Cricket Fielding Positions — A Plain-English Guide
Slip, gully, mid-on, third man — cricket has 35+ named fielding positions. Learn the most common ones, what they defend, and how the field changes with the bowler and batter.
Cricket has more named fielding positions than any other major sport — somewhere over thirty-five, depending on how you count. Beneath the long list, the field is built from two halves: the off side (the side the batter faces) and the leg side (behind the batter's stumps). Most positions are described by depth and angle relative to the wicket.
The catching cordon (close fielders)
- Wicketkeeper — directly behind the stumps, gloved up. The only fielder allowed to handle the ball with gloves.
- Slips (first, second, third) — fan out from the keeper at catching distance. Catch edges from defensive shots.
- Gully — wider than the slips, takes thick edges and slashed cuts.
- Leg slip — symmetric to first slip but on the leg side, used against pace bowlers to spinners moving the ball off the pad.
The infield (inside the 30-yard circle)
Off side
- Point — square of the wicket, defends cuts and square drives.
- Cover — between point and mid-off, defends drives.
- Mid-off — straight on the off side, defends straight drives.
- Extra cover — between cover and mid-off, the position drives most often go to.
Leg side
- Square leg — square of the wicket on the leg side, defends pulls and sweeps.
- Mid-on — straight on the leg side, defends on-drives.
- Mid-wicket — between square leg and mid-on, defends flicks and clipped shots.
- Short fine leg — close in behind square on the leg side, catches the tickle off the pads.
The outfield (deep positions, on the boundary)
- Third man — on the boundary behind the slips, defends edges that beat the cordon.
- Deep point — on the boundary square of the wicket, defends slashed cuts.
- Deep cover and deep extra cover — on the boundary defending drives.
- Long-off and long-on — straight on the boundary either side of the bowler.
- Deep mid-wicket — boundary version of mid-wicket.
- Deep square leg — boundary version of square leg.
- Fine leg — on the boundary behind the wicket on the leg side, defends glances and leg-side edges.
How fields change with the bowler
- Fast bowlers — packed catching cordon, third man and fine leg deep, mid-wicket and square leg shallow.
- Off-spinners — extra protection on the leg side (the ball spins away from the right-hander to the off side; balls hit straight back).
- Leg-spinners — slip and short third man, deep mid-wicket for the slog-sweep.
- Death-overs T20 — five fielders on the boundary; the captain picks which boundary the bowler can defend.
Right-handed vs left-handed batter
Most position names assume a right-handed batter. When a left-hander is at the crease, the captain mirrors the field — what was point becomes square leg, what was cover becomes mid-wicket, and so on. The 'leg-side trap' for one batter is the 'off-side trap' for the other.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mid-off and cover?
Mid-off is the position straight on the off side, slightly to the bowler's right (looking down the pitch). Cover is wider — between mid-off and point. Extra cover sits between the two.
What does 'short' and 'deep' mean in field positions?
'Short' means close in to the bat (catching distance). 'Deep' means on the boundary. So short fine leg is right behind the keeper, deep fine leg is on the boundary at the same angle.
Why is third man called third man?
The position was added to a field that historically had two close-in fielders behind the wicket (the slips). The 'third man' was the catcher placed wider to take the edges the slips missed.
How many fielders can be in the catching cordon?
There's no formal limit — captains can pack up to four or five slips for a Test new-ball attack. In modern T20 and ODI cricket, two or three slips is typical.