Cricket Fielding Drills – Types and Activities Explained

What are cricket fielding drills? What are the types of cricket fielding drills? What activities are there? Here we have explained everything.

Fielding is one of the most crucial aspects of cricket. Fielding is associated with each and every delivery in a cricket match. A brilliant or poor fielding effort can ultimately be the deciding factor in a match.

An overthrow, a missed catch, a missed stumping, a misfield, a poor dive, etc, all can cost a team heavily as all a team need is to score just one more run than the opposition. Similarly, a direct hit run out, a quick stumping, a great catch, a brilliant diving stop, etc, can very well earn a side victory.

Recommended Read: All Fielding Positions in Cricket Explained – A Complete Guide

Since fielding is so vital in cricket, it goes without saying that a considerable amount of fielding practice is done by any team before a game. Hence cricket fielding drills are nothing but fielding practice session that helps to improve the fielding performance of a team, that a team goes through before a match.

Types of Cricket Fielding Drills

1. Ground Fielding Drills

Ground training drills are the most basic types of fielding drills to make sure the most common fielding habits are in check, and hence the intensity for this type of drill is not so high, it is mainly done to keep the basics in check.

This includes practicing simple catches, collecting a ball properly which comes towards the fielder, basic pickup and release, and so on. Ground fielding drills are also done as a warm-up before moving on to the more intensifying fielding drills.

2. High Catch Fielding Drills 

High catches are something that is seen very frequently in cricket. Taking a high catch under the sun or under the lights can be very difficult. Hence practicing these catches become very important.

Moreover, many high catches are seen at the edge of the boundary line where it’s a matter of inches and these are tough ones to grab as well, but these are the half chances that can make or break a match.

Hence a subsequent amount of practice or drill is done for both high catches under the sun and under the lights plus boundary line catches. 

3. Throwing Drills 

As the name suggests, throwing drills refers to the fielding drills practiced to sharpen the ball-throwing skills of the fielders. 

Whenever the ball reaches a fielder (other than a catch), the fielder after collecting the ball returns it to either the keeper or the bowler. Now, if the throw is poor, then the ball may not reach the keeper or the bowler properly and it may well cause overthrows which will add to the opposition’s total. Also, these throws need to be perfect to the keeper’s or bowlers’ end to inflict a runout or stop an extra run which is why throwing drills become an essential part of fielding training. 

4. Reflexive Drills 

Reflexive training is done to enhance the reflexes or sharp movement of the fielder. A quick and sharp catch, a combination of a quick run, collection, and throw of the ball to cause a runout, all come in very handy.

Thus, reflex training is any such training that is aimed at improving the speed and reflexes of a player. It involves training for sharp dive catches, diving on the field to stop a run or a boundary, slip fielding, wicket keeping practice, bowler’s return catch practice, quick reaction fielding practice, quick collection, and sharp throw practices, and training is given to maintain the right body balance and posture, and so on.

5. Focus Oriented Drills 

Focus is a critical ingredient in fielding. If a fielder is not focused enough, then he will either end up making a sloppy effort, or the ball may pass through his hands, or may throw the ball poorly at the bowler’s or wicketkeeper’s end, or not hit the target of a wicket, or simply may drop a catch.

Any of the above can cost a team dearly, and hence focus training is also done. To enhance the focus of a fielder, mainly all cricketers, in general, are asked to meditate, and apart from that, they are made to hit only one wicket with the ball from a considerable distance so that the focus remains on one single piece of wood and the target is hit.

Other Fielding Drills in Cricket

After going through the above five main types of fielding drills, the players can go for other types of fun or recreational drills during the practice session which in turn helps to improve speed and agility.

Here is a great resource on fielding drills in cricket. All fielding drills are explained with clear animation. We hope you’ll find it helpful

Cricket Fielding Drills – Best Fielding Drills: Australian Cricket Institute

These include activities such as –

• A normal sprint among players
• Carry out a three-skills relay of underarm – overarm – catch 
• Play stopper in the middle (for quick direction change purposes)
• Play semi-circle cricket (for quick running between the wickets scenario(
• Simply play football to have better coordination. 
• Play attackers vs defenders using a football (intensifying the pressure element).

FAQs on Cricket Fielding Drills

That’s all about cricket fielding drills. If we have missed something, feel free to comment down below.

Bonus Video: Cricket Fielding: How To Improve Your Fielding & Get RUN-OUTS‼️

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