As you know, a cricket field has two halves – the off side and the leg side. From a fielding point of view, you’d want to have fielders in both halves.
And that’s a must. You can’t leave one half empty unless you have a particular plan to follow.
So you’d like to have the right proportion of fielders in both halves. But there’s a restriction on how many fielders you can place on the leg side, also known as the on side.
So, how many fielders are allowed on the leg side?
The answer is five. You can have a maximum of five fielders to man the leg side.
This covers the entire leg side field, be it in front of the square or behind it. And there’s another restriction in place behind the square.
Yes, you can’t have more than two fielders behind the square. So if you place two fielders behind, then the other three need to be in front.
And this restriction applies to all formats in cricket. So you need to be mindful of your field placement on the leg side.
But why is the restriction in place?
There are two reasons. First, to have a fair battle between bat and ball. Second, to avoid injuries.
You see, back in the day, teams used leg theory or the bodyline tactic. The captains would pack the leg side with fielders. And bowlers would bowl the leg stump line, aimed at the batter’s body.
At that time, there was no field restriction on the on side. So teams used this theory to dry up the runs. And perhaps hope for a dismissal with a close-in field.
But this tactic took a dangerous turn. Batters coped with a lot of body blows as bowlers sent down fast bouncers.
Take, for instance, the 1932-33 Ashes. A touring England side used the bodyline tactic against host Australia.
The result? England unsettled almost every Australian batter, including the great Don Bradman. Most suffered nasty body blows. This made the whole series controversial.
A few months later, England were on the receiving end. The West Indies used the bodyline tactic against the Englishmen on their 1933 tour.
When the Englishmen saw the dangers of it, they decided to put a restriction on the leg theory.
So now you see no more than five fielders on the leg side. And then there’s also a limit on bouncers bowled per over.
What if teams don’t follow the rule?
Since there’s no way a sixth fielder can field on the leg side, any such violation will result in an in-match penalty.
If there are six or more fielders on the leg side, then expect a no-ball signal from the umpire. The same will apply if you station three or more fielders behind the square. This is irrespective of the delivery being legal or not.
A no-ball will mean an additional run and a delivery for the batting side. And if it’s an ODI or T20I, then a free hit will follow.
So you wouldn’t want to concede such a penalty, no matter what. You will automatically stay within the limits.
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