielders are positioned 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 batter, though there are exceptions for fielders moving in anticipation of the ball being hit to a particular area.
There are a number of named basic fielding positions, some of which are employed very commonly and others that are used less often. However, these positions are neither fixed nor precisely defined, and fielders can be placed in positions that differ from the basic positions. The nomenclature of the positions is somewhat esoteric, but roughly follows a system of polar coordinates – one word specifies the angle from the batter, and is sometimes preceded by an adjective describing the distance from the batter. Words such as "backward", "forward", or "square" can further indicate the angle.
The image shows the location of most of the named fielding positions based on a right-handed batter. The area to the left of a right-handed batter is called the leg side or on side, while that to the right is the off side. If the batter is left-handed, the leg and off sides are reversed and the fielding positions are a mirror image of those shown.

Catching positions

Some fielding positions are used offensively. That is, players are put there with the main aim being to catch out the batter rather than to stop or slow down the scoring of runs. These positions include Slip meant to catch balls that just edge off the bat; Gully; Fly slip; Leg slip; Leg gully; the short and silly positions. Short leg, also known as bat pad, is a position specifically intended to catch balls that unintentionally strike the bat and leg pad, and thus end up only a metre or two to the leg side.

Other positions

  • Wicket-keeper
  • Long stop, who stands behind the wicket-keeper towards the boundary. It was an important position in the early days of cricket, but with the development of wicket-keeping techniques from the 1880s, notably at first by the Australian wicket-keeper Jack Blackham, it became obsolete at the highest levels of the game. The position is sometimes euphemistically referred to as very fine leg. An example of this position taking a wicket in the modern game occurred during the England vs India test match in July 2025. Washington Sundar was attempting to smash quick runs in a final wicket partnership, bowler Jofra Archer asked for and received a long stop after a swipe off the first ball, the next ball was an attempted pull shot that flew off the top edge of the bat and went into the hands of Harry Brook standing behind the wicket keeper.
  • Sweeper, an alternative name for deep cover, deep extra cover or deep midwicket, 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.
  • On the 45. A position on the leg side 45° behind square, defending the single. An alternative description for backward short leg or short fine leg.
The bowler after delivering the ball must avoid running on the pitch, and so usually ends up fielding near silly mid on or silly mid off. Fast bowlers will continue running to exit the pitch and only change direction for balls dropped in front of the wicket. Spin bowlers with the slowest run-ups will usually cease their movement immediately after their delivery, planting their feet before the ball arrives to the batsman to react to a ball hit back up the pitch toward them. The bowler is generally understood to have the responsibility to defend the stumps at the non-strikers end of the pitch and so after a shot is made they will return to the stumps to catch any incoming throw, on rare occasions where a wicket-keeper has fallen or had to run to gather the ball the bowler may be the closest to the non-strikers stumps as well and so will move to the other end of the pitch. Once the play is dead they will walk back toward their bowling mark. In the laws of cricket the ball play is considered dead after the runners have ceased attempting to score and the ball has been returned to either the wicket-keeper or the bowler.

Modifiers

; Saving one or On the single: As close as the fielder needs to be to prevent the batters from running a quick single, normally about from the wicket.
; Saving two: As close as the fielder needs to be to prevent the batters from running two runs, normally about from the wicket.
; Right on: Literally, right on the boundary.
; Deep, long: Farther away from the batter.
; Short: Closer to the batter.
; Silly: Very close to the batter, so-called because of the perceived danger of doing so.
; Square: Somewhere along an imaginary extension of the popping crease.
; Fine: Closer to an extension of an imaginary line along the middle of the pitch bisecting the stumps, when describing a fielder behind square.
; Straight: Closer to an extension of an imaginary line along the middle of the pitch bisecting the stumps, when describing a fielder in front of square.
; Wide: Further from an extension of an imaginary line along the middle of the pitch bisecting the stumps.
; Forward: In front of square; further towards the end occupied by the bowler and further away from the end occupied by the batter on strike.
; Backward: Behind square; further towards the end occupied by the batter on strike and further away from the end occupied by the bowler.
Additionally, commentators or spectators discussing the details of field placement will often use the terms for descriptive phrases such as "gully is a bit wider than normal" or "mid off is standing too deep, they should come in shorter".

Restrictions on field placement

Fielders may be placed anywhere on the field, subject to the following rules. At the time the ball is bowled:
  • No fielder may be standing on or with any part of their body over the pitch. If their body casts a shadow over the pitch, the shadow must not move until after the batter has played at the ball.
  • There may be no more than two fielders, other than the wicket-keeper, standing in the quadrant of the field behind square leg. See Bodyline for details on one reason this rule exists.
  • In some one-day matches:
  • *During designated overs of an innings, there may be no more than two fielders standing outside an oval line marked on the field, being semicircles centred on the middle stump of each wicket of radius, joined by straight lines parallel to the pitch. This is known as the fielding circle.
  • * For overs no. 11–40, no more than four fielders should be outside the 30-yard circle.
  • * For overs no. 41–50 maximum of five fielders are allowed to be outside the 30-yard circle.
If any of these rules is violated, an umpire will call the delivery a no-ball. Additionally a player may not make any significant movement that is not in response to the striker's actions after the ball comes into play and before the ball reaches the striker. If this happens, an umpire will call and signal 'dead ball'. For close fielders, anything other than minor adjustments to stance or position in relation to the striker is significant. In the outfield, fielders may move in towards the striker or striker's wicket; indeed, they usually do. However, anything other than slight movement off line or away from the striker is to be considered significant.

Tactics of field placement

With only nine fielders, there are not enough to cover every part of the field simultaneously. The captain of the fielding team must decide which fielding positions to use, and which to leave vacant. The placement of fielders is one of the major tactical considerations for the fielding captain.

Attacking and defending

An attacking field is one in which fielders are positioned in such a way that they are likely to take catches, and thus likely to get the batter out. Such a field generally involves having many fielders close to the batter. For a pace bowler, an attacking field will usually include multiple slips and a gully; these are common positions for catching mishit shots. For a spin bowler, attacking positions include one or two slips, short leg or silly point.
A defensive field is one in which most of the field is within easy reach of one or more fielders; the batter will therefore find it difficult to score runs. This generally involves having most fielders some distance from, and in front of, the batter, in positions where the ball is most likely to be hit. Defensive fields generally have multiple fielders stationed close to the boundary rope to prevent fours being scored, and others close to the fielding circle, where they can prevent singles.
Many elements govern the decisions on field placements, including: the tactical situation in the match; which bowler is bowling; how long the batter has been in; the wear on the ball; the state of the wicket; the light and weather conditions; or the time remaining until the next interval in play.