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In cricket, the fielding team has a total of 11 players on the field at any given time. Aside from the wicketkeeper and bowler, there are nine additional fielding positions on the field that must be filled. In this blog, we’ll look at all cricket fielding positions, their names, as well as an explanation of these cricket ground positions & where they should be placed for the best attacking and defensive structure.
After reading this article you will be well educated about all the cricket fielding or ground positions, the role of fielders & how to set cricket fielding for best results.
Names of all the cricket fielding positions
| S.N | Names of cricket fielding/ground positions | Types |
| 1 | The Close Catching Infield | Wicketkeeper |
| The Slips | ||
| Gully | ||
| Leg Slip | ||
| Leg Gully | ||
| Silly point | ||
| Silly mid-off | ||
| Short leg | ||
| Silly mid-on | ||
| 2 | The Inner Ring | Point |
| Backward Point | ||
| Mid-Off | ||
| Cover | ||
| Mid-On | ||
| Square Leg | ||
| Backward Square Leg | ||
| Mid-Wicket | ||
| Fine Leg | ||
| 3 | The Outfield | Third Man |
| Deep Point | ||
| Deep Backward Point | ||
| Long off | ||
| Deep Extra Cover | ||
| Long On | ||
| Deep Fine Leg | ||
| Long Leg | ||
| Deep Cover |
Basics Of The Cricket Fielding Positions
For the fielding or ground positions of cricket, we can divide the cricket field into 3 parts:
Cricket Fielding Positions in the close-catching infield
Insights of Cricket fielding positions 11 players: The fielders who are closest to the batsman are in this area. Everyone in this fielding position on the cricket ground will be within 15 yards or less of each other inside this ring! These are usually specialized catching positions, with a lesser emphasis on run-saving!
Cricket Fielding Positions in the inner ring
The fielders in this fielding position of cricket are generally attempting to stop batters from running singles. The fielders in this region are often up to 30 yards distant from the batter! If you’re fielding in the inner ring, make sure you’re in a well-balanced position when the ball is delivered. If the ball is struck at you, you should be on your toes and ready to jump left or right in the direction of the ball.
Cricket Fielding Positions in the outfield
All other zones are included inside this zone, which extends both the way to the wicket’s boundary on all sides. The cricket fielders in this ground position will mostly be there to prevent the batsman from hitting the ball for boundaries. The outfield is represented by the biggest circle.
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Details of Cricket fielding positions in the close catching infield
Wicketkeeper
At the batting end of the pitch, this fielding positions of cricket is positioned behind the stumps. In cricket, there is only one wicketkeeper in the playing XI, and it is a significant fielding position. For a spinner, the wicketkeeper generally stands near the stumps, whereas for a fast bowler, he or she stands a few steps backward.
The Slips
On a cricket pitch, the slips are another crucial location. Within the slips, there are four major fielding positions of cricket: first slip, second slip, third slip, and fourth slip. However, you do not have to employ all of these locations at the same time! The wicketkeeper’s fielding position in cricket is typically used by slip fielders to determine their position. In most professional teams, the wicketkeeper is frequently closer to the batsman than the first slip.
Fielders in the slips frequently stagger themselves diagonally, such that the first slip is further back than the second slip, and the second slide is further back than the third slip, and so on. They stagger themselves in this manner to avoid colliding with each other if the batter edges a ball between them!
Gully
The gully position is a continuation of the slip fielder line. As a result, a gully fielder will stand in front of the other slip fielders while remaining on the same diagonal line as them.
Leg Slip
The leg slip position is on the batsman’s leg side, behind the wicket, and is the absolute opposite of the usual slip position. However, it isn’t utilized nearly as frequently as other positions! When the captain chooses to employ the leg slip fielding posture, it is exceedingly uncommon that more than one fielder is present at the same time.
Leg Gully
The leg gully position is quite similar to the leg slip position, except that they will be somewhat broader on the batsman’s leg side.
Silly point
On the offside of the field, it’s a fielding position of cricket quite near to the batsman. They should be standing at a 45-degree angle in front of the batsman. While the bowler is warming up, the silly point fielder should stand around a meter away from the cricket pitch and ensure that they do not step on the cricket pitch.
Silly mid-off
It’s another fielding position of cricket on the offside of the field that’s fairly near to the hitter. The fielder will be straighter this time than at the silly point position.
Short leg
It’s essentially the same as a silly point, with the exception that it’s on the batsman’s leg side.
Silly mid-on
It is the penultimate fielding position near the batsman and on the leg side, much straighter than the short leg.
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Details of Cricket fielding positions in the inner ring
Point
The point fielder must cover a lot of distance to their left and right and is frequently called upon to run and dive to stop the ball from passing them by. They must also apply pressure on the batters if the ball is struck in their way and they attempt to run a fast single.
