The Fielding Positions

There are only 11 players in the fielding side including one wicket keeper and a bowler. So there are, at a time, only nine fielders on the field and the captain of the fielding side has to stipulate various positions to the fielders. A captain cannot do so when the ball is in play or the bowler is about to ball and is in his delivery stride.

Fielding positions
There are only a few basic fielding positions in a cricket ground. Many positions are applied frequently but some are applied only rarely depending upon the situation. Terms like backward, forward and square can further indicate the angle.

Wicketkeeper
It is regarded as one of the specialised positions in the field. A wicketkeeper is also one of the busy players on the field. He gets the ball every now and then when it is a wide ball or batsman misses it in any aspect. A wicket keeper would stand just behind the stumps in case of a spin or a slow bowler. But he would go further behind the stumps in case of a fast bowler.

Slips
The slips is the position where the ball travels very quickly. This is also a catching position as the batsman edges the ball that goes straight into the hands of slip fielders. Nine can be the maximum number of fielders a captain can have in the slips.

There can be nine fielders in the slip cordon. The slips start from exactly one foot behind from the wicketkeeper. The players standing here have good hand and eye co-ordination since the ball travels at a rapid pace and the fielders need to stop it.

There also are positions that are called floating slip and fly slip. A floating slip is the one where the fielder is moved anywhere on the slip cordon. A fly slip is the one that is exactly behind the slips cordon.

Gully
Gully is another one of the catching positions that is just behind square of the wicket on the off side. In this position a batsman would hit the ball while trying to hit the ball over the fielder and will in the process get out. This is also a position where the ball travels quickly.

Point
This position is further away from the gully and is square of the wicket on the off side. The most powerful shots are stopped on this position like the square cut. The best fielders in the business are usually on this position. India’s Yuvraj singh and South Africa’s Jonty Rhodes are the two examples associated with this position.

This area also has a few different positions like:-
1) Backward point
Backward point is behind square of the wicket.

2) Silly point
Silly point is closest to the wicket. It is used when a bowler is bowling spin that might create catching opportunities. They are often seen jumping around when the batsman drives a powerful shot.

Cover
It is the area that covers the point and the mid off. Cover is another important offside position.
At cover there are a few positions where a fielder usually stands.

1) Extra cover
The fielder at extra cover is between the regular cover fielder and mid off.

2) Short Extra Cover
If a fielder gets more close to the wicket in the same angle to the batsman he is said to be at short extra cover.

3) Deep extra cover
Deep extra cover is down the boundary and it is one of the most defensive positions.

Third Man
Third man is the fielder at the boundary on the off side. He is generally deployed there to stop the runs which slips and gully fielders were not able to stop. He is usually 45 degrees to the wicket defending at the boundary. There is usually no third man in a Test match because in that situation the captain employs an attacking field.

Fine Leg
Fine Leg is just the mirror image of third man. It is a place where a bowler can take some rest. It is 45 degrees on the leg side. Though it is not a glamorous position on the field but it is an important run saving position.

Square Leg
Square leg is the position next to where second umpire stands. It is the mirror image of point. And it is also one of the catching positions on the leg side.

At square leg there are a few positions where a fielder usually stands:

1) Deep square leg
This position is at the boundary which is just behind the square leg position. It can be at the angle 0 degrees from the wicket.

2)Short leg
This position is usually for the youngest member in the team. The fielder has to stand close to the batsman wearing a helmet and shinguards. So in a way the fielder is directly in the line of fire on the leg side. The fielder has to be very sharp and

3)Backward square
Backward square is the position where a fielder would be standing on the leg side and would be slightly behind the line of the wicket.

All possible field positions in a cricket filed are shown below