Saving the Cover Drive: Positioning the Cover Fielder
The cover drive is cricket's most elegant and most frequently hit boundary shot. This article explains how fielding teams position their cover fielders to minimise boundaries from the cover drive, and the trade-offs involved in loading the cover region with fielders.
The Cover Drive Zone
The cover drive target zone is the arc from extra cover to cover point — roughly 15-45 degrees off straight on the off side: a batsman playing the cover drive hits the ball along the ground (or slightly in the air) at a trajectory that goes between the fielder at cover point (deeper and wider) and the fielder at mid-off (straighter and slightly closer); the cover region has historically been the highest boundary-frequency zone in cricket because the cover drive is the shot that most frequently beats the inner ring and reaches the boundary; and the fielding captain's challenge in saving the cover drive is that placing fielders specifically in the cover zone reduces coverage of the straight and square off-side zones — every additional cover fielder creates a gap elsewhere.
Cover Fielder Configurations
Standard cover fielder positioning varies by format: in Test cricket with slip fielders (3-4 slips), there are typically no specifically stationed 'cover' fielders — the wide off-side between gully and mid-off is minimally protected because slip fielders are prioritised for edge-catching; in Test cricket without slips (batting team is established), a specific cover fielder (or two — 'cover' and 'extra cover') are positioned at 25-35 metres in the cover zone to save singles rather than boundaries; in T20 cricket with only 5 permitted outfield fielders in non-powerplay overs, one or two fielders are typically assigned to the cover region specifically for boundary prevention — the cover boundary is consistently the most targeted in T20 cricket; and 'sweeping' cover (a wider cover position that covers both the cover drive and the square drive) is used as a single fielder compromise when the fielding captain wants to split coverage between two zones without using two fielders.
The Cover Trap — Inviting the Cover Drive
Experienced fielding captains sometimes deliberately leave the cover region open as a trap — inviting the cover drive to create dismissal opportunities: the 'open cover' trap is used against batsmen who play the cover drive with a slightly open bat face (the edge is a regular risk for such batsmen); the captain removes the cover fielder and adds to the slip cordon (hoping the invited cover drive produces an outside edge caught in the slips); the bowler is instructed to bowl outside off stump at a length that specifically invites the cover drive; and the batsman who plays the cover drive into the open cover region scores boundaries — but each cover drive attempt with an open bat face is also a slip-catch opportunity. The cover trap is a risk-reward calculation that requires a bowler who can consistently bowl the inviting length outside off stump and a batsman who plays the cover drive with consistent technique (not one who avoids the shot when the cover trap is set).
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between cover and extra cover?
Cover and extra cover occupy different positions in the off-side arc: cover is positioned at a wider angle from the pitch — roughly 30-40 degrees off straight on the off side, at 20-30 metres from the stumps; extra cover is positioned slightly straighter than cover — roughly 20-30 degrees off straight, between mid-off and cover; cover targets balls hit wider through the off side (the square drive and wide cover drive); extra cover targets balls hit more straight (the cover drive aimed between mid-off and cover); and when both positions are occupied, they together cover the entire off-side arc between mid-off and point. In fielding configurations with only one available off-side position (common in T20 non-powerplay overs with fielding restrictions), 'cover' is typically placed at roughly the midpoint of the extra-cover-to-cover arc to maximise coverage.
Why do fielding teams sometimes place two fielders in the cover region?
Two cover fielders are used in specific tactical situations: against a batsman who specifically targets the cover boundary at high frequency (a batsman with a wagon wheel showing 40% of their boundaries through the cover region is specifically targeted with a double-cover configuration); in conditions where the pitch produces edges that go into the cover region (a pitch with inconsistent bounce produces thick outside edges that travel through the cover arc rather than the slip region — a cover fielder at 25 metres and one at 40 metres can cut off both the short and long cover drive); and when the bowling plan focuses on drawing the cover drive specifically (a bowling attack of wide-of-off-stump deliveries needs cover-zone protection because the primary scoring response is the cover drive). Double cover configurations are more common in ODI cricket than T20 cricket (where fielding restrictions limit the total positions available) and less common than in Test cricket (where they are used against specific batsmen after analysis of their scoring patterns).
Can the cover drive be played along the ground reliably?
Yes — the cover drive along the ground is specifically achievable with correct technique: keeping the bat face angled slightly downward through the contact zone (presenting a slightly closed bat face relative to horizontal) drives the ball toward the ground; weight transfer through the shot (shifting fully onto the front foot at contact) produces a more downward swing angle; and contacting the ball closer to the ground (bending the front knee more, bringing the bat's hitting zone lower) mechanically produces a lower trajectory. The cover drive in the air (aerial cover drive) is riskier than the ground version because the ball in the air travels through the cover zone at catchable height — fielders in the cover zone who cannot reach the ground drive can still take the aerial drive as a catch. Technical coaching of the cover drive specifically trains the bat face angle and weight transfer to prioritise the along-the-ground trajectory.