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| Home :: Cric
Coaching :: Field Positions |
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Field
Positions
Explained
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 1
Bowler
2 Wicketkeeper
3 1st slip
4 2nd slip
5 3rd slip
6 Gully
7 Fine Leg
8 Mid-wicket
9 Long leg
10 Third man
11 Short third man
12 Cover
13 Point
14 Silly point
15 Silly mid-off
16 Extra cover
17 Mid-off
18 Mid-on
19 Long-off
20 Long on
21 Leg slip
22 Square leg
23 Short square leg
24 Forward short leg
25 Short leg
26 Silly mid-on
27 Deep square leg
28 mid wicket
29 Deep mid wicket
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 Bowler:
He should be always on the lookout for return catch or try to save runs off
straight drives.
Wicketkeeper:
He stands just behind the wicket against spin bowling so as to affect stumping.
In case of fast or medium pace bowling, he stands a few paces behind the wicket
to catch the snicks of the batsman. The wicketkeeper must have quick reflex
action.
Good wicketkeepers: Adam Gilchrist (Australia), Syed Kirmani (India), Moin Khan
(Pakistan), Jeffrey Dujon (West Indies), Andy Flower (Zimbabwae).
First slip:
The fielder normally stands a few paces behind and right of the wicketkeeper as
the ball tends to travel very fast if a batsmen snicks a fast bowler. Good
co-ordination between the fielder at first slip and the wicketkeeper is a must
to ensure that he gets the right snicks. The fielder at first slip must have
quick reflex action.
Good fielders at first slip: Ajit Wadekar (India), Mark Waugh (Australia),
Mohammed Azharuddin (India), Inzamam-Ul-Haq (Pakistan), Ian Chappel
(Australia).
Second slip:
The fielder stands to the right of the first slip position, but is more or less
aligned with the wicketkeeper. The second slip is generally employed on a
long-term basis in Test matches by genuine fast bowlers to take snicks from the
batsmen who opens the phase of the bat to glide the ball through gully.
Good fielders at second slip: Greg Chappel (Australia), Mark Taylor
(Australia), Clive Lloyd (West Indies).
Third slip:
Based to the right of the second slip, the fielder is step ahead of the
wicketkeeper. Third slip is normally employed in Test matches by fast bowlers
and the medium pacers when the ball is new and moving in the air.
Fourth slip:
Is employed by tearaway fast bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Alan Donald, Shoaib
Akhtar, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Dennis Lillie, Thomson
and Richard Hadlee especially in the initial spells. Based to the right of the
third slip, it forms an umbrella cordon on the right of the batsman.
Gully:
The fielder at this position is to the right of the slip cordon and covers the
area just square of the wicket on the off side. Requires a lot of agility as
the ball can come sharply from the inside edges. It is generally employed as a
run saving position in both Test and One Day Cricket.
Good fielders at gully:
Ajay Jadeja (India), Mohd. Azharuddin (India), Jhonty Rodes (South Africa),
Robin Singh (India)
Third man:
This is a boundary line position right behind the slip cordon. The fielder has
to cover a vast area on the outfield. The fielder at this position has to have
a strong arm as he generally has to throw the ball from the boundary line to
the wicketkeeper in one quick action.
Short third man:
Fielder stands between third man and the slip cordon. The fielder has to cover
a vast area on the outfield.
Silly point:
Specialised position in front of the wicket on the off side, the fielder is
almost within handshaking distance of the batsman. Generally used for spinners
to take bat-pad catches. The fielder should have very good reflex action to
take quick catches as well as to take fast evasive action if the batsman goes
for a big shot.
Good fielders at silly point: Rahul Dravid (India), V.V.S. Laxman (India)
Point:The
fielder is exactly at 90 degrees to the batsman and has to show a lot of
anticipation. The fielder at this position charges at the batsman and has to
keep an eye for the hard square drives. Sometimes the fielders may have to take
blinders of catches at this position. Quick reflexes are also required to stop
the ball going to the deep.
Good fielders at point: Jonty Rhodes (South Africa), Ricky Ponting (Australia),
Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Cover point:
Crucial position on the off side in front of the wicket, this is the area in
which batsmen normally drive through with the full flow of the bat and hence
fielders at this position have to be extra alert. The position is between point
(square off the wicket) and cover, hence the name cover point.
Good fielders at cover point: Jonty Rhodes (South Africa), Ricky Ponting
(Australia), Mohd. Azharuddin (India).
Deep point:
Right behind the point fielder, it is a defensive position to prevent the
batsmen from scoring boundaries. The fielder at this position is more or less
stationed at the boundary line. The deep point is right behind the point
fielder.
Cover:
An important fielding position in front of the wicket, the fielder is more or
less in line of the ball when the batsmen are making strokes from the meat of
the bat. The fielder is stationed to the right of point and will have to
anticipate the movement of the ball from the movements of the bat. Another
position where the ball can come with blinding speed on the up.
