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Luke Sellers | 32 pages | 04 Apr 2008 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9780713686944 | English | London, United Kingdom Fielding (cricket) - Wikipedia

Cricket requires a variety of skills that are commonly used in a number of Skills: Cricket - Fielding. Hand-eye coordination, throwing or catching a ball, balance and intense, long-term concentration are just a few. Through consistent practice and by applying these skills to the elements of cricket, such as a batsman watching the ball at all times, you will see a dramatic improvement in your game. Bob Woolmer, former head coach of the South African cricket team, wrote in "The Art and Science of Cricket," that has five basic principles: "Watch the ball, keep your head still on release of the ball, judge length accurately, allow your hands to lead your body and feet into the correct position Skills: Cricket - Fielding select the correct shot. Your grip on the bat should feel natural, using the same tension as when you pick the bat up from the ground. Try to relax at the crease since tension will restrict your movement and have a negative impact on your technique. Lift the bat up as the bowler approaches, keep your head still, focus on the ball and commit fully to the shot you select. Whether you're a fast bowler, medium-paced bowler who swings the ball in the air or spin bowler who gets the ball to move dramatically off the pitch, has a foundation of skills that each player must learn. Woolmer wrote that by focusing on "momentum, balance and timing" within the context of the run-up, the set-up, the unfold, the delivery and the follow through, bowlers will become consistent and accurate and will be able to take wickets. Bowlers should start off slowly and gain speed and momentum as the run-up progresses into the set-up. Point your left arm -- if you're a right- handed bowler -- in Skills: Cricket - Fielding direction you want the ball to land. As your action begins to unfold, your bowling arm will begin a degree rotation. Fix your eyes on the target and place your left foot on the popping crease to begin the delivery. Your momentum will naturally bring your arm through to release the ball. Always complete your follow by continuing until you naturally come to a stop. Do not stop quickly or you'll increase the risk of injury. Catching requires five basic skills: Excellent reflexes to get the ball, good hand-eye coordination, anticipation and alertness to react to the ball quickly, and a still head to keep the technique together. As the ball comes toward you, try to Skills: Cricket - Fielding two hands, keep still and keep your eye on the ball. Point your fingers away from your body to create a large surface area by spreading your fingers wide. When the ball enters your hands, try to cushion the ball by Skills: Cricket - Fielding your hands back toward you. This "give," as Woolmer calls it, will reduce the chances of the ball bouncing back out of your hands. Picking the ball up quickly and efficiently and throwing the ball at the wickets are the other skills required to be a good fielder. A quick pickup requires short steps as you approach the ball. Bend your knees, place your strongest Skills: Cricket - Fielding alongside the ball Skills: Cricket - Fielding pick it up with one hand. Skills: Cricket - Fielding explains that "the ideal throw is the one used in baseball," where you draw the ball back over the shoulder "so it faces backward" before unwinding the arm and throwing it straight over the shoulder at the target. Based in North Wales, U. By: Daniel Rhodes. Published: 05 December, More Articles. Home Sports Baseball. Skills in Skills: Cricket - Fielding By: Daniel Rhodes. Helen Moffett. Basic Skills & Techniques for Cricket | SportsRec

Sadly, a lot of cricketers are not born with a talent for catching a . This can lead to a lot of embarrassing moments for them in the field! Thankfully, we can all Skills: Cricket - Fielding our catching abilities by making sure we have all of the basics right, and putting some hard work in along the way! Read on to find those! While fielding, it may help you to imagine the sort of shot a batsman may play that will result in them hitting the ball at a catchable height in your direction. For example, if you are fielding at the cover position click here to see my full breakdown of all the fielding positionsthen any ball that travels in your direction will probably come from Skills: Cricket - Fielding batsman playing the cover drive! If you keep a mental image of the batsman playing a lofted cover drive towards you in your head, then it can help to prepare you for the catch you will have to take. I like to think about what sort of ball the bowler will have to bowl in order for the batsman to hit the ball Skills: Cricket - Fielding me, and the position the batsman will have to get his body in to do so! Visualising this sort of thing as the bowler approaches the crease Skills: Cricket - Fielding helps me to stay focused on every ball, which is vital for a fielder. It also helps to prepare your body for the catch you will have to take! Obviously, a catch could present itself to you in Skills: Cricket - Fielding very different way from the one you are picturing in your head, therefore it is necessary to Skills: Cricket - Fielding balanced and on your toes, Skills: Cricket - Fielding to react to any shot the batsman plays! Most cricketers are very willing to put a lot of time into practicing their batting and bowling, but a lot of them are less willing to practice fielding! If you want to improve your catching, you should be including some drills in all of