To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

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Jonesy

Jonesy

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To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

OK. So all the pace bowlers out here, when you bowl, do you bowl with a fine leg, or put him in for another slip or maybe extra cover? My team is very strong with fine legs, there's always one there no matter if it's going down there or not, and I don't get much of a choice as its bloody u14s.

I don't bowl down leg, and it frustrates me when an edge goes to the vacant second slip and the fine leg is having a snooze. In u16s I will probably speak up more, but we have always had fine legs, there is never a vacant fine leg to a pace bowler in my team, and it pisses me off.

So does everyone here still believe in fine leg, but for me, it's as useless as well...anything.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

I bowl a lot down the leg side and on leg stump so I have one there permanently. I also get stuck fielding there when I am not bowling, despite not being too shabby of a fielder.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

Fine leg seems to be a favourite amongst the captains I've played under.

Generally, it's used to either give the other bowler a breather between overs or to hide the worst fielder.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

I spent the first half of last season getting my exercise jogging from fine leg to fine leg. Obviously it was the "bad fielder effect" that put me there due to it being my first season playing cricket. I enjoyed it though as there was very little pressure and I could concentrate on learning how the game is played. I'd a few nice stops there though, and I saved a few by chasing to the boundary between square leg and third man - eventually got "promoted" to midwicket/covers.

At the level I play we almost always have fine leg as the bowling isn't always on the spot - I think it can be a useful position with an enthusiastic player there who's willing to chase down and get the ball in quick. We had a few run-outs from wides chased down by fine leg last year.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

it does help if your trying to bowl a yorker but the ball goes as a full toss instead it helps
to have a fine-leg as you want be punished. it has happend to me a few times & boy am I happy that I had a fine-leg
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

we always have a fine leg. most bowlers at least pitch 1 or 2 deliveries on the leg side so its necessary. i guess if you have perfect control over your line then a fine leg would be unnecessary but most captains tend to have one as most bowlers need it.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

As a rule I don't set fields for bad bowling and generally I want my bowlers to bowl off-stump/in channel. So if I have an inswinging bowler, I would have a wide long leg on 45 degres. Using a short mid wicket, wide mid-on, that's it on leg-side.

If my bowler isn't controlling his line, then he gets rocket up his arse. No change, he's off...
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

i was batting yesterday and there was no fineleg...so i was trying to play there to get easy runs....the bowler bowled on the off stump so i went inside the line and flicked 2 balls fine for a four....soon they put a fineleg :(..
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

rajan said:
i was batting yesterday and there was no fineleg...so i was trying to play there to get easy runs....the bowler bowled on the off stump so i went inside the line and flicked 2 balls fine for a four....soon they put a fineleg :(..
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We never used to have a fine leg due to shortage of fielders and I always used to try to improvise to score in that area.

I guess it depends upon the captain and the situation of the game. If the captain is aggressive and has faith in the bowler then he wouldn't mind giving him the extra slip fielder. Its a 'safe' tactic to have a fine leg but the captain should be flexible.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

I think too many captains automatically put in a fine leg without thinking. If I was captain and had a bowler with good control I wouldn't hesitate in removing the fine leg and bring him to the off side. It would also show the bowler I had faith in his ability.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

We always have a fine leg in place aswell. I'm part of quite a young side, so balls down the leg-side occur fairly frequently. Personally i'm quite consistent with my line and length so could probably get away without a fine leg, but it can be useful for an inexperienced bowler knowing that if the ball is sprayed down leg, theres a fielder to stop the ball from going to the boundary.

I myself have fielded down there on occassion and it's not the most enjoyable position to play, i love being involved in the play, i'm always trying to get on the ball and enjoy my fielding, even if i'm not the most naturally talented fielder in the team. I like fielding in the covers or at midwicket as there's pressure to contain runs, and you also get the odd catch.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

rajan said:
i was batting yesterday and there was no fineleg...so i was trying to play there to get easy runs....the bowler bowled on the off stump so i went inside the line and flicked 2 balls fine for a four....soon they put a fineleg :(..
Click to expand...

Weak Capt/Bowler against you here. I would instruct my bowler to set you up with 2 length balls for you to get inside, then the full yorker, followed by the short ball. If you got through that, then I'd get the bowler to bowl wider to get you moving right across, then get the yorker going again. I love to Capt against agressive batsman that improvise, it always gives you a chance.
Good work for figuring out your opposition early though, hope you scored a few..
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

leggeb4 said:
As a rule I don't set fields for bad bowling and generally I want my bowlers to bowl off-stump/in channel. So if I have an inswinging bowler, I would have a wide long leg on 45 degres. Using a short mid wicket, wide mid-on, that's it on leg-side.

If my bowler isn't controlling his line, then he gets rocket up his arse. No change, he's off...
Click to expand...

I agree. If a bowler is bowling so that they need a fine leg, then they aren't a very good bowler or aren't in form, so they shouldn't really be bowling.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

Not every bowler in your team will always be in form or have full control over his line. You cant just make the in form bowler bowl all the overs. If one or two of your regular bowlers are struggling you have to give them some protection.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

One thing to consider at club level as well is that it may not always be the bowler's fault or 'protection' for a flagging bowler. For example, bowling with an inexperienced or poor wicketkeeper means that a (very) fine leg is always needed. Or occaisional inside edges or top-edged pulls etc, but they're less common than edges into other areas.

From a personal point of view, I usually get given a fine leg every time I bowl, as does every other bowler in our side. This is usually down to the fact that we often have a 12yo playing and he can't really field anywhere else but many captains also consider it a necessity - just the 'done thing'. If I had a choice in the matter I would consider not having one but given the number of edges I get that don't go to hand (usually at least 2 per 50 over game) I find a fine leg useful. I can see the argument for not having one though, definitely valid in the right circumstances.
 
Re: To fine leg, or not to fine leg.

The last 3 posts highlight the fact that all depends on what level you are playing at. This is probably the most important thing, setting the field to the ability of the fielder and bowler.
 
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