Cricket Fielding Rules

The cricket field is a large area and all eleven of the fielding side have a lot of ground to cover. To complicate things further there are three forms of cricket: test match, one day and twenty20. The rules to govern the way a team fields vary between the forms.

  1. Area

    • The cricket field is the same for all three forms and is divided into three areas: close infield, infield and outfield. These form three rings centered on the wicket with close infield ending at 15 yards, infield at 30 yards and outfield stretching to the boundary, usually 60 to 80 yards. There are many and varied positions for fielders within these areas. There are only two that are always used, the wicket keeper and the bowler.

    Test Match Fielding

    • There is only one rule for fielding in test match cricket and that is that no more than two fielders may be positioned between square leg and long stop as the ball leaves the bowler’s hand. See the “United Cricket Club” reference for a guide to fielding positions. Other than that the captain is free to place fielders wherever he likes throughout the match.

    One Day Fielding

    • There are more restrictions in the one day game so as to encourage a faster run rate. A one day game consists of 50 overs for each side. During the first ten of these overs a Power Play is in effect and no more than two fielders may stand in the outfield while a minimum of two must be deployed in the close infield. The bowler and the wicket keeper are not included in these limitations. Furthermore the fielding captain decides on two more five-over blocks, called Power Play 2 and Power Play 3, when the two-fielder restriction on the outfield comes into play again. For the rest of the overs the maximum is increased to five fielders deployed in the outfield.

    Twenty20 Fielding

    • In this form each side gets 20 overs. Each fielding side must complete their overs in 75 minutes. The rules for fielding restrictions are the same as the one day form with the difference being that only one Power Play is used and it lasts for the first six overs only. The other differences in this form are there are only five fielders permitted on the leg side and bowlers are limited as to how many overs they can bowl: just four overs each.