The Gully Position: Reading Edges and Positioning for Slip-Adjacent Catching
Gully is one of cricket's most technical close-catching positions — placed wider than slip, at an angle designed to catch thick outside edges and slashing cuts. This article explains where gully is positioned, what deliveries send the ball to gully, and the specific catching and anticipation skills that make an outstanding gully fielder.
Where Gully Is and Why
Gully is positioned behind the batsman on the off side, wider than the slip cordon — typically at a 45-degree angle to the batting crease, about 15-20 metres from the batsman. The position name derives from its location: gully in English refers to a channel or narrow passage, which reflects the position's role in the cricket field — catching balls that pass wider than the slips through the 'gap' between slip and point. A gully fielder's catching zone: thick edges from cut shots (a batsman who attempts to cut a short-pitched ball outside off stump and edges it wide and behind); inside-edges from drives (rare — the ball goes through a narrower gully channel); and mistimed slashes at short, wide balls where the ball travels at a lower angle than a full-height slip catch.
The Technical Skills of the Gully Fielder
Gully catching requires different technique from slip catching: the angle is different (the ball arrives from wider and slightly higher than a typical second-slip catch — more of a baseball-outfield trajectory than a slip's angled receive); the ball arrives at various heights (some gully catches are at shin height, some at head height, depending on the shot's angle and speed); and the reaction time is less compressed than slip catching — the gully fielder typically has 10-15% more reaction time than a first slip fielder. However, the wider position means the gully fielder is often moving laterally to their right or left when catching — the diving catch to one side is more common in gully than in the slip cordon, where the fielder more often positions under the ball.
When Gully Is Used and When It Isn't
Gully is a standard fielding position for pace bowling to right-handed batsmen, particularly in Test cricket and during the powerplay of limited-overs cricket. The position is most valuable when: the bowler is specifically bowling short and wide outside off stump (creating cut-shot opportunities that send the ball to gully if not cleanly timed); the batsman is known to cut aggressively and tends to thick-edge the cut; and the pitch is offering enough pace and bounce to create ball-above-waist deliveries. Gully is less commonly used when: bowling to left-handed batsmen in the same configuration (the geometry is different — the equivalent position for left-handers is leg gully, on the on side); and in flat, slow pitch conditions where cut shots are rarely productive (batsmen play straight rather than cutting).
Frequently asked questions
What is 'leg gully' and how is it different from conventional gully?
Leg gully is the mirror position of gully on the on side (leg side) — positioned behind the batsman at a 45-degree angle to the batting crease on the on side, designed to catch thick edges from the sweep shot or edges from the on-drive. Leg gully catches balls that deflect off the bat's inner edge when the batsman plays to the on side, or catch sweep shots that are top-edged toward the on side behind the wicket. Leg gully is most commonly used against spin bowling (the sweep shot's top-edge trajectory targets this position) rather than pace bowling. The fielder in leg gully must be particularly agile — the batsman's body movement through the sweep shot can partially obstruct the fielder's sight of the ball until it is very close.
How deep should the gully fielder stand for different types of batsmen?
Gully depth adjusts based on the batsman's cut shot power and frequency. For a batsman who cuts hard and straight (hitting the cut shot through a flat, fast trajectory), the gully stands deeper — 18-22 metres from the bat — to have more time to react to the hard, flat catch. For a batsman who cuts tentatively or tends to thick-edge the cut (sending the ball more upward with less speed), the gully stands slightly squarer and shallower — 12-15 metres from the bat — to catch the slower, higher catch before it falls to the ground. In T20 cricket, gully is less commonly used with a close, catching-focused fielder (instead, point or cover-point are placed further back to stop boundaries from cut shots) — close-catching pressure in T20 gully is typically reserved for the powerplay.
Can the gully position be used by both pace and spin bowlers?
Yes — gully is used for both pace and spin, but the catching scenario differs. Against pace bowling, the gully catches edges from short, wide balls where the batsman attempted to cut or slash — the ball arrives at high speed from a specific angle. Against spin bowling, the gully position (if maintained) typically catches: thick edges from batsmen attempting the cut against off-spin (a ball that turns into the rough, wider outside off stump, inducing an ill-timed cut); or occasionally the inside-edge-turned-outside trajectory from batsmen who misread the spin direction. Spin bowlers more often use a 'cut off' position (point or backward point rather than gully) because the spin's trajectory is different from pace edges — specific spin bowling field configurations are discussed separately.