Simon Hughes
Attacking Fields
An opening bowler, in fact any bowler, should have the main say
in what field to set, since he knows best where he's going to bowl. They'll have done their homework. They'll know, for instance, that Michael Atherton is predominantly a back-foot player, so they'll be looking to pitch the ball up and drag him forward, where he's less comfortable. A player who's predominantly a front-foot lunger, may well be confronted by several short legs, because he tends to be uncomfortable against the short ball. A happy-hooker may find a man put back at deep square leg.
An outswing bowler like Darren Gough or Dominic Cork will concentrate on a strong slip cordon, with protective fielders straight on either side, because he'll be attempting to pitch the ball up and try to make it move away. This is appropriate bowling from the Nursery end at Lord's because the pitch slopes downwards from right to left as you look at the pavilion – the slope aids the bowler's movement. Sometimes, if the ball is really bending away from the batsman, an outswing bowler will
try operating to a 7-2 field (7 on the off-side), reinforcing the slip cordon.
Despite the amount of movement, it's a hard field to bowl to. The batsman is constantly looking for anything straight that he can knock into the vacant leg-side areas, forcing the bowler to readjust his line outside the off-stump, allowing the batsman to leave most balls alone.
Copyright material reproduced under license from Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London, England
Copyright © Simon Hughes 2001
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