Good fielders at cover:
Vivian Richards (West Indies), Nawab of Pataudi Jr. (India), Brijesh Patel
(India)
Extra cover:
Similar to that of cover, the extra cover fielder is a little to the right and
more in line with the "V" of the batsman's stroke. The fielder at this position
needs to attack the ball after it leaves the bat in order to prevent the
batsmen to go for a quick single.
Sweeper cover:
Specially used in One Day Internationals to keep the runs (especially from
boundaries) to the bare minimum. Like any deep fielding position, the fielder
at sweeper cover is required to have a strong arm to return the ball either to
the wicketkeeper or at the non-striker's end.
Short mid off:
A position pretty close to the bat, this position can curb the stroke making
ability of the batsmen. A very safe pair of hands is required at this position
as hard catches can be expected around this region. The position is almost mid
way to the wicket from the batting crease.
Mid off:
Almost straight in line with the bat, this position is ideal for the captain to
judge the trend of the game. The captain also can have easy access to the
bowlers in between balls during an over. An offside position, the fielder here
has to be alert for the straight drives from the meat of the bat. With the ball
traveling fairly fast in this direction, the fielder has to be quick on his
feet.
Good fielders at mid off:
Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Nasser Hussain (England), Nawab of Pataudi Jr. (India).
Long off:
Defensive position deep on the off side, a fielder at long off has to cover a
fairly substantial area from the sight screen to the sweeper cover position and
beyond. The fielder at long off is required to have a safe pair of hands to
throw directly at the wicketkeeper or the bowler. A good eye and quick
co-ordination are the other prerequisites to be a successful long off fielder
as skiers can be difficult to judge especially under flood lights in One Day
Internationals.
Long on:
This position is an exact mirror image of long off on the on side of the
wicket. The area of coverage for a long on fielder will go up to deep mid
wicket and beyond.
Leg slip:
This position is on the off side. The ball tends to travel fast if a batsmen
snicks a fast bowler. The fielder at this position must have quick reflex
action.
Mid on:
This is another position almost straight of the batsman and in some ways
similar to the mid off position. This is another position from which captains
can judge the situation of the game. Fielder here can expect uppish strokes,
especially when batsmen face spin bowlers. The tendency to loft down the leg
side can end up as sharp chances in the mid on region.
Mid wicket:
Any bad ball down the leg side or short pitched delivery is generally driven to
this region. .
Deep mid wicket:
A typical boundary line position, it is almost a replica of the sweeper cover
to save boundaries. The fielder at deep mid wicket also has to be careful while
judging skiers. Could be a difficult position under lights.
Short mid on:
A position more or less similar to the short mid off, but on the on side. Used
to bring pressure on batsmen.
Forward short leg:
A very important close catching position for both medium pacers and spinners.
Extremely high degree of alertness is required for this position. A great sense
of anticipation is required as the fielder may have very little time to react
either to evade or to take a catch.
Good fielders forward short leg:
Eknath Solkar (India), Rahul Dravid (India), V V S Laxman (India).
Short
square leg: A position to the right of forward square leg. This used to be very
popular when the Indian spinners were on a song. Rarely seen in the modern
version of the game, it is sometimes employed against players who are
especially strong of their hips. There is every chance that a batsman playing
off his hips may not keep the ball on the ground and as short square leg can be
handy in such situations.
Backward short leg:
This position is akin to first slip on the leg side and is very often referred
to as leg slip. Again a position used when spinners are in operation, the
fielder at backward square leg needs to show a good sense of judgement and
anticipation.
Square leg:
Square of the wicket on the on side almost in line with the batting crease, it
is is also the position for the leg umpire. Between the wicket and the square
boundary, it prevents the batsman from going for uppish pull shots. A mistimed
hook or pull shot can result in a catch to the square leg region especially
against fast bowlers.
Deep/ backward square leg:
This position is usually adopted by fast bowlers to tempt the batsmen into the
hook shot. This is region can also be monitored by the fielders from the deep
mid wicket and deep fine leg regions.
Fine leg:
This position is fine on the leg side to the right of the square leg region. A
traditional position where fast bowlers generally relax in between overs. A
region which is normally manned for flicks of the hips. The fielder from this
position will have to cover ground on either side to stop the ball from
crossing over.
Deep fine leg:
A very fine position on the leg side and almost behind the wickets, essentially
to cut off boundaries. As the region between deep square leg and deep fine leg
is manned by a fielder on the boundary line, he will have to do a lot of hard
work in case of fine flicks down the leg side.
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Cric Contest Ratings |
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 Tests
ODIs
T-20
Combined |
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First ever Premier Ratings. Who leads whom? A unique formula devised by the criccontest team.  |
| Mohandas Menon |
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