Gully Fielding Position in Cricket
What is the gully fielding position? Where it is, what shots it stops, and what makes an exceptional gully fielder.
Gully is a fielding position on the off side, positioned squarer and wider than the slip fielders — roughly between third slip and point. It is designed to catch the ball when a batsman slashes or cuts at a wide delivery and the ball travels at height through that region.
Where Is Gully?
Gully stands at about a 45-degree angle from the wicket on the off side, approximately 10–15 metres from the batsman. The exact position varies depending on whether the bowler needs a deeper gully (wider, for cut shots) or a squarer gully (more conventional slip-to-gully channel).
What Gully Catches
- Slashes off the back foot — ball hit hard square off side from a wide delivery.
- Cut shots that fly at height from a short delivery.
- Thick edges from attempted drives outside off stump.
- Miscued pull shots that travel squarish on the off side.
Skills Needed at Gully
- Exceptional reaction speed — the ball arrives very quickly from a cut shot.
- Low crouch in the ready position — react to a ball at any height.
- Soft hands — catches at gully often arrive very hard and the hands must give.
- Positional awareness — gully must adjust depending on the batsman's tendency.
Frequently asked questions
Is gully part of the slip cordon?
Not strictly — gully is positioned wider than third slip and is regarded as a separate position. However it forms a natural extension of the slip cordon and is often placed as part of the off-side attack strategy.
Who is known as a great gully fielder?
Jonty Rhodes and Herschelle Gibbs are legendary fielders who operated brilliantly at gully. In recent years, Ricky Ponting and David Warner have been noted for their excellence in the position.