Fielding, Catching and Keeping

A ball that just clips the outside edge carries at catching height behind the bat on the off side, so the slips fan out exactly along that line.

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A thick or angled edge, especially off a back-foot shot, flies wider and harder than a slip nick, and the gully covers that gap between slip and point.

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Ring fielders sit about thirty yards out to cut off the pushed single and the firmly struck shot, keeping the batters to no run or one.

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A deliberate steer or a streaky edge that beats the cordon rolls away towards the boundary behind point, and third man is there to hold it to one or two.

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The biggest straight hits go back over the bowler, so those two deep fielders guard the longest carry and turn a would-be six into two or three.

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Pushing a catcher or a saver back trades the single, which is now on offer, for cutting off the four, a common move once a batter is set.

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Balls worked off the hip or the pads square on the leg side are the bread and butter of a batter's scoring, so square leg cuts off that easy single.

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Against a batter yet to get in, the captain backs an early chance, so slips, gully and bat-pad come in and the odd single is left unguarded.

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Deep square fielders on each side let the batter take a single to them but stop the cut and the pull going for four, keeping the run rate down.

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Bat-pad catches pop up softly just off the bat against turn, so those two suicidal close positions only make sense when a spinner is turning it past the edge.

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Picking the ball up as it comes off the bat, rather than tracking it all the way, gives the slip the quickest possible read on a fast, deflected chance.

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Relaxed hands that ride back on impact cushion the pace of the nick, whereas stiff fingers act like a wall and pop the ball out.

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A nick off a quick bowler comes through hard and flat, so first slip drops back to let it carry, while a spinner's edge is slower and calls for a closer, finer position.

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Most edges travel below waist height, so a fielder already rising has to drop back down again, losing the split second a sharp catch needs.

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Statistically the thickest cluster of catchable edges goes to second slip, so the safest catcher tends to be stationed there rather than at first.

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With thumbs together and fingers down, the hands form a cup under a ball dipping towards the boots, which is the shape most slip chances need.

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Square of the wicket, the gully is closer to the bat's arc and the edge is a flat cut or push, so there is less time to sight and move to it.

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A bat-pad catch flies off at an unpredictable angle and dies quickly, so the fielder stays balanced and loaded to dive left or right instantly.

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Reaching or grabbing early tightens the hands too soon; letting the ball travel into soft, relaxed fingers is what completes the catch.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

A ball sliding down leg can tickle the glove or the inside edge and run through fine, and the leg slip stands just behind square to snap that chance up.

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Curving onto the ball so the throwing side is trailing lets the fielder pick up and release in one motion without breaking stride.

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A little skip-and-plant transfers the run-up's momentum into the throw, adding distance and pace without a big loss of accuracy.

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A flat throw arrives quickest for a direct hit or a clean take over the stumps, but it is only worth the risk when the run-out chance is real.

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A single well-judged bounce keeps a very long throw on target and lets the keeper take it cleanly at glove height rather than reaching or diving.

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If the throw beats the stumps and no one is behind, the batters run again, so a backer-up sprints into line to cut off the extra runs.

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Sliding lets a sprinting fielder get a hand or a boot to the ball at full stretch and drag or flick it back before it crosses for four.

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Parrying or tossing the ball infield before touching the rope, then returning to complete the catch, is the legal way to save a six on the boundary.

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Timing a few steps in with the delivery means the fielder is already moving towards the ball, not flat-footed, when it comes off the bat.

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A visible, accurate arm in the deep deters batters from chancing a second or a sharp single into that region for the rest of the innings.

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A long barrier with the body behind the hands makes sure a misfield does not cost four, and holding the batters to two is the deep fielder's basic job.

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Up at the stumps the keeper can stump a batter who overbalances or misses, which is worth the harder take against spin and slow-medium, but not against genuine pace.

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From a deeper position the keeper lets a quick bowler's delivery come down from its peak into the gloves at a comfortable height, with more time to move to any edge.

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A big-turning leg break that starts at leg stump and spins away past off forces the keeper to move late and take it wide, often one-handed, outside the off stump.

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The batter's back and legs hide the ball for a moment, so the keeper has to anticipate the line, step round quickly and take it almost blind.

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With the keeper up, a batter who tries to charge a slower ball risks being stumped, so it pins him in the crease and cuts off the advance down the pitch.

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Riding the hands back with the pace of the ball absorbs the sting and keeps the ball in the gloves, exactly as a slip fielder uses soft hands.

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A delivery gripping broken ground can bounce steeply or scuttle through, so the keeper stays low and lets the ball come rather than committing early.

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If the batter's foot is over the popping crease and off the ground when the keeper gathers, the bails come off and the batter is out stumped.

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Taking a position a fraction outside off gives the keeper an unobstructed view of the ball all the way, and he steps back across for anything down leg.

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Behind the stumps he sees the pitch and the batter best, so he calls fielding adjustments, and he sprints to back up throws at the bowler's end every ball.

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From close range with a clear sight of the stumps, a direct hit removes the extra second a relay throw costs, and that second is often the whole margin.

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The run-out is likeliest where the batter has furthest still to travel, so the throw goes to the end the trailing or slower runner is heading for.

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Snatching at the stumps before the ball is secure risks fumbling both, so the safe method is a clean catch and then a controlled hand or ball onto the bails.

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If the throw beats everyone, the ball runs away and the batters take another run or two, so someone sprints into line behind the target end every time.

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A fielder in front of the wicket square of the pitch has an unobstructed throw to the bowler's end, whereas the striker's end is often screened by the batter.

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Moving in hard to meet the ball takes metres and a fraction of a second off the return, which is the difference between a run saved and a run-out made.

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Squeezing the circle in turns a routine push-and-run into a coin-flip, and the batting side either takes the risk or lets the required rate climb.

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Deliberately deceiving the batters with a sham throw or gather is fake fielding, and the umpires award the batting side five penalty runs.

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With both batters stranded together, breaking the wicket at the vacant end runs out whichever batter has not made good his ground there, so there is no need to rush wildly.

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A fielder posted deeper square lets the batter push a single but denies the comfortable two, so the score moves along in ones rather than twos and fours.

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