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Cricket · Level 2: Elementary · Sub-level 2.3

Fielding and Wicket-keeping Laws

5 tests · 50 facts · updated 6 September 2026 · markdown

This sub-level teaches how the fielding side must behave in the field — where the wicket-keeper has to stand and the one moment he is freed to move, how many fielders may be behind square on the leg side and what fielders may wear, the five-run penalty for fake fielding or otherwise distracting the striker, the "penalty time" a fielder owes after leaving the field, and what a substitute is and is not allowed to do.

Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.

Test 1The wicket-keeper's position

  1. Law 27.3 keeps the keeper entirely behind the striker's wicket until the ball has been dealt with.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27 · recall

  2. Any one of the three events — a touch, a pass, or a run attempt — releases the keeper to come forward.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27.3 · recall

  3. A keeper who comes in front of the stumps too soon has the delivery called a no-ball by the striker's-end umpire.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27.3 · applied

  4. It is the striker's-end umpire, best placed to watch the keeper, who makes the call once the ball is delivered.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27.3 · recall

  5. Once the ball has touched the bat the keeper is free to move, so taking it in front is entirely legal.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27.3 · applied

  6. Without the rule a keeper could gather the ball in front and break the wicket before the batter had a fair chance to play it.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27 · recall

  7. The keeper's early movement makes it a no-ball, and a batter cannot be bowled off a no-ball.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Laws 21 and 27 · applied

  8. Nothing in the Laws dictates the keeper's depth; the side sets it to suit the bowler and the conditions.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27 · recall

  9. The keeper's early move still makes it a no-ball, so its one-run penalty is added to the single the batters took.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Laws 21 and 27 · applied

  10. Any player may take over the gloves during an innings; the side just informs the umpires of the switch.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27 · recall

Test 2The leg-side field and fielders' kit

  1. The limit of two behind square on the leg side is measured at the moment of delivery, so a fielder may move round afterwards.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28.4 · recall

  2. A third fielder behind square on the leg side at the moment of delivery makes the ball a no-ball.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28.4 · applied

  3. The restriction is on fielders behind square on the leg side; anyone level with or in front of square is unrestricted.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28.4 · recall

  4. A packed leg-side field went hand in hand with fast, short, leg-directed bowling, and the limit followed the 1932-33 Bodyline series.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  5. Only the wicket-keeper may wear gloves and external leg guards; other fielders field bare-handed.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28 · recall

  6. Fielders are free to wear a helmet; it is gloves and external leg guards that are reserved to the keeper.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28 · applied

  7. Contact with equipment a fielder may not wear makes the ball dead and gives the batting side five penalty runs, so no catch can stand.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28 · applied

  8. Runs completed before the dead-ball call for illegal fielding stand, with the five penalty runs added on top of them.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28.2 · applied

  9. Only deliberate fielding with something other than the person is penalised; an accidental deflection off the body is normal play.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28.2 · applied

  10. A fielder may only return with the consent of an umpire, given at a suitable break in play.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24 · recall

Test 3Fake fielding and distracting the striker

  1. Law 41.5 applies from the moment the striker has received the delivery, the period when the batters are judging a run.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.5 · recall

  2. A deliberate distraction or deception of the batters is punished with five penalty runs.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.5 · recall

  3. The umpire calls dead ball at once so nothing further can happen on the delivery, then signals the penalty.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.5 · recall

  4. Miming a throw with no ball, to make the batters pull up, is exactly what the fake-fielding Law was written to catch, and it costs five runs.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.5 · applied

  5. It is for the umpires to judge whether the distraction or deception was wilful before any penalty is given.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.5 · recall

  6. Runs already completed count, and the five penalty runs are added on top of them.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.5 · applied

  7. Labuschagne was the first batter penalised under the fake-fielding Law, feigning a throw in a match against India.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  8. The Law covers distraction "by word or action", so a shout to freeze the batters is caught just as a fake throw is.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.5 · applied

  9. Distracting the striker as he prepares to receive is dealt with the same way — dead ball and five penalty runs — under the sister clause to fake fielding.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.4 · applied

  10. Fielders were faking slides and throws so the batters would turn a run down, and the clause was written to stop it.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.5 · recall

Test 4A fielder off the field, and penalty time

  1. "Penalty time" makes the returning fielder spend equal on-field playing time before he is allowed to bowl.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.2 · recall

  2. Time off the field is added to any unserved penalty time, up to a maximum of 120 minutes.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.2 · recall

  3. He owes twenty minutes of on-field time, matching his absence, before he can bowl again.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.2 · applied

  4. Penalty time keeps expiring while his team bats, and even after he has been dismissed.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.2 · recall

  5. The umpire simply will not let him bowl until the time is served; there is no run penalty for the attempt.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.2 · applied

  6. Without it a tiring fast bowler could leave, recover, and come straight back to bowl; the equal-time rule removes that gain.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24 · recall

  7. The umpires note when a fielder leaves and returns and work out how much penalty time is owed.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.2 · recall

  8. ICC T20I conditions scale the penalty-time cap down to fit the length of the match, well below the Law's 120-minute maximum.

    Source: ICC Playing Conditions (T20I) · recall

  9. Nothing about a wicket resets penalty time; the returning fielder still owes his on-field minutes before bowling.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.2 · applied

  10. A side may field with fewer than eleven; it just has one fewer fielder until the missing player comes back.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24 · recall

Test 5Substitutes, keepers and runners

  1. An ordinary substitute may field only; batting and bowling stay with the eleven named players.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.1 · recall

  2. The 2017 code allows a substitute to act as wicket-keeper, but only with the umpires' permission.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.1 · recall

  3. A catch taken by a substitute counts exactly as one by a named fielder, and the bowler is credited.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24 · applied

  4. The 2017 code removed the runner; a batter who cannot run must carry on unaided or retire.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 25 · recall

  5. Since the 2017 code there are no runners; the batter goes on by himself or retires hurt.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 25 · applied

  6. A substitute may only take the field with the umpires' consent, though it is rarely refused for a genuine injury.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.1 · recall

  7. A substitute cannot captain the side; a member of the playing eleven takes charge in the captain's absence.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 1 · applied

  8. The full concussion replacement, allowed to bat and bowl, is an ICC playing-conditions provision, not part of the Laws.

    Source: ICC Playing Conditions (concussion replacements) · recall

  9. A substitute is a fielder only; he cannot bowl however tired the named bowlers are.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.1 · applied

  10. The substitute leaves once the player he replaced comes back, and the umpires are told of the change.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.1 · recall

Sources

MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022) for the Laws themselves; ICC Playing Conditions per format for the officiating and regulation detail that overrides the Laws in international cricket (DRS, powerplays, over rates, concussion replacements, the free hit); ESPNcricinfo for recent changes such as the soft-signal retirement. Questions are authored from these sources, not reproduced from them.

  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.58
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.27
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 24.15
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 274
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 27.34
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 244
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28.43
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 283
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Laws 21 and 272
  • ESPNcricinfo2
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28.22
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 252
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41.41
  • ICC Playing Conditions (T20I)1
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 11
  • ICC Playing Conditions (concussion replacements)1