page_title: Comparison of baseball and cricket
section_title: Fielding strategy
hierarchical_section_title: Comparison of baseball and cricket / Strategy / Fielding strategy
caption_attribution_description: English: User:PSzalapski made this image and released it into the public domain. Baseball positioning, standard depth
context_page_description: Baseball and cricket are the best-known members of a family of related bat-and-ball games.
  Despite their similarities, the two sports also have many differences in play and in strategy. A comparison between baseball and cricket can be instructive to followers of either sport, since the similarities help to highlight nuances particular to each game.
context_section_description: In cricket, since the batsmen can hit the ball with greater variation and different objectives, the field placements are more important and varied. Modern-day coaches and captains have intricate knowledge of the strengths of opposition batsmen, so they try to plug the dominant scoring areas for each batsman. Moreover, since the bowling attack has greater variety in cricket, the field placements required for each type and line of attack also vary greatly.
  Depending on the scoring strengths of the batsman (off-side, leg-side, straight, square, front foot, back foot, power hitter, "finds the gap", "clears the field" and so on), the captain must make adjustments to the field each time the batting pair score a run and change ends, which can possibly happen after every ball in an over. To meet the demands of a speedy over-rate (typically, about 15 overs an hour), the captain must arrange the fielders in a way that they can swiftly interchange positions for the two batsmen. This is especially important if one batsman is right-handed, while the other is left-handed. And also in limited overs cricket if the umpires deem the over rate of the team fielding first is too slow they can dock them overs so they may have less than 20/50 overs to reach their target score when it is their turn to bat.
  Fielders in cricket can field in all positions, but modern players have specialised field positions. In particular, slip positions require special skills since the slip fielder is placed behind the batsman and the ball comes directly off the edge of the bat. Close catching positions such as forward short leg and silly point, as well as positions for the cut shot such as gully and point, require very fast reflexes and canny anticipation, so they are also specialist positions. Conversely outfielders also can be specialist positions due to the need for a strong throwing arm.
  In baseball, although only the positions of pitcher and catcher are prescribed by the rules, fielders' positions are dictated closely by custom, and shifts in fielders' positions according to circumstance are less dramatic; the strike zone and smaller angle of fair territory limit the usefulness of some strategies which cricket makes available to batsmen. The chief occasion on which fielding placement differs markedly from the usual is the presence of a pull, or dead-pull, hitter at bat (such hitters almost never, except on the rare occasion of a fluke or mishit, hit the ball in any direction except towards the same side of the field as they stand at the plate, i.e., a right-handed pull hitter hits everything toward left field). In such case the fielders will move so far in the direction of the pull that one half of the field is almost completely unprotected. This is called an infield shift or overshift. A six-man infield has also been used when circumstances warrant. For the great majority of batters, however, the traditional fielding arrangement is used, with minor changes in position to accommodate the batter's power or bat-handling ability, the location of runners, or the number of outs. (For example, with a base runner on third with less than two out, the importance of fielders being able to throw quickly to home plate on a bunt is increased, and the infielders will play closer to home plate.) However, baseball has no equivalent of cricket's close-in fielders, because it is impractical to have fielders so close to the bat as they would have virtually no chance of latching onto a ball travelling so fast. It is possible to place a close-in fielder to catch a bunt, but this practice is almost never followed except in specialised circumstances such as a pitcher being forced to bat late in a game, with less than two outs and the opportunity to drive in a run. The team's best chance to score in such a situation may be to sacrifice bunt and may warrant the first or third baseman playing halfway up the line to cut off the run at home.
  In cricket, coaches cannot intervene or direct gameplay; the captain must make all the calls once the players are out on the field. However, the 
caption: The normal fielding arrangement in baseball.
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