Short Leg and Silly Point

Short leg

Boot hill, bat pad, short leg – call it what you like, but you'll usually find the junior pro in residence there, crouching under the helmet staring at the batsman's backside. It sounds harsh, but a stint at short leg is part of a young player's initiation into Test cricket. You are supposed to be there to snaffle catches that pop up off the glove or the inside edge, but you won't be surprised to hear it's not great fun. You're either grubbing around in the dust at the batsman's feet, or you're a standing target for a brutal swipe on the leg side.

Short leg
Directly in the line of fire on the leg side, this fielder has paid the price (far left).

Silly point
Less mortally dangerous but with a good chance of a blow to the shins (left).

A short leg will don box, helmet, shin guards and anything else that might soften the blow of leather on bone. However, it's still a precarious business; particularly, bearing in mind batsmen will do their best to try to shift a short leg by playing aggressive shots in their direction. There is no record of anyone being killed at short leg, but that's little compensation if you've just felt the wind of an expansive sweep as it flies past your left ear.

Silly point

Silly point, on the other side of the wicket, is slightly safer (generally the ball isn't hit in the air through this area) but you can still get serious shin bruising. Silly points are also looking for little bat-pad catches as the batsman pushes forward (usually to spinners). With 'pad play' more and more in vogue, the silly point is kept interested. Often they stand very close, as much to get in the batsman's eyeline as to be able to pluck the ball from virtually under the batsman's nose.

Sight line

A bat-pad fielder mustn't encroach on to the cut area of the pitch but he can get in the batsman's eyeline.

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