Where do you stand in Gully?

[Hurricane]

I have started fielding in gully this season. The whole skill in the position seems to be knowing where to stand. A left armer came on to bowl yesterday and I got confused and went finer - only to have the catch go square of me by a metre just out of my dive.

have been trying to watch the international teams. They seem to put gully at about a 30 degree angle from the bat. Does this sound right?

[benchmark00]

It depends itbt.

I'd always say that gully has no set position and depends on the batsman's preferences as well as the bowler's angle and even speed at times.

It's a feel position more than anything. I do think that with a left armer to a right handed batsmen you're more likely to get 'squarer' chances.

[Daemon]

I'm pretty much the only person who plays cricket in my gully

[vic_orthdox]

Have a bit of a pet hate about gully getting too close to the slips fielders. Should be able to fit at least five slips in before the gully.

[uvelocity]

biggest thing is dont stand too deep and watch the ball off the bat

when i say not too deep, you shouldn't be able to see point at all in the crouch without moving your head. in a straight line from 5th slip to regulation cover

[Cabinet96]

Would have thought the quicker the bowler the finer you stand and vice versa. With the left armer I would actually go squarer as it is already going towards a fine first slip with the angle, instead of towards the keeper like a right arm bowler would.

Never fielded in the slips though so can't give much more advice than that. Would be slightly carful about trying to copy the pros though. I've tried international tactics when captaining at youth level and it doesn't always work out like it does for the pros.

[Hurricane]

So I went squarer to the left armer and of course the catch went just fine of me. We lost the match as a result as they had a 100 run partnership after that.

Bah from now on I am just going to stand at a 30 degree angle for everyone -

[Son Of Coco]

I loved fielding in gully, but due to being a quick(ish) bowler I wasn't allowed to be there that often. Was more comfortable in gully than standing at at long on when someone skied one.

I think what Benchmark said is pretty correct though, get a feel for the batsman and factor in the bowler's pace to decide where you're going to stand. You need a set position to start from of course, so I'd start at a fairly regular gully slot and go from there. Sometimes you just get a feeling about what the batsman might do and end up in the right place at the right time.

I'd say you'll end up equally as frustrated sticking to one position all the time as you'll have just as great a chance of being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

[OhhhhMattyMatty]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

I have started fielding in gully this season. The whole skill in the position seems to be knowing where to stand. A left armer came on to bowl yesterday and I got confused and went finer - only to have the catch go square of me by a metre just out of my dive.

have been trying to watch the international teams. They seem to put gully at about a 30 degree angle from the bat. Does this sound right?

Why would you stand finer to a left armer bowling presumably to a right hander?

The angle alone is bound to see it go squarer rather than finer. Sure it isn't for definite, but look at how Mitchell Johnson took 95% of his first 100 Test wickets! Just angled across and flashed to square gully/point.

A right handed batsman will go with the movement of the ball and will drive more towards cover than mid-off as the ball goes across him. So the ball is bound to flash, even off the face, to a squarer gully/point, rather than 3rd slip/finer gully.

To be honest though, I doubt you get many decent square drivers in your local league, so why the hell you're fielding there anyway is beyond me. Either your bowlers are bowling short long-hops or your captain is mental if he's got a gully at that level.

Couple of slips, Third Man, Cover, Mid-Off, Mid-On, Short Mid-Wicket, Square Leg and Fine Leg. All you need at that level. Bowl full, at the stumps, move it this way and that and you'll win every game. No need to thank me!

[Son Of Coco]

How do you know what level he plays?

And if there are any decent bowlers then gully won't necessarily have to wait for a square drive to get in the game. Squaring the batsman up and getting the thick edge to gully is a classic dismissal.

[Hurricane]

Originally Posted by Son Of Coco

How do you know what level he plays?

And if there are any decent bowlers then gully won't necessarily have to wait for a square drive to get in the game. Squaring the batsman up and getting the thick edge to gully is a classic dismissal.

agreed - I have 4 catches there in 11 games. And about 5 that have gone either side of me. All edges as opposed to square drives.

Our team seems to keep a slip and gully in as opposed to two slips.

[SteveNZ]

Gully, at many levels, is such a default field setting that isn't given enough thought in most cases, so this is a good topic.

At club level from what I've seen, it's always employed but seldom in business. Or players stand in the wrong place - ie too square on a quick pitch, too deep etc. If there's forethought put into it, even in saying it's not worth employing, much better.

One that we've employed well in the past, in one-dayers especially, is a floating 4-5th slip, about 2m finer of gully, with a backward point. It means if guys are bowling channels, the option of running it down to third man to get off strike becomes a much riskier business. Use less blade, risk nicking it. When the man is at gully and you have a 1st/2nd, it's often easy and such a release valve.

[Cabinet96]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

So I went squarer to the left armer and of course the catch went just fine of me. We lost the match as a result as they had a 100 run partnership after that.

Bah from now on I am just going to stand at a 30 degree angle for everyone -

Sorry mate.

[NUFAN]

I fielded in the gully/point region for most of my playing days, I enjoyed gully so much more than in the slips as I naturally expect the batsman to hit the ball not edge it.

Honestly Hurricane at the start of play just mark out your spot and it's such a big run scoring area that it's only natural for the ball to go either side of you quite often.

If in doubt, ask your captain or bowler where they want you.

[Hurricane]

Thanks to all who have posted in this thread I appreciate the comments.