A List of Cricket Player Positions – A Complete Guide

There are 26+ cricket player positions, so it would be quite hard to know each other without adequate guidance. Cricketers and fans must know the right placement to perform better during games and guarantee total excitement for fans.

Major cricket player positions are divided into three – the inner ring, close catching in-field, and out-field. Let’s see the complete guide of these cricket player positions and what each one means.

1.    The Inner Ring   

Point:

The position is square to the pitch’s wicket area and the distance is usually determined by bowling positions.

Square Leg:

A square leg fielder is on the pitch’s leg side and square to the wicket region.

Backward Point:

The position is behind the wicket’s square on the offside area and is identical to point positions

Backward Square Leg:

The position stands immediately behind the square region. It is a few meters behind batters than the square leg.

Cover:

The cover position is usually in front of the square area and is a vital catching region with more hits entering its area on average.

Fine Leg:

The fine leg (or short fine leg) is behind the batter at an inclined angle and is much closer to hitters from behind than many other positions.

Mid-Off:

It is a fielding position wider than the straight region on the pitch’s offside.

Mid-On:

It is a fielding position wider than the straight region on the pitch’s leg side.

Mid-Wicket:

The mid-wicket is at a position facing the batter’s square side and at the same inner circle edge to stop a single.  

2.    The Close Catching In-Field  

Gully:

A gully fielder stands on the same line as other cricketers playing in slip positions, usually at the same diagonal range.

Leg Gully:

The position is wider on the batter’s leg side but is quite identical to leg slip positioning.

Leg Slip:

The leg slip is on the batter’s leg side and is the regular slip position’s opposite. The position is not in frequent use as others and usually has not more than one batter at any time.

Short Leg:

The short leg is on the silly point area and differs slightly as its player must stand on the batter’s leg side.

Silly Mid-Off:

This position is on the field’s offside and near the batter. It is usually much straighter in angle than a silly point position.

Silly Mid-On:

The silly mid-on players are closer on the leg side to batters and are on a straighter angle than the short leg position.

Silly Point:

The silly point is a region at a 45° angle to the batter, usually facing the batsman.  

The Slips:

Four sub-positions are within the slip area – first, second, third, and fourth. Cricketers usually determine their slip position based on where a wicketkeeper stands during any game.

Slips are farther from the batter’s position in ascending order (first to fourth) and batters try to edge tight balls to them for a catch in cricket matches.

Wicketkeeper:

Only one wicketkeeper can be in the starting team and he stands close to the stumps, usually closer than the bowler’s region.  

3.    The Out-Field     

Deep Backward Point:

A deep backward point is a position at the opposite end of the field and just behind the square region. It is largely similar to a deep point but differs based on its distance.

Deep Cover:

The deep cover outfield position is at the boundary-dwelling region, close to the offside point of the wicket facing the square area.

Deep Extra Cover:

The deep extra cover position is ahead of the point facing the wicket’s square area (deep cover). It isn’t a perfectly square position to the wicket region.

Deep Fine Leg:

A fielder at the deep fine leg should be at the boundary just behind the square. The deep fine leg should be at a 45° angle to the batsman and a few meters finer than the area.

Deep Point:

The fielder at the deep point should be on a boundary area directly square to the wicket. It precedes the deep backward point position.

Long Leg:

The long leg position is a slightly square fielding position just behind the leg side square and the deeper fine leg area. Long-leg fielders usually stand between deep square leg and deep fine leg.

Long Off:

The long off position is straight ahead or wide from the field’s offside mark.

Long On:

The long on position is about 5 – 10 meters to the leg side of a center line on a standard cricket pitch. It is the last boundary position for fielding when a batter’s leg side is open.

Third Man:

This position is behind the square area on the field’s opposite end. It should align at the point where slip fielders should be,  usually at a 45° angle to the batsman.

Who Arranges Players According to Fielding Position?

In cricket, the captain places teammates across positions depending on their current gameplay (batting or bowling). Sometimes, the vice-captain assists in providing more placement support for players to assume suitable positions throughout the pitch.