Game awareness

As a cricketer, knowing the fielding positions can be very helpful as a:

– Bowler (Eg. To set your own field)

– Batter (Eg. ‘Try to hit that gap between square leg and mid wicket)

– Fielder (Eg. So you know where to go and stand in the field)

– Captain (Eg. ‘Can you go to mid off please’)

Firstly, you have the OFF SIDE and the LEG SIDE.

– OFF SIDE – is the half of the field the batter’s CHEST is pointing towards in their stance.

– LEG SIDE is the half of the field the batter’s BACK is pointing towards in their stance.

Secondly, you have fielders at different distances away from the batter.

– Close Catchers – who are near to the batter and are ready to take flat reaction catches.

– In/Ring Fielders – who are placed slightly further away, with the primary objective of stopping a single.

– Boundary Fielders – who are pushed out to the boundary rope, to stop boundaries.

So let’s look at the different fielding positions on the cricket field, and see what attributes are needed.

All these fielding positions are for a Right-Handed batter, it will be a mirror image for a Left-Handed batter.

*Note vertical guide line – off/leg side | horizontal guide lines – stump line*

Remember, the aim of batting is to score RUNS.

Sure, we can achieve this by hitting FOURS (where the ball bounces before crossing the boundary line) and SIXES (where the ball carries over the boundary line without bouncing).

But, if we can’t hit 4’s/6’s, we must run up and down the length of the pitch to score runs.

If the bowler’s are good (meaning they don’t bowl many bad balls to be able to hit for 4/6), then we must get:

– Singles (1 run)

– 2’s (2 runs)

– 3’s (3 runs)

These are important for keeping the scoreboard moving and not facing dot balls (where no runs are scored).

In a T20 game, if we get 1 run per ball, we get a total of 120 (20 overs x 6 balls per over = 120 balls).

Which is a very competitive total.

So running between the wickets is just as important as hitting boundaries.

At each end of the pitch you have the ‘Popping Crease’, which is the line in front of the stumps.

This is important when running, as your bat MUST touch behind (area closest to the stumps) the crease for the run to be completed.

If your bat does not touch the area behind the line then the run will not count, and the umpire will signal ‘ONE SHORT’.

On the line does not count, you must be over!

The image below shows the popping crease and the batter sliding their bat over the line (even though this was controversially called ‘One Short’!).

If you can run well (run quickly and make good judgments), then this really irritates bowlers and the opposition.

For Example:

If you drop the ball by your feet as a batter and run.

And do this a couple of times.

The fielders will naturally move in closer to you to try and stop the run from being completed.

This gives you an easier opportunity to hit the ball pass the fielders.

Or hit the ball over them to help score more runs (be it 2/3/4/6).

Putting fielders under pressure (by calling loud and running hard) can cause miss fields/fumbles.

This gives you more time to complete the run.

To turn quickly, make sure you:

– Get low with your body (you can put your hand on the ground to help stay balanced)

– Fully stretch your arm out with your bat to maximise your reach

When you turn, turn facing the ball so you can see whether the ball has been picked up by the fielder.

This means you’ll need to practice turning both directions, with the bat in either your left hand or right hand.

So get your chest facing the ball when you turn, NOT YOUR BACK, this is called ‘Turning Blind’.

Clear communication is important for successful running between the wickets.

Loud calls help with clear communication and avoids confusion/hesitation.

REMEMBER THE CALLS:

– YES – shout this when you want to run.

– WAIT – shout this when a fielder is about to field the ball to see whether they may miss the ball or fumble it.

– NO – shout this when you don’t want to run.

Please be careful shouting ‘GO’ as this sounds like ‘NO’ and can lead to the other batter running, when you have no intention to.

ALWAYS RUN THE FIRST RUN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!

This gives you the best chance of getting a 2nd or 3rd run, and even sneaking extra runs if the fielders fumble/miss the ball.

SO REMEMBER TO:

– Use your loud calling

– Turn facing the ball when running 2’s/3’s

– Slide your bat over the line (popping crease) to complete the run

– Use your running to frustrate the opposition.

Good Luck

Having loud clear calls will help our communication when running between the wickets.

But we must make a decision whether we should run or not before making that call.

Good judgment results in runs.

Bad judgment results in run outs.

So how do we judge whether to run or not?

In its simplest form, judging runs is all about TIME.

It’s a race between Batter and Fielders.

As batters, we must slide our bat in past the popping crease before the stumps get hit, so we are not RUN OUT.

And fielders are trying to hit the stumps before the batter completes the run.

So it’s a race against time.

Think of it like this:

A) Time taken for Batter to complete run

VS

B) Time taken for Fielder to get ball to hit the stumps

If A is quicker than B (meaning a shorter time period), then taking the run is a good decision.

For Example:

Lets say it takes you (the batter) 3 seconds to run the full length of the pitch

And it will take the fielder 5 seconds to run and pick up the ball, and throw it in.

Is this a good run?

YES!

The batter will beat the ball back to the stumps.

The batter will take 3 seconds, and the fielder will take 5 seconds

There’s a 2 second gap for the batter to easily complete the run.

So the skill of judging runs is:

Predict how long (time) it will take a fielder to get the ball to the stumps.

REMEMBER THESE FORMULAS:

Time To Get Ball To Stumps >(MORE)> Time To Complete Run = RUN!

Time To Get Ball To Stumps <(LESS)< Time To Complete Run = DON’T RUN!

Runs are ranked by their risk:

LOW RISK: When there’s a buffer of time between completion of run and the ball hitting the stumps.

EG. Hitting the ball through a gap to a boundary fielder and running a single.

MEDIUM RISK: The time it takes to complete the run and hit the stumps is relatively equal.

EG. Hitting the ball to a boundary fielder and running the 2nd run when they have just picked up the ball.

HIGH RISK: When the fielder can gather the ball and throw to the stumps quicker than you can complete the run

EG. Hitting the ball straight to cover and running a single.

– – – – – – – – –

A COUPLE OF THINGS TO CONSIDER:

– Your running partner may not be as quick as you, so you need to take that into consideration when making a decision.

– The match situation may dictate that we have to take a HIGH RISK run, but fielders may fumble/miss the stumps.

– One batter is usually running to the ‘DANGER END’ – the end closest to the where the ball is – act accordingly.

– Be aware of which fielders are quick across the ground, or who have a strong throwing arm, as they will take a shorter amount of time to get the ball back to the stumps.

– Try to observe which arm (Left/Right) the fielders throw with, as if running to their strong side they will be quicker than running to weaker side.