your club practice sessions, and getting in as much practice as you can at home too! This one is simple! Your only Skills: Cricket - Fielding will be to complete the catch and then throw the ball quickly back to where it came from! It is the most effective way to practice high catches and simulates a game situation perfectly! These drills are designed to test your reactions! The ball will be coming towards you much quicker and closer to the ground. There are a few different ways you can do this:. Play Catch With A Partner — Stand around 5 metres away from a partner and get them to throw the ball towards you fast and hard. Ask your partner to throw the ball towards different parts of your body to give you a more difficult catching test. Once you have caught the ball, throw it back towards your partner so they can have a go at catching it too! I like this drill, because you can set yourselves little challenges. One of my personal favourites is the first one to drop a ball has to Skills: Cricket - Fielding 20 press ups! That certainly provides a little bit of motivation! They are basically small ramps that are placed on the ground a few feet in front of the person who is looking to practice their catches. Your partner should throw the ball at the ramp at different angles! This causes the ball to fly off the ramp at different angles giving you a tough catching test! The Katchet training Skills: Cricket - Fielding can also help you practice your batting in the same way! Place the training aid around metres away from the crease and have someone throw a ball onto the ramp while you attempt to Skills: Cricket - Fielding the ball! It adds a bit of uncertainty to your batting practice which is great when you want to simulate batting in dangerous conditions! Use A Rebound Skills: Cricket - Fielding — Rebound nets are great because they allow you to practice close catches without a partner or anyone else being involved! Rebound nets basically consist of a net that is tightly wound around an adjustable metal frame. This means that when a ball is thrown at the net, it will bounce off at an accelerated speed! Also, because you can adjust the angle of the metal frame, you can get the ball to bounce towards you at different angles! I would stand a few metres away from the net, throw the ball onto it at an exaggerated angle, and pretend I was fielding in the slips for England before trying to take an acrobatic catch! Alternatively, to have a look at the double sided ones which are a bit more expensive, click here! One player or the coach should act as the batsman, while another player or coach throws the ball forcefully towards them. The players hoping to practice their catches should form a slip cordon behind the batsman! From here, whoever is closest to the ball should be trying to take the catch cleanly! This is one of the best ways to practice slip catching and I would recommend it very highly! There are loads more drills that you can do! You should always aim to get your body into a balanced position just before the ball is going to be bowled. Getting into this position is the foundation of any movement that you will make once the Skills: Cricket - Fielding has been struck by the batsman! I would recommend standing with your feet about a shoulder width apart, and making sure that your weight is evenly distributed over both of your feet. As the ball is bowled, I recommend bending your knees slightly and pushing up on to the Skills: Cricket - Fielding of your feet. This is a nice explosive position from which you can set off quickly in the direction of the ball! Your arms should also be slightly bent too, ready to move quickly if a catch comes your way. A lot of players have a tendency to rest their hands on their knees in between deliveries. This is fine as long Skills: Cricket - Fielding you remove them before the ball is bowled! You can stand more Skills: Cricket - Fielding, just ensure you are alert and on the balls of your feet ready to set off towards the ball if it comes in your direction. Always be prepared for the ball to come to you! Watching the ball closely in this way allows us to pick up more information about the trajectory and speed of the ball as it moves through the air. This information then allows us to get our hands Skills: Cricket - Fielding the best possible position to take the catch! In your practice sessions, really try to focus on watching the ball right into your hands. This helps us to concentrate more and the more you practice doing it, the more natural it will feel. A lot of players have a tendency to stop watching the ball Skills: Cricket - Fielding closely as it gets halfway towards them! If you can teach yourself to watch it a little bit longer it can make you much more likely to take a difficult catch! The time we take to react to things that occur in sport is mostly genetic, however, there are several things we can do to get ourselves moving a little quicker on the cricket field. If you get used to catching the ball in practice, then the better your reactions will be during a game. This is a great drill because it is so simple, and it requires you to locate the ball and react to it incredibly quickly! If you want more of a challenge you can ask your partner to throw the ball a bit quicker! If you do perform the drill while using a hard ball, ask Skills: Cricket - Fielding partner to throw the ball away from your body. I also bought myself a speed reaction ball! These are tiny balls which have raised edges on them. The raised edges on the surface of the ball causes it to bounce at random angles when it hits the ground. A simple practice to do with this kind of ball is to just throw it