Backward Point
Except that it is somewhat behind the square of the wicket on the offside, the backward point position is nearly identical to the point position
Mid-Off
On the offside of the field, the mid-off fielder should be somewhat wider than straight.
Cover
Because of the number of shots that are hit into this region, fielding at the cover is an extremely vital duty. On the offside, the cover fielding position is immediately in front of the square, and the fielder generally stands on the inner circle’s edge. The location of the cover is halfway between the point and the additional cover.
Mid-On
Mid-on is essentially the same as mid-off, with the exception that it is on the leg side of the field.
Square Leg
Another name in the cricket fielding position is Sqaure leg. The square leg fielder is on the leg side of the field, square to the wicket. Look for the umpire who is not at the bowler’s end of the pitch if you need a hint about where this position is during a game. You should aim to position yourself near this umpire since he or she will often be standing in the square leg area.
Backward Square Leg
On the leg side of the field, the backward square leg fielding position is immediately behind the square. It’s nearly identical to square leg, with the exception that it’s a few meters more behind the batsman.
Mid-Wicket
In front of the square on the batsman’s leg side, mid-wicket is a crucial location. The fielder at mid-wicket should be roughly on the inner circle’s edge, near enough to stop the single.
Fine Leg
Fine leg fielding is located behind the square on the leg side of the field, and it is sometimes known as a short fine leg because of its proximity to the batter. The fielder should be on the edge of the inner circle of the field, at a slightly less than 45-degree angle to the hitter.
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Details of Cricket fielding positions in the outfield
Third Man
Insights of Cricket fielding positions 11 players: Another position on the field’s perimeter is the third man, which is located behind the square on the opposite side of the field. The location should be aligned with where the slip fielders are or will be, which is around a 45-degree angle to the batter.
Deep Point
On the offside, a deep point refers to a spot on the boundary that is perfectly square to the wicket.
Deep Backward Point
On the opposite side of the field, a deep backward point is a location on the boundary that is just slightly behind the square. Apart from the extra 10 or so meters, you’ll have moved behind the square, it’s a position that’s quite similar to a deep point.
Deep Extra Cover
The deep additional cover position is somewhat ahead of the square than the deep cover position.
Long Off
On the offside of the field, the long off position is just wide or straight. It’s also on the edge of the field, as the majority of these outfield positions.
Deep Fine Leg
On the leg side, the deep fine-leg fielder should be positioned on the boundary behind the square. Imagine yourself at a 45-degree angle to the batter, and then walk a few meters finer than that.
Long Leg
Another name in the cricket fielding position is Long leg. The long leg is a little squarer fielding position behind square on the leg side than the deep fine leg. Long-leg fielders must bridge the distance between deep fine leg and deep square leg. The fielder should be facing the hitter at around a 60-degree angle.
Long On
The final boundary-based fielding position on the batsman’s leg side is still open! If you envision a line running down the center of the cricket pitch, long on would be around 5-10 meters to the leg side of that line.
Deep Cover
The deep cover is another boundary-dwelling position on the offside of the wicket, right in front of the square.
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Cricket fielding positions chart
Here is a detailed list of all the cricket fielding positions in the modern game of cricket:
Bowler
Wicket Keeper
Slip
Fly Slip
Gully
Third Man
Point
Sweeper
Long Stop
Cow Corner
Cover
Cover Point
Extra Cover
Mid Off
Mid On
Mid Wicket
Square Leg
Backward Square
Leg Gully
Leg Slip
Fine Leg
Long Leg
Long Off
Long On
Short Leg
Well nobody exactly knows how the term was coined. According to a theory, it is suggested that when overarm bowling was introduced, there was a requirement for a “third man” or “third fielder” to support the gully and the slip fielders. Thus, that is how the term arises, “Third man”.
As a cricket viewer, you might have often heard the commentators referring to a 6-3 field or a 7-2 field on the cricket ground. This relates to the distribution between off side and leg-side fielders.
So, a 6’3 field in cricket means – 6 fielders on the off-side and 3 on the leg side.
Cow corner – it is a fielding position on the cricket field located between deep mid-wicket and wide long-on. The position derives its name from a corner of the field which is very less busy/active and batsmen rarely play any shot in that corner of the field. Thus, it’s safe for cows to graze on because very few batsmen would hit the ball there.
A cricket side consists of 11 players, including a captain, a wicketkeeper, and several batsmen and bowlers. Everyone is considered a fielder when their side is not batting.
Jonty Rhodes is regarded as the best fielder in cricket history. He is a South African professional cricket commentator and former Test and ODI cricketer.
