Fielding (cricket)

In cricket, fielding is all actions of the field team. They are designed to make it more difficult for the batsman to score or even to throw him out of play by catching the ball or destroying the wicket with the ball.

Field positions and their names

Since the bowler (thrower) and the wicket keeper , who is always behind the batsman, have to be deducted from the 11 players on a team , nine players are left to be distributed over the field positions.

In cricket, this decision rests solely with the captain of the team, and not with the coach or trainer, as would be expected in other sports . It is one of the most important decisions the captain must make, often after consulting other experienced players or the thrower. He has to be able to react quickly to new game situations. After each ball (throw) the captain can theoretically reposition the field players.

There are far fewer outfield players than positions, some of which are almost always taken, others only in special tactical situations. There are also frequent variations in the positions, which are specified more precisely by certain adjectives.

The picture shows most of the field positions and their names. It is assumed in this illustration that the batsman hits right-handed and the bowler runs from below . Under these conditions the right side of the playing field is called on-side or leg-side , the left off-side .

Catching positions

Some field positions are only used offensively. This means that the field player standing there is primarily there to catch the ball hit by the batsman directly from the air so that it is eliminated. Holding the ball to prevent or minimize points from the batsman plays a subordinate role.

These positions are, for example: Slip (this can be several players , known as First Slip , Second Slip , etc.), Gully , Leg Slip or Forward Short Leg .

Further field positions

The position of the long stop , which is always to be found behind the wicket keeper and is to be seen as a kind of second line of defense for him, is almost entirely historical .

The sweeper is a position that has emerged over the last few decades and has developed primarily in one-day cricket . The Sweeper can be found on the off-side near the outer line, you could also call it a Deep Extra Cover .

The bowler himself becomes a normal member of the field team once he has bowled the ball. He usually stops at the wicket he was throwing from and is therefore more often involved in run outs at this end of the pitch.

More detailed descriptions of the positions

Deep: Further away from the batsman, towards the outside line.
Short: Close to the batsman.
Silly: Very close to the batsman.
Square: Along the extension of the popping crease , on which the batsman also stands in front of his wicket.
Fine: Near an imaginary line connecting the two wickets and behind the batsman.
Wide: Further away from this line connecting the wickets, more to the side from the batsman's point of view.
Forward: Before Square , d. H. closer to the end of the bowler, so still at a height between the two wickets
Backward: Behind Square , that is, behind the batsman's wicket

Accordingly, there are also combinations such as deep square ... or short fine ... .

Rules for field players

The following rules limit the free positioning of field players:

While the ball is being bowled:

No field player is allowed to stand on the pitch or have any part of the body above the pitch.
No more than two field players (with the exception of the wicket-keeper) may stand on the leg-side behind the popping crease , i.e. H. in the back and behind the batsman, so to speak in his blind spot.
The wicket keeper must remain completely behind the wicket until the ball is with the batsman.

Not anchored in the rules, but often stipulated in one-day cricket by game rules, especially in professional cricket:

During the first 15 of the 50 overs of an inning , for example, at least two players must be in so-called close catching positions .
In the same phase of the game, a maximum of two players may be outside an additionally drawn 30-yard circle around the pitch .
During the rest of the season, a maximum of five players may be outside this circle.
No more than five players may stand on the leg side during the entire inning .

These requirements are intended to prevent the field team from playing too defensive and thus unattractive.

If any of these rules is violated, calling a referee ( umpire ) No ball .

Also, no player may move noticeably from his position as soon as the bowler starts running and until the ball is at the batsman. The only exception is remote field players, who usually walk slowly towards the batsman as soon as the bowler starts. Violation here leads to a dead ball .

A fielder is allowed to touch the ball with any part of the body, but not intentionally e.g. B. stop with his cap or other clothing, otherwise the ball will also instantly killed ( dead ball ), the game is so broken, and the batting side is credited even 5 penalty points in this case.

Off-side and leg-side

The playing field is divided into a left and a right half by an imaginary line running through the middle of the two wickets. From the perspective of the umpire at the bowler end of the pitch, when he looks in the direction of a right-handed striker at the other end of the pitch, the left half of the field is the off-side, the right half the leg-side, also known as the on-side. With a left-handed striker, it's the other way around. The on (leg) side is always in the back of the batsman.

The decision on the distribution of field players on both sides of the field, the off-side and the leg-side, is also subject to tactical considerations.

When describing the division, a shortened form is usually used, for example, a 5-4 field , which means that 5 players are on the off-side and 4 on the leg-side.

Most of the time you will find more players on the off-side simply because the bowler's throw is attacking the off-stump or a line just outside of it, and therefore most of the strokes go to that side.

A very offensive field can have 3 or 4 slips and 1 or 2 gullies. In addition, there would typically be a mid-off, mid-on and a fine leg, which would result in a 7-2 field. Although there are only 2 players on the leg side, the resulting large gaps on this half of the field would not cause much damage as long as the bowler reliably attacks the line outside the off-stump.

After a while, a less offensive tactic will be appropriate and the first slip or gully field players will be moved to other positions to fill in the gaps.

protective gear

Apart from the wicket-keeper , no member of the field team may wear gloves or outer leg guards . However, field players, especially those who are close to the batsman, often wear shin guards or an abdominal protection ( box ) under their clothing . Protection for hands or fingers may only be worn with the consent of the referee.

Protective helmets that have only been around since the 1980s can, however, be used. These usually have face protection. In general, only a player in the position of a silly point or forward short leg wears such a helmet, as the extremely short distance to the batsman of only a few meters can be very dangerous.

When the helmet is not in use, it must be placed on the floor behind the wicket-keeper so that a lot of time is not lost through being constantly carried back and forth. If he is hit by the ball in this position, play is stopped immediately and the batting team is awarded five penalty points.