The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket. For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ...

A cricket field is notionally divided into two halves, by an imagined line running down the long axis of the pitch. In normal batting stance, the striking batsman stands side on to the bowler. The leg side is the half of the field behind the batsman. The half of the field in front of him is called the off side. A cricket pitch is the central strip of the playing area between the wickets. ... Cricket batsman A batsman in the sport of cricket is, depending on context: Any player in the act of batting. ... For usage in other sports, see offside rule. ...

Note that the definition is relative to the batsman. If the batsman were to directly face the bowler, the leg side would be: Darren Gough bowling A bowler in the sport of cricket is usually a player whose speciality is bowling. ...

• on the left side for a right-handed batsman, but
• on the right side for a left-handed batsman.

This contrasts with terminology in baseball, in which left field is always to the left of the batter, while right field is always to the right. Baseball is a team sport in which a player on one team (the pitcher) attempts to throw a hard, fist-sized ball past a player on the other team (the batter), who attempts to hit the baseball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical stick called a bat. ... The position of the left fielder A left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder in the sport of baseball who plays defense in left field. ... The position of the right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in right field (e. ...

The leg side is usually less well defended with fielders than the off side, because of the typical line of attack of the bowlers, which is frequently on or outside off stump. This makes it more difficult to hit the ball to the leg side because it involves swinging the bat across the line of the ball, which can lead to mishits and catches. Fielding in the sport of cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running... In the sport of cricket, the term stump has three different meanings: part of the wicket, a manner of dismissing a batsman, and the end of the days play (stumps). Part of the wicket The stumps are three vertical posts supporting the bails to form a wicket at each... Cricket ball A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. ...

While the terms "leg side" and "on side" can refer to an entire half of the field, each term is often used to denote only part of this half. When the batsman plays the ball into this half in front of the wicket, it is usually said that the ball has been played to the on side. However, when the ball is played into the region level with or behind the wicket, it is said that the ball has been played to the leg side. The names of fielding positions often include the words "leg" or "on", and they reflect this convention. For example fine leg is located behind the wicket, whereas mid on is located in front of it. When the batsman steps backwards from his normal batting stance on the crease as the ball is bowled, he is said to be moving towards the leg side. This article is about the cricket term. ... Fielding in the sport of cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running... Fielding in the