Editing Fielding (cricket) (section)

==Fielding position names and locations==
[[File:Cricket fielding positions2.svg|thumb|Fielding positions for a right-handed batter]]
[[File:The reliable book of outdoor games. Containing official rules for playing base ball, foot ball, cricket, lacrosse, tennis, croquet, etc (1893) (14781704162).jpg|thumb|Some historic fielding position names, from the 1893 publication ''The reliable book of outdoor games'']]
There are 11 players in a team: one is the [[bowler (cricket)|bowler]] and another is the [[wicket-keeper]], so only nine other fielding positions can be occupied at any time. Where fielders are positioned is a tactical decision made by the [[captain (cricket)|captain]] of the fielding team. The captain (usually in consultation with the bowler and sometimes other members of the team) may move players between fielding positions at any time except when a bowler is in the act of [[bowling (cricket)|bowling]] to a batter, though there are exceptions for fielders moving in anticipation of the ball being hit to a particular area.<ref>{{Cite web|title=MCC revises fielder movement Law {{!}} ESPNcricinfo.com|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/20564195/mcc-revises-fielder-movement-law|access-date=2020-09-08|website=www.espncricinfo.com|language=en}}</ref>

There are a number of named basic fielding positions, some of which are employed very commonly and others that are used less often. However, these positions are neither fixed nor precisely defined, and fielders can be placed in positions that differ from the basic positions. The nomenclature of the positions is somewhat esoteric, but roughly follows a system of [[polar coordinates]] – one word (leg, cover, mid-wicket) specifies the angle from the batter, and is sometimes preceded by an adjective describing the distance from the batter (silly, short, deep or long). Words such as "backward", "forward", or "square" can further indicate the angle.

The image shows the location of most of the named fielding positions based on a [[right-handed]] batter. The area to the left of a right-handed batter (from the batter's point of view – facing the bowler) is called the ''[[leg side]]'' or ''[[on side]]'', while that to the right is the ''off side''. If the batter is [[left-handed]], the leg and off sides are reversed and the fielding positions are a mirror image of those shown.<ref>{{Cite web|title=All Cricket Fielding Positions explained to better understand the commentary next time|url=https://www.chaseyoursport.com/Cricket/Name-of-Different-fielding-positions-in-Cricket/66|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Chase Your Sport|language=en}}</ref>

=== Catching positions ===
Some fielding positions are used offensively. That is, players are put there with the main aim being to [[Caught (cricket)|catch out]] the batter rather than to stop or slow down the scoring of runs. These positions include [[Slip (cricket)|Slip]] (often there are multiple slips next to each other, designated ''First slip'', ''Second slip'', ''Third slip'', etc., numbered outwards from the wicket-keeper – collectively known as the ''slip cordon'') meant to catch balls that just [[Edge (cricket)|edge]] off the bat; Gully; Fly slip; Leg slip; Leg gully; the ''short'' and ''silly'' positions. ''Short leg'', also known as ''bat pad'', is a position specifically intended to catch balls that unintentionally strike the bat and leg pad, and thus end up only a metre or two to the leg side.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rakesh|date=2018-08-19|title=Cricket Fielding Positions and Field Placements|url=https://sportslibro.com/cricket/news/cricket-fielding-positions/1482|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Sportslibro.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Other positions ===

*[[Wicket-keeper]]
*Long stop, who stands behind the wicket-keeper towards the boundary (usually when a wicket-keeper is believed to be inept; the position is almost never seen in professional cricket). It was an important position in the early days of cricket, but with the development of wicket-keeping techniques from the 1880s, notably at first by the Australian wicket-keeper [[Jack Blackham]], it became obsolete at the highest levels of the game.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cricket: The Long Stop |journal=The Maitland Daily Mercury |date=18 February 1928 |page=9 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128191820}}</ref> The position is sometimes euphemistically referred to as ''very fine leg''.<ref>[http://www.ovalbooks.com/bluff/Cricket.html Bluffer's Guide to Cricket<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723201923/http://www.ovalbooks.com/bluff/Cricket.html |date=23 July 2008 }}</ref>
*Sweeper, an alternative name for ''deep cover'', ''deep extra cover'' or ''deep midwicket'' (that is, near the boundary on the off side or the on side), usually defensive and intended to prevent a [[four (cricket)|four]] being scored.
*[[Cow corner (cricket)|Cow corner]], an informal jocular term for the position on the boundary between ''deep midwicket'' and ''long on''.
*On the 45. A position on the leg side 45° behind square, defending the single. An alternative description for backward short leg or short fine leg.
The [[Bowler (cricket)|bowler]] after delivering the ball must avoid running on the pitch, and so usually ends up fielding near silly mid on or silly mid off. Fast bowlers will continue running to exit the pitch and only change direction for balls dropped in front of the wicket. Spin bowlers with the slowest run-ups will usually cease their movement immediately after their delivery, planting their feet before the ball arrives to the batsman to react to a ball hit back up the pitch toward them. The bowler is generally understood to have the responsibility to defend the stumps at the non-strikers end of the pitch and so after a shot is made they will return to the stumps to catch any incoming throw, on rare occasions where a wicket-keeper has fallen or had to run to gather the ball the bowler may be the closest to the non-strikers stumps as well and so will move to the other end of the pitch. Once the play is dead they will walk back toward their bowling mark. In the laws of cricket the ball play is considered dead after the runners have ceased attempting to score and the ball has been returned to either the wicket-keeper or the bowler.

=== Modifiers ===
[[File:Close fielders.jpg|thumb|right|Example of two close fielders: a short leg and a silly point stand close to the batters on either side of the pitch. They are both wearing protective equipment (helmets and leg pads). The wicket-keeper is 'standing up' to the stumps, and the square leg umpire is also visible.]]
; ''Saving one'' or ''On the single'': As close as the fielder needs to be to prevent the batters from running a quick single, normally about {{convert|15|-|20|yd|m}} from the wicket.
; ''Saving two'': As close as the fielder needs to be to prevent the batters from running two runs, normally about {{convert|50|-|60|yd|m}} from the wicket.
; ''Right on'': Literally, right on the boundary. 
; ''Deep'', ''long'': Farther away from the batter.
; ''Short'': Closer to the batter.
; ''Silly'': Very close to the batter, so-called because of the perceived danger of doing so.<ref>'silly, adj., n., and adv' (definition 5d), ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''</ref>
; ''Square'': Somewhere along an imaginary extension of the [[Crease (cricket)#Popping crease|popping crease]].
; ''Fine'': Closer to an extension of an imaginary line along the middle of the pitch bisecting the stumps, when describing a fielder behind square.
; ''Straight'': Closer to an extension of an imaginary line along the middle of the pitch bisecting the stumps, when describing a fielder in front of square.
; ''Wide'': Further from an extension of an imaginary line along the middle of the pitch bisecting the stumps.
; ''Forward'': In front of ''square''; further towards the end occupied by the bowler and further away from the end occupied by the batter on strike.
; ''Backward'': Behind ''square''; further towards the end occupied by the batter on strike and further away from the end occupied by the bowler.

Additionally, commentators or spectators discussing the details of field placement will often use the terms for descriptive phrases such as "gully is a bit wider than normal" (meaning he/she is more to the side than normal) or "mid off is standing too deep, he/she should come in shorter" (meaning he/she is too far away and should be positioned closer to the batter).