Cricket Fielding Positions Explained: Diagram, Names and Map
Cricket fielding positions are the named spots where a captain places his nine outfielders (plus the bowler and wicketkeeper) to stop runs and take catches. Most cricket fielding positions are described by two things: which side of the pitch they are on (off side or leg side) and how far from the bat they stand (close catchers, the inner ring or the deep).
Once you know that simple grid, the strange names start to make sense. Silly point is a very close point. Deep square leg is square leg pushed back to the rope. This guide gives you a text map of every major position, explains what each one does, and shows how captains use them in Tests, ODIs and T20s.
Key facts
- A fielding side has 11 players: the bowler, the wicketkeeper and nine others whose positions the captain chooses.
- For a right-handed batter, the off side is the side they face when taking guard (to the bowler’s left) and the leg side is behind their legs (to the bowler’s right). For a left-hander, everything flips.
- Names combine an area (point, cover, mid-wicket, square leg) with a distance word: silly or short for very close, deep or long for near the boundary.
- Under the Laws of Cricket, no more than two fielders may be behind square on the leg side when the ball is bowled.
- In white-ball cricket, a 30-yard circle limits how many fielders can stand in the deep during and after the powerplay.
The basics: off side, leg side and square
Everything starts with the batter. Picture a right-hander taking guard. Their chest and the face of the bat point towards one half of the field: that half is the off side, also called the offside. The half behind their legs is the leg side, sometimes called the on side.
Now draw an imaginary line through the batter’s stumps, straight out to each boundary at right angles to the pitch. That line is square. Anything on the wicketkeeper’s side of it is behind square (or fine), and anything on the bowler’s side is in front of square.
A left-hander simply mirrors this. When a left-hander and right-hander bat together and keep rotating the strike, the whole field has to swap over, which is why you see so much walking between overs in Test cricket.
Distance words
- Silly: right next to the batter, usually wearing a helmet and shin pads. Silly point, silly mid-off, silly mid-on.
- Short: closer than usual. Short leg, short third man, short fine leg.
- Deep or long: out on or near the boundary. Deep cover, deep mid-wicket, long-on, long-off, long leg.
- Fine and square: fine means closer to the line of the pitch behind the batter; square means closer to that right-angle line.
The cricket fielding positions map
Because the field is round and the positions shift for every bowler, the easiest way to learn them is by area. The table below works as a text map for a right-handed batter. Read it from the closest catchers outwards.
| Area | Off side | Straight / either side | Leg side |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close (within a few metres of the bat) | Slips (first to fourth), gully, silly point, silly mid-off | Wicketkeeper | Leg slip, leg gully, short leg (forward and backward), silly mid-on |
| Inner ring (roughly 15 to 30 yards) | Point, backward point, cover point, cover, extra cover, mid-off, short third man | Bowler | Square leg, backward square leg, short fine leg, mid-wicket, mid-on |
| Deep (near the boundary) | Third man, deep backward point, deep point, deep cover (sweeper), deep extra cover, long-off | Long-off and long-on sit either side of the straight boundary | Fine leg (long leg), deep backward square leg, deep square leg, deep mid-wicket, cow corner, long-on |
Another way to picture it is as a clock face, with the batter at the centre and the bowler at 12 o’clock. For a right-hander, the slips and gully sit around 5 o’clock, point near 3, cover around 2, mid-off near 1, mid-on near 11, mid-wicket near 10, square leg near 9, and fine leg around 7.
Close catchers: slips, gully and the bat-pad fielders
These are the attacking positions. They save almost no runs, but they are where edges and bat-pad catches go.
Slips and gully
The slips stand in a line beside the wicketkeeper on the off side, waiting for the outside edge. First slip is next to the keeper, second slip next to them, and so on. A Test captain with a new ball and a nibbling pitch might have three or four slips and a gully. In the final overs of a T20, you will often see none at all.
Gully is a little wider and squarer than the slips, catching thicker edges and cut shots that fly off the face of the bat. Fly slip is a rarer position halfway between the slips and third man, used for edges that fly over the cordon.
Short leg, silly point and leg slip
Short leg crouches a couple of metres from the batter on the leg side, waiting for the ball to pop up off bat and pad. It is the bravest job on the field and almost always goes to a junior player in a helmet. Forward short leg is slightly in front of square, backward short leg slightly behind.
