Cricket Player Positions

Cricket is an international sport that involves a batter hitting a ball and several fielders attempting to catch the ball, preventing a score. Each player has a unique role in the game, depending on their position. What are the different player positions in cricket? What responsibilities are associated with each position? Keep reading to learn the basics of cricket player positions.

List of Cricket Player Positions

Listed below are the 11 player positions in the sport of cricket, accompanied by the number they are most commonly associated with:

• #1: Wicketkeeper
• #2: Slip
• #3: Gully
• #4: Point
• #5: Cover
• #6: Third Man
• #7: Fine Leg
• #8: Mid-Wicket
• #9: Mid-Off
• #10: Square Leg
• #11: Captain

What Is the Best Position to Play in Cricket?

The best position to play in cricket depends on each individual player’s skill set and attributes. There are, however, two positions that are regarded as the most important player positions. The first of which is the captain, who relays strategies and vital information to teammates throughout each match, as well as deciding whether to bat or take the field following the opening coin toss.

Second in overall importance is the wicketkeeper, who receives every pitch (called a bowl) and must prevent the ball from getting away such that the runners are able to advance. The wicketkeeper is equivalent to the catcher position in baseball.

Bowlers are also one of the more exciting and important positions to play in cricket, for they are responsible for pitching the ball to the batter. However, bowlers are not identified under one of the 11 primary position titles.

Cricket Position Responsibilities

Each player position comes with a unique set of responsibilities. The tasks most commonly attributed to each of the 11 positions are outlined below:

• Wicketkeeper: the fielding team’s “catcher,” responsible for staying in front of every ball and returning it to the bowler without enabling baserunners to advance.
• Slip: catches many of the balls put into play by the batter, making good hand-eye coordination and reactionary skills a must.
• Gully: a “close-catching position” in which ground balls must be fielded almost immediately after being hit into play by the batter.
• Point: often the best fielder on the team, makes difficult catches on balls that are often tailing away from the player.
• Cover: similar to an outfielder in baseball, must quickly field the ball and return it to the bowler before runs are able to score.
• Third Man: covers a large area and prevents additional runs from scoring when a well-struck ball has already resulted in a run or two being scored.
• Fine Leg: another run-saving position, albeit one that does not see a lot of action in terms of balls being hit in the player’s direction.
• Mid-Wicket: requires good hands and ball tracking ability to combat balls hit deep into the field of play.
• Mid-Off: often occupied by each team’s captain, tasks include standing close to the bowler and preventing runners from advancing from one base to the other.
• Square Leg: stands nearest to the umpire and fields weakly-hit balls.
• Captain: the field general of any cricket team, responsible for dictating strategy and choosing whether to bat or bowl following the opening coin toss.

Although responsibilities are not limited to each specific position and all players need to be able to make difficult catches and field different types of hits, the tasks listed for each player position are those that are most common and most important to the success of a team.

Important Players on a Roster

The captain, the twelfth man, and an all-rounder are all important players on a cricket team.

The captain has many responsibilities that include determining fielding positions when on defense, creating the batting lineup, and choosing the bowlers.

The twelfth man is the substitute player for a cricket team. They can only substitute for a fielder and are not allowed to bowl, bat, or become the captain. They may only substitute for an injured player and are not restricted to any specific fielding position.

An all-rounder for a cricket team is a player who is known to be both a good bowler, a good batsman, and a good fielder.

Fielders

The goals of the fielders will differ depending on where in the field they are playing. Together, they all have the goal of catching balls that come into the field and recording dismissals.

It is also important to remember that fielding positions in cricket can alter. All fielding positions depend on the tendencies of the bowler and the batsman as well as the conditions of the pitch and of the entire field. At all times, there will be nine fielders, a wicket keeper, and a bowler.

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