Fielding in
cricket complements the
bowling. The team that is fielding has 9 players in the field.
The two other members consists of the
wicket-keeper and
bowler. In the early days of
Test cricket, fielding wasn't much of a priority and many
fielders were sloppy when it came to fielding. With the advent of
one-day international matches, fielding became more professional
as it helped save unnecessary runs. A side that has a good fielding
unit often win matches.
Field placements are decided by the captain. He may consult the bowler or
other senior members of the team while placing his fielders. The following are
some strategies employed by the captain during a match.
The fielders help to enforce
dismissals and save on extra runs.
Optimisation of fielders
Captains put the fielders in positions which they feel is optimal. e.g.
Fielders with strong arms, who can throw the ball fast are usually placed near
the boundary. Fielders with sharp reflexes are placed near the batsmen to catch
the ball on the fly.
Defensiveness
The captain can attack – move fielders closer to the batsman (if a new
batsman has just arrived to bat) or defend, where the fielders are more
spread out and the batsman is attacking hitting 4's and 6's and also rotating
the strike with ease. An attacking field is usually set to pressurise the
batsman in hitting a false shot thereby getting him out.
Setting the field
The field is set according to a right or left handed batsman. Usually, the
field for a left hand batsman is the mirror image to that set for a right handed
one. The field changes if the bowler is bowling 'Over the wicket' OR 'Around the
wicket'. If a right-hand bowler is bowling from 'over the wicket', (to the
umpire's left) to a left-handed batsman; the ball will angle across him, but
bowling 'around the wicket', the ball will be straighter. The field is also set
to the batsman's favourite scoring areas, so that the regions where the batsman
likes to hit the ball is well patrolled. As a rule of thumb, the best fielder in
the team will field at backward point, where the ball is frequently hit, and so
a good fielding technique is required.
Fielding
Good fielding complements the bowling. When the batsman hits the ball along
the ground, the fielders chase it. They try to collect the ball before it
crosses the boundary (to prevent a 4 from being scored). Simultaneously, the
batsmen are running between the wickets (exchanging ends). After obtaining the
ball, the fielders throw it to any fielder at either the wicketkeeper or the
bowler's end of the pitch. This maximizes the chances of a run-out and prevents
additional runs from being scored. Once they pass it to these players, and the
batsman has not made it home (crossed the crease), the batsman is Run-out.
Fielders who stand near batsmen are expected to take reflex catches. In Cricket
there is a maxim – "Catches win matches". Diving to prevent the ball get past
you is one fielding technique. Another fielding skill is to throw the ball to
the stumps as soon as you've got the ball in your hands, to increase the chances
of run-outs. An excellent fielder is one who can knock the bails off the stumps
with an accurate throw, to run-out a batsman. If the fielder fumbles the ball,
or doesn't collect the ball cleanly, the batsmen may run an additional run. The
term used if the fielder doesn't field the ball properly is 'misfield'.
