Tactics of field placement

With only nine fielders (apart from the bowler and wicket-keeper), the captain of the fielding team must decide which fielding positions to cover, and which to leave vacant. The placement of fielders is one of the major tactical considerations for the fielding captain.

Attacking

• 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 in which fielders are positioned in 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, especially behind the batsman in either slip or short leg positions.

• A defensive field is one in which most of the field is covered by a fielder; the batsman will therefore find it hard to score large numbers of runs. This generally involves having many fielders far from the batsman and in front of him, in the positions where he is most likely to hit the ball.
  
  
• Many factors govern the decisions on field placements, including: the tactical situation in the match; which bowler is bowling; how long the batsman has been in; the wear on the ball; the state of the wicket; the light; or even how close you are to an interval in play.
  
  Some general principles:
  
  Attack new batsmen
  A batsman early in his innings is more likely to make a miscalculated or rash shot, so it pays to have catching fielders ready.
  
  Attack with the new ball
  Fast bowlers get the most swing and bounce with a newer ball, factors that make it harder to play without making an error.
  
  Attack when returning from a break in play
  Batsmen must settle into a batting rhythm again when resuming play after an overnight break, meal, drinks break, bad weather or a pause for treatment to an injury.
  
  Attack with quality bowlers
  A team's best bowlers take the most wickets, so get the most benefit from the support of an attacking field.
  
  Attack when the pitch helps the bowler
  A moist pitch helps fast bowlers get unpredictable seam-movement of the ball, while a dry, crumbling pitch helps spin bowlers get unpredictable spin and damp, overcast conditions help swing bowlers. All three situations can lead to catches flying to close attacking fielders.
  
  Attack when the batting team is under pressure
  If the batting team is doing poorly or has low morale, increase the pressure by attacking with the field.
  

Defending
when batsmen are settled in .

• It is difficult to get batsmen out when they have been batting for a long time and are comfortable with the bowling. The best tactic is often to defend and force the run scoring rate to slow down, which can frustrate the batsman into playing a rash shot.

• Defend when the batting team needs to score runs quickly
  In situations where the batting team must score quickly in order to win or press an advantage, slowing down the rate of scoring runs lessens their chance of doing so.
  
  Defend when the batting team is scoring quickly
  If the batsmen are managing to score runs quickly, it is unlikely they are offering many chances to get them out, so reduce the run scoring rate.
  
  Defend when the ball and pitch offer no help to the bowlers
  If there is no movement of the ball and the batsmen can hit it comfortably every time, there is little point in having lots of close catching fielders.
  
  Defend when using weak bowlers
  If a relatively poor bowler must bowl for any reason, the best tactic is often to limit the potential damage by containing the free scoring of runs.