against a wall and try to catch it once it bounces back towards you! This tip was a game changer for me in youth cricket when my coach told me about it, and it made me a lot more comfortable catching the cricket ball. The pictures below should clear it all up! The orthodox cup method of catching requires you to put your palms together, and point your fingers down towards the ground. The reverse cup method is the opposite, and requires you Skills: Cricket - Fielding put your palms together while pointing your fingers towards the sky! You should choose which position to put your hands in based on the height of the ball when it reaches you. The basic rules I like to stick to are as follows:. Whenever you practice fielding and catching, focus on taking your catches in this way. A good way to practice is to get someone to stand directly opposite you and throw balls towards you at different heights. Ask them to throw some of the balls low towards your feet, some up high towards your head, and some around your mid-section. The different heights of the ball will require you to use Skills: Cricket - Fielding different cup methods and this is a great way to get accustomed to using them! The hardness of the ball is what intimidates some players, and scares them away from taking catches! Especially when the ball has been hit really forcefully by the batsman! The only way to get used to the impact and become comfortable catching the hard cricket ball is by practicing with them! Using the Skills: Cricket - Fielding cricket ball in practice will fully prepare you for what you will face in real game situations! There will be times during a game where the ball gets to you so fast and at such a difficult angle that it becomes impossible to get yourself in a position to catch the ball with two hands. Sometimes, fielders will be required to jump around and try to take a more spectacular one-handed catch! All of the best fielders in the modern game are capable of taking these amazing athletic catches and making it look easy! Here is just one example of a drill that could help:. The more you take catches like this in practice, the more comfortable you will become! I loved diving around in practice and trying to recreate some of the famous diving catches, it was always a good laugh and a good way to burn off a bit of energy! In other sports like American football, players are required to take one handed catches regularly. Therefore, they will work on these constantly during practice, often catching over balls in that way! I like to apply a similar approach to cricket. When taking high catches, you need to quickly move to where the ball is going to land and get yourself ready to take the catch. If you fail to get yourself properly underneath the ball, Skills: Cricket - Fielding will be a lot Skills: Cricket - Fielding balanced as the ball reaches you. This makes catching a lot harder! Of course, there are some situations where it is impossible to get underneath the ball and set your feet in a good balanced position before taking Skills: Cricket - Fielding catch. Sometimes Skills: Cricket - Fielding ball is just too far away from us! But if possible, we should always aim to get ourselves directly underneath the ball. Being able to do this well only comes with practice. The best way to practice getting into position nice and early is to get a coach or a partner to hit a ball high in the air away from you. Your task will then be to track the ball through the air and take the catch. How To Teach Cricket To Kids & Beginners - Australian Sports Camps

There are a number of recognised fielding positions, and they can be categorised into the offside and of the field. Fielding generally involves preventing the ball from going to or over the edge of the field which would count as a boundaryand getting the ball to either wicket as quickly as possible. A fielder or fieldsman may field the ball with any part of his body. However, if while the ball is in play he wilfully fields it otherwise e. Most of the rules covering fielders are in Law 28 of the . Fake fielding is the action caused by a fielder when he makes movements of some of his body parts as if he were fielding only to confuse batsmen into Skills: Cricket - Fielding mistakes. It is now a punishable offence under the ICC rules. There are 11 players in a team: one is the bowler and another is the wicket-keeperso only nine other fielding positions Skills: Cricket - Fielding be occupied at any time. Where fielders are positioned is a tactical decision made by the captain of the fielding team. The captain usually in consultation with the bowler and sometimes other members of the team may move players between fielding positions at any time except when a bowler is in the act of bowling to a batsman, though there are exceptions for fielders moving in anticipation of the ball being hit to a particular area. There are a number of named basic fielding positions, some of which are employed very commonly and others that Skills: Cricket - Fielding used less often. However, these positions are neither fixed nor precisely defined, and fielders can be placed in positions that differ from the basic positions. The nomenclature of the positions is somewhat esoteric, but roughly follows a system of polar coordinates — one word leg, cover, mid- wicket specifies the angle from the batsman, and is sometimes preceded by an adjective describing the distance from the batsman silly, short, deep or long. Words such as "backward", "forward", or Skills: Cricket - Fielding can further indicate the Skills: Cricket - Fielding. The image shows the location of most of the named fielding positions based on Skills: Cricket - Fielding right-handed batsman. The area to the left of a right-handed batsman from the batsman's point of view — facing the bowler is called the leg side or on sidewhile that to the right is the off side. If the batsman is left-handedthe leg and off sides are reversed and the fielding positions are a mirror image of those shown. Some fielding positions are used offensively. That is, players are put there with the main aim being to catch out the batsman rather than to stop or slow down the scoring of runs. These positions include Slip often there are multiple slips next to each other, designated First slipSecond slipThird slipetc. Short legalso known as bat padis a position specifically intended to catch balls that unintentionally strike the bat and leg pad, and thus end up only a metre or two to the leg side. Also the bowlerafter delivering the ball, must avoid running on the pitch so usually ends up fielding near silly mid on or silly mid off, but somewhat closer to the pitch. Additionally, commentators or spectators discussing the details of field placement will often use the terms for descriptive phrases such as "gully is a bit wider Skills: Cricket - Fielding normal" meaning he is more to the side than normal or "mid off is standing too deep, he should come in shorter" meaning he is too far away and should be positioned closer to the batsman. Fielders may be placed anywhere on the field, subject to the following rules. At the time the ball is bowled:. If any of these rules is violated, an umpire will call the delivery a no-ball. Additionally a player may not make any significant movement after the ball comes into play and before the ball reaches the striker. If this happens, an umpire will call and signal 'dead ball'. For close fielders, anything other than Skills: Cricket - Fielding adjustments to stance or position in relation to the striker is significant. In the outfield, fielders may move in towards the striker or striker's wicket; indeed, they usually do. However, anything other than slight Skills: Cricket - Fielding off line or away from the striker is Skills: Cricket - Fielding be considered significant. With only nine fielders in addition to the bowler and wicket-keeperthere are not enough to cover every part of the field simultaneously. The captain of the fielding team must decide which fielding positions to use, and which to leave vacant. The placement of fielders is one of the major tactical considerations for the fielding captain. The main decision for a fielding captain is to strike a balance between setting an attacking field and a defensive field. An attacking field is one Skills: Cricket - Fielding which fielders are positioned Skills: Cricket - Fielding such a way that they are likely to take catches, and thus likely to get the batsman out. Such a field generally involves having many fielders close to the batsman. For a pace bowler, Skills: Cricket - Fielding attacking field will usually include multiple slips termed a cordon and a gully; these are common positions for catching miss-hit shots. For a spin bowler, attacking positions include one or two slips, short leg or silly point. A defensive field is one in which most of the field is covered by a fielder; the batsman will therefore find it difficult to score runs. This generally involves having many fielders far from the batsman and in front of them, in the positions Skills: Cricket - Fielding they are most likely to hit the ball. Defensive fields generally have multiple fielders stationed close to the boundary rope to prevent fours being scored, and others close to the circle, where they can prevent singles. Many elements govern the decisions on field placements, including: the tactical situation in the match; which bowler is bowling ; Skills: Cricket - Fielding long the batsman has been in; the wear on the ball; the state of the wicket; the light and weather conditions; or the time remaining until the next interval in play. Another consideration when setting a field is how many fielders to have on each side of the pitch. With nine fielders to place, the division must necessarily be unequal, but the degree of inequality varies. When describing a field setting, the numbers of Skills: Cricket - Fielding on the Skills: Cricket - Fielding side and leg side are often abbreviated into a shortened form, with the off side number quoted first. For example, a 5—4 field Skills: Cricket - Fielding 5 fielders on the off side and 4 on the leg Skills: Cricket - Fielding. Usually, most fielders are placed on the off side. This is because most bowlers tend to concentrate the line of their deliveries on or outside the off stumpso most shots are hit into the off side. When attacking, there may be 3 or 4 slips and 1 or 2 gullies, potentially using up Skills: Cricket - Fielding six fielders in that region alone. This would typically be accompanied by a mid off, mid on, and fine leg, making it a 7—2 field. Although there are only two fielders on the leg side, they should get relatively little work as long as the bowlers maintain a line outside off stump. This type of field leaves large gaps in front of the wicket, and is used to entice the batsmen to attack there, with the hope that they make a misjudgment and edge the ball to the catchers waiting behind them. As fields get progressively more defensive, fielders will move out of the slip and gully area to cover more of the field, leading to 6—3 and 5—4 fields. If a bowler, usually a bowler, decides to attack the batsman's legs in an attempt to force a stumpingbowl him behind his legs, or induce a catch on the leg side, Skills: Cricket - Fielding field may stack 4—5 towards the leg side. It is unusual to see more than 5 fielders on the leg side, because of the restriction that there must be no more than two fielders placed behind square leg. Sometimes a spinner will bowl leg theory and have seven fielders on the leg side, and will bowl significantly wide of the leg stump to prevent scoring. Often the ball is so wide that the batsman cannot hit the ball straight of mid-on while standing still, and cannot hit to the off side unless they try unorthodox and risky shots such as a reverse sweep or pull, or switch their handedness. The batsman can back away to the leg side to hit through the off side, but can expose their stumps in doing so. The reverse tactic can be used, by fast and slow bowlers alike, by placing seven or eight fielders on the off side and bowling far outside off stump. The batsman can safely allow the ball to pass without fear of it hitting the stumps, but will not score. If they want to score they will have to try and risk an edge to a wide ball and hit through the packed off side, or trying and drag the ball from far outside the stumps to the sparsely-populated leg side. Another attacking placement on the leg Skills: Cricket - Fielding is the leg side trapwhich involves placing fielders near the boundary at deep square and backward square leg and bowling bouncers to try to induce the batsman to hook the ball into the air. No member of the fielding side other than the wicket-keeper may wear gloves or external leg guards, though fielders in particular players fielding near to the bat may also wear shin protectors, groin protectors 'boxes' and chest protectors beneath their clothing. Apart from the wicket-keeper, protection for the hand or fingers may be worn only with the consent of the umpires. Fielders are permitted to wear a helmet and face guard. This is usually employed in a position such as silly point or silly mid-wicket, where proximity to the batsman gives little time to avoid a shot Skills: Cricket - Fielding at their head. If the helmet is only being used for Skills: Cricket - Fielding from one end, it will be placed behind the wicketkeeper when not in use. Some grounds have purpose-built temporary storage for the helmet, shin pads etc. This rule was introduced in the 19th century to prevent the unfair practice of a fielder using a hat often a top hat to take a catch. As cricket balls are hard and can travel at high speeds off the bat, protective equipment is recommended to prevent injury. There have been a few recorded deaths in cricket, [10] On 20 FebruaryRaman Lamba fielding at forward short-leg without a helmet on, was struck on the forehead. Close catchers require the ability to be able to take quick reaction catches with a high degree of consistency. This can require considerable efforts of concentration as a catcher may only be required to take one catch in an entire game, but his success in taking that catch may have a considerable effect on the outcome of the match. Infielders field between 20 and 40 yards away from the batsman. The ball will often be hit at them extremely hard, and they require excellent athleticism as well as courage in stopping it from passing them. Infield catches range from simple, slow moving chances known as "dollies" to hard hit balls that require a spectacular diving catch. Finally, infielders are the main source of run outs in a game of cricket, and their ability to get to the ball quickly, throw it straight and hard and make a direct hit on the stumps is an Skills: Cricket - Fielding skill. Outfielders field furthest from the bat, typically right on the boundary edge. Their main role is to Skills: Cricket - Fielding the ball from going over the boundary and scoring four or six runs. They need good footspeed to be able to get around the field quickly, and a strong arm to be able to make the 50—yard throw. Outfielders also often have to catch high hit balls that go over the infield. However, players are rarely selected purely because of Skills: Cricket - Fielding fielding skills, and all Skills: Cricket - Fielding are expected to win their place in the team as either a specialist batsman or bowler or both. This even applies to wicket keepers, who are generally expected to be competent middle-order batsmen see Wicket-keeper-batsmanwhere more than one wicketkeeper can be selected to play as an on-field substitution. Some wicketkeepers may also be called on to bowl. There have been many competitions for throwing a cricket ball the furthest distance, particularly in the earlier years of the game. Wisden describes how the record was set aroundby one Robert Percival at Durham Sands Racecourse, at yards and two feet Former Essex all- rounder Ian Pont threw a ball yards The use of specialist fielding coaches has become more prevalent since the turn of the 21st century, following the trend of specialist batting and bowling coaches within professional cricket. According to cricket broadcaster Henry Blofeld"Dressing rooms were once populated by the team and the twelfth man, one physiotherapist at most, perhaps a selector and the occasional visitor. That was all. Now, apart from the two main coaches, there are 'emergency fielders' galore; you can hardly see yourself for batting, bowling, fielding coaches, psychoanalysts and statistical wizards[,] and a whole army of physiotherapists". From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Third Man disambiguation. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve Skills: Cricket - Fielding article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material Skills: Cricket - Fielding be challenged and removed. Main article: Fielding restrictions cricket. This section does not cite any sources.