Cover Fielder in Cricket
What the cover fielding position is, the skills required, and why the covers are one of the most important zones on the cricket field for both containment and catching.
What Is the Cover Position?
Cover (and cover point) is a fielding position on the off side, between point (square of the wicket) and mid-off (straight). The cover region is the primary target for the cover drive — one of cricket's most celebrated attacking shots — making this one of the most frequently targeted fielding zones in the game.
Cover vs Extra Cover vs Cover Point
| Position | Location | Primary Duty |
|---|---|---|
| Cover point | More square, between point and cover | Stop square drives and cuts |
| Cover | Standard cover region, forward of square | Stop cover drives, catch edges |
| Extra cover | Slightly straighter than cover, closer to mid-off | Stop wider-angled drives |
| Deep cover | On the boundary in the cover arc | Prevent boundaries from cover drives |
Why Cover Is Important
The cover region is heavily targeted by batters because the cover drive is a natural shot for most right-handed batters. Captains place a player at cover in almost all field settings — varying between saving the single inside the ring (powerplay) or setting a deep cover to protect the boundary.
Ground Fielding at Cover
A cover fielder must be quick, have a strong throw to the keeper's end, and field cleanly under pressure. In T20 matches, a misfield at cover that turns one into two can be match-defining. The best cover fielders move before the ball is hit — reading the batter's trigger movement — rather than reacting after the shot is played.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cover drive in cricket?
The cover drive is an attacking shot played with a straight bat, hitting the ball through the off-side cover region. It is considered one of the most aesthetically pleasing shots in cricket and targets the gap between mid-off and point.
How many fielders are usually placed in the cover area?
Typically one fielder (cover or cover point) is placed in the cover arc during the middle overs. During the powerplay, captains cannot place more than 2 fielders outside the circle, so they must choose whether to cover the off-side arc or the leg-side arc.