Silly point is the off-side equivalent, used mainly to spinners on turning pitches. Leg slip and leg gully mirror the off-side cordon on the leg side and are used for glances and short-ball strokes. Silly mid-off and silly mid-on sit in front of the bat, waiting for a defensive push that pops up.
The inner ring: saving the single
The inner ring is where most of the fielding work happens. These fielders stop the ball before it races away and cut off quick singles.
Off-side ring
Point is square on the off side, about 15 to 20 yards from the bat, and deals with cuts and slashes. Backward point is a touch finer, between point and gully. Cover point sits between point and cover.
Cover is in front of square on the off side, where well-timed drives go. It is traditionally the position for the best athlete in the side, because so many runs are scored there. Extra cover is between cover and mid-off. Mid-off stands close to the bowler on the off side, usually a senior player who can talk to the bowler between deliveries.
Leg-side ring
Mid-on mirrors mid-off on the leg side. Mid-wicket sits between mid-on and square leg, catching the flick and the pull. Square leg stands level with the batter on the leg side, which is also where the square-leg umpire stands. Backward square leg is just behind square, and short fine leg sits close in behind the batter for glances.
The deep: guarding the boundary
Deep fielders protect the rope. In Test cricket they appear when a batter is set or the bowler is bowling short. In T20 cricket, five of them are out there for most of the innings.
Off-side deep positions
Third man stands on the boundary behind the slips, collecting edges and late cuts that race past the cordon. Deep point and deep backward point guard against the square cut. Deep cover, also called the sweeper, patrols the off-side boundary in front of square. Long-off covers the straight drive on the off side.
Leg-side deep positions
Long-on mirrors long-off. Deep mid-wicket and cow corner (a wider deep mid-wicket, where agricultural slogs tend to land) are the spots for the big leg-side hits. Deep square leg and deep backward square leg catch hooks and pulls. Fine leg, or long leg, stands on the boundary behind the batter on the leg side.
Some of cricket’s most famous catches have been taken in these spots. In the 2024 T20 World Cup final, Suryakumar Yadav’s juggling catch at long-off to dismiss David Miller in the last over turned the game India’s way. You can watch the finish in our India vs South Africa 2024 T20 World Cup final highlights.
The rules that limit where fielders can stand
Captains have a lot of freedom, but not total freedom. Some restrictions come from the Laws of Cricket and apply everywhere; others are playing conditions used in white-ball cricket.
The leg-side rule
Under the Laws, at the moment the ball is delivered there may be no more than two fielders behind square on the leg side, not counting the wicketkeeper. Strictly, the Law measures this from the batter’s popping crease, which in practice works as the square line. If a captain breaks this, the umpire calls a no ball.
This rule exists because of Bodyline. On the 1932/33 Ashes tour, England’s Douglas Jardine had his fast bowlers aim at the batters’ bodies with a packed leg-side field, mainly to curb Don Bradman. The tactic caused a diplomatic row, and the limit on leg-side fielders behind square was later written into the Laws to stop it happening again.
The pitch and the wicketkeeper
Fielders other than the bowler must not stand on or reach over the pitch itself before the ball reaches the bat or passes the batter. The wicketkeeper must stay behind the stumps until the ball has been released and either touched the bat or passed the stumps.
New Laws from October 2026
The MCC’s 2026 edition of the Laws, effective from October 2026, includes changes that affect fielders. The most visible concerns boundary catches: a fielder who leaves the field of play may only touch the ball once while airborne, so the “bunny hop” juggling catch, where a fielder repeatedly taps the ball up while jumping from outside the rope, is no longer allowed. There are also clearer definitions of overthrows and of when a fielder has full control of the ball for a run-out. The full text is on the MCC Laws of Cricket site.
Fielding restrictions in ODIs and T20s
White-ball cricket adds the 30-yard circle, an oval marked around the pitch roughly 30 yards (27.43 metres) from the stumps. It limits how many players a captain can put in the deep.
| Format and phase | Maximum fielders outside the 30-yard circle |
|---|---|
| ODI overs 1 to 10 (first powerplay) | 2 |
| ODI overs 11 to 40 | 4 |
| ODI overs 41 to 50 | 5 |
| T20 overs 1 to 6 (powerplay) | 2 |
| T20 overs 7 to 20 | 5 |
The figures above are the standard ICC playing conditions for full-length men’s internationals. Shortened games use adjusted powerplays, and franchise leagues can set their own variations. In T20 internationals, a side that is behind the required over rate must also bring one extra fielder inside the circle for the remaining overs, a penalty that often costs far more runs than a fine ever would.
This is why T20 fields look so different from Test fields. With only two fielders allowed out early on, openers try to hit over the top of the ring. Later, with five back, batters look for the gaps between the deep fielders and run hard for twos. For more on how the shortest format has developed, browse our T20 World Cup winners list.
How captains set fields in each format
A field setting is really a plan. It tells the bowler where to aim and dares the batter to take a risk.
Test cricket
Early in a Test innings, with a new ball, the field is all about wickets: three or four slips, a gully, maybe a short leg, and only a couple of fielders in front of the bat. As the ball softens and the batter settles, the slips thin out, a deep point and fine leg appear, and the captain starts protecting runs.
Against a tailender, captains often do the opposite of what you’d expect, pushing fielders back to give the set batter an easy single and keep the weaker player on strike. Ben Stokes faced exactly this tactic in his unbeaten 135 at Headingley in 2019, and his ability to farm the strike was a big part of that win. Our Ben Stokes Headingley highlights show how he worked the field.
Spin bowling fields
For an off-spinner bowling to a right-hander on a turning pitch, the classic field includes a slip, a short leg and a silly point, plus fielders at mid-wicket and mid-on to stop the batter hitting with the spin. A leg-spinner usually wants a slip, a fielder at cover and protection on the leg side for the sweep.
T20 death overs
At the end of a T20 innings, the field is almost entirely defensive: long-on, long-off, deep mid-wicket, deep square leg and deep point or third man, with the ring fielders saving singles. The bowler then aims for yorkers or wide slower balls to match the field. One misjudged delivery to the wrong side of that field and it goes for six.
Common mistakes and myths about fielding positions
“Off side is always on the left”
It depends on the batter. For a right-hander, the off side is on the bowler’s left. For a left-hander, it is on the bowler’s right. When commentators say “the off side”, they always mean relative to the batter on strike.
“Point and cover are the same thing”
They are neighbours, not twins. Point is square of the wicket; cover is in front of square. Cover point sits between them.
“Long leg and fine leg are different positions”
Not really. Long leg is an older or alternative name for a deep fine leg. Short fine leg is the inner-ring version.
“Fielders can stand anywhere they like”
Not quite. The leg-side rule, the protected pitch area and the white-ball circle all restrict where fielders can be at the moment the ball is bowled. Fielders can move as the bowler runs in, but significant movement can lead to a dead ball being called.
Frequently asked questions
How many fielding positions are there in cricket?
There is no fixed number. There are around 30 to 35 commonly named positions, but only nine can be filled at once besides the bowler and wicketkeeper, so captains pick the ones that suit their plan.
What is the hardest fielding position?
Short leg is usually considered the most dangerous and demanding, because the fielder is so close and has a split second to react. Slip catching is also highly specialised and needs years of practice.
Why is it called silly point?
“Silly” describes how close, and arguably how foolish, it is to stand there. A silly point fielder is only a couple of metres from the bat.
What is the sweeper in cricket?
The sweeper is a deep fielder on the off side, usually at deep cover or deep extra cover, who moves along the boundary to cut off drives and stop fours.
Where does third man stand?
Third man stands near the boundary on the off side, behind square and roughly in line with the slips, collecting edges and late cuts.
What are the fielding positions for a left-handed batter?
The same names, mirrored. For a left-hander the off side and leg side swap over, so the slips, gully and point move to the other side of the wicketkeeper, and fine leg and square leg move across too. Captains switch the field every time the strike changes between a right-hander and a left-hander.
What is cow corner?
Cow corner is the deep area between deep mid-wicket and long-on, where slogged shots across the line usually land. The name comes from the idea that so few proper shots go there that cows could graze in peace.
Knowing the field turns watching cricket into a guessing game you can play along with every over. To see captaincy and field placings tested under the highest pressure, relive the Edgbaston 2005 Ashes Test, or head to our cricket hub for the latest matches.
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