Of all the sports out there, cricket boasts the most complex rules, mainly on the players’ roles and their positioning on the field. Unlike any other team game, eleven fielding team members are active at a time, but only two batters.
Today, fielding in cricket is as much scientific as it is physically demanding. The cricketer of today trains as per his physical ability in excelling in specific field positions. Be it at the slip cordon, where reaction time is minimal, or at the ropes, where one’s physique and presence of mind both get into action in split seconds.
This is a list of every cricket fielding position, ranging from fine leg and mid-field wicket to wicket keeper and third man.
Different Cricket Fielding Positions with details
Below are the various cricket fielding positions & detailed explanations of each basic field position on the cricket field.
1. Wicket-Keeper
The wicketkeeper stands behind the stumps and is the only fielding position in cricket that cannot be replaced. During the game, one generally stands closer to the stumps while keeping to a spinner, and farther from the wicket when a pace bowler is running at the batsman.
Also known as the gloveman, the wicketkeeper has to have excellent hand-eye coordination for fast stumpings and catches. Besides great athleticism in preventing the ball from reaching the boundary.
2. Slips
Slip fielders are cricket fielding positions on the off side of a batsman to catch the ball if the batsman edges the ball. Like a wicketkeeper, he, too, would be required to get the ball before it hits the ground.
There are, normally, four slip fielders standing in a distorted diagonal line so that they don’t collide with each other while going for a catch. Nonetheless, bowlers have placed up to nine slip fielders in a cricket match. The bowler’s speed determines how far the slip fielders are from the wickets.
The leg slip is an uncommon fielding position in which the fielder positions himself behind the batsman’s leg side. This can prove to be helpful especially when there is a spinner bowling.
3. Third Man
The third man is one of the standard cricket fielding positions in the game of white ball cricket. The third man must stand smartly to avoid, as far as possible, the batsmen playing the cut shot, a stroke that makes use of the pace of the bowler to guide it towards the boundary.
4. Gully
Gully fielders are positioned more on the offside of a batsman than they are near the slip fielders. Yet another position that is in play to take catches, especially when a batsman is new to the crease and the fielding side doesn’t want him or her to settle easily.
When wickets are slower, the gully is where more catches reach than the slip fielders.
The gully fielders take most flying catches in cricket, and that is where the quickest of the athletes field.
5. Point
The fielder standing in line with the batsman on the off-side is fielding at point. For the fielding team, covering the “square” position is vital. It is because most bowlers try to hit at the off-stump and a batsman would try to take singles on those balls. Hence, a point fielder is largely there for not only stopping singles but executing run-outs as well.
There is also a fielding position known as backward point, lying a few yards behind the point. When facing a batter that excels at the cut shot, a backward point can be useful.
6. Cover & Extra Cover
If there’s an imaginary point fielder standing in the square position, then a cover position lies well past that square at about a 45-degree angle toward the offside boundary. The role of cover fielding has evolved into something more tactical over time. So, it also tells one to justify their limits by pushing them further ahead to stop some very crucial runs.
An Extra Cover is a field between mid-off and cover. Extra cover is a field that is in place as per the strength of a batsman. The member that takes his position at cover usually covers both the cover and extra cover positions.
7. Mid Off & Mid On
Probably one of the most used fielding positions in cricket, the mid-off is a little wider than, say 30-45 degrees off the bowler’s lane. Batsmen frequently use this fielding stance in cricket to get singles and doubles.
Hence, one does need a fielder always to cut them off by standing at mid-off. As this position is closer to that of the bowler, it is usually taken either by a captain or by a bowling partner during a match.
A mid-on is just an exact opposite mirror to a mid-off, with the player standing at the leg-side. But again, the aim remains the same—to stop singles at all costs.
8. Mid Wicket
This field position is in front of the square angle, on the leg side of a batsman at the circle’s edge. One has to be a fearless mid-wicket fielder since a lot of solid pull shots are played on that side, and many a time, it will mean saving a boundary.
9. Square Leg
A square-leg fielder could easily be identified since he or she is standing closer to the leg umpire. The square leg angle is on the line of the batsman and the wicket; on the leg side is how the name goes. In those cricket fielding positions, since most of the hook, sweep, and pull shots have been ending up, it saves a big chunk of runs.
10. Fine Leg
He often stands exactly at the edge of the inner ring. A fine leg is thinner on the leg side compared to a backward square leg. If they like flicking the ball exceedingly fine for boundaries, then a fine leg works like a charm. Much like the way a square leg cuts off sweep shots against a spinner.
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