Understanding cricket fielding positions for new players

Every fielding position in cricket is named from the striker's point of view, so the fastest way in is to picture a line running from the striker's stumps straight down the pitch to the bowler. That line splits the field in two. The half on the side of the batter's legs is the leg side, sometimes called the on side. The half their body faces as they settle into their stance is the off side — the side where the bat comes through to meet the ball.

Swap in a left-handed batter and the two halves effectively mirror, but the names never change. A position is always described from the striker's end, which is why the same fielder can be "at point" for one batter and standing in what looks like a completely different place to a spectator behind the bowler's arm.

Two further words do a lot of work. Square means level with the batter, at right angles to the pitch. Fine means behind the batter, closer to the line of the stumps. So "square on the leg side" and "fine on the leg side" are two genuinely different jobs, even though both sit behind the batter's hip.

The close catchers: slip, gully and friends

Positions behind and beside the bat exist for one reason: catches off the edge. They are close, they need sharp reflexes, and they are usually where a captain puts their safest hands.

• Slip — a pace or two behind the wicketkeeper, on the off side. Fielders line up in a cordon: first, second and third slip, each about a metre or so further away from the stumps. Most edges carry here.
• Gully — wider than the slips, roughly behind square on the off side and only a few yards from the bat. Catches the thick edge and the ball that flies off a defensive push.
• Leg slip — the mirror image, behind the stumps on the leg side. Common against spin, waiting for a glance off the pads.
• Short leg — crouched low beside the batter on the leg side, level with the popping crease. A helmet job, for bat-pad catches.
• Silly point — in front of the batter on the off side, almost within touching distance. Almost always reserved for spinners, and always with a helmet.

The ring: point, cover and midwicket

The ring fielders stand between roughly 25 and 35 yards from the bat, on the edge of the inner circle. Their job is simple to state and hard to do well: stop the single. Anything that would otherwise be a comfortable run becomes a dot ball if you are alert and moving as the ball is struck.

• Point — square on the off side, level with the stumps. Cut shots and anything steered square come here.
• Cover — in front of point but still on the off side, in the region where a well-timed drive goes.
• Extra cover — between cover and mid-off, for the drive played straighter.
• Mid-off — straight down the ground on the off side, not far from the umpire's line.
• Mid-on — the same position on the leg side, for the drive played past the bowler.
• Midwicket — on the leg side, in front of square. This is where pull shots and clips through the leg side land.
• Square leg — level with the batter on the leg side, an excellent position for sharp singles and for backing up throws to the keeper's end.

Out on the boundary

Riding the rope is a different skill again: you are there to stop four, and a good boundary fielder turns a certain boundary into two runs. Expect to do a lot of running along the edge, so learn where the rope sits at your home ground before you need it.

• Third man — behind square on the off side, usually on the boundary. Catches the late cut and the thick edge that beats the slips.
• Fine leg — behind square on the leg side, on the rope. Glances, top edges off the bouncer and misdirected pull shots all end up here. It is often the loneliest place on the field, which is exactly why new players should practise judging catches over their shoulder.
• Deep cover, deep point and the sweeper — boundary riders on the off side, used to cut off the drive and the cut when a batter is scoring freely.
• Long-on and deep midwicket — straight-ish boundary positions on the leg side, waiting for the big hit down the ground or over the leg side.

In white-ball cricket you will hear talk of fielding restrictions and the powerplay, which limit how many fielders a captain can place outside the inner circle. In club cricket, the same idea usually appears as a simple instruction: keep four in, protect the boundary on the side the batter favours.

Putting it into practice

The field is a story about what the captain expects. Two slips and a gully says "we think you will edge it". A sweeper on the off side says "we would rather give you one than four". Learn to read that, and you will start to guess where the ball is going before it is bowled.

When you take the field, find your marker or your reference point — a sight screen edge, a tree, the corner of the pavilion — and check your distance honestly. Point is not 15 yards away, however much it feels like it as the bowler runs in. Stand still while the batter takes guard, then walk in with the bowler so you are moving as the ball is released. Watch the ball from the hand, not the bat, and stay low with your hands out in front; fingers pointing down for anything below waist height, up for anything above.

Talk constantly. Tell the bowler where the single is, remind the keeper that the batter is backing up too far, and back up every throw you can reach. It is also perfectly fine to ask. If the captain shouts "you're at cover" and you are not certain which side of the pitch that is, say so before the over starts rather than after the ball has gone past you. Nobody minds the question; everybody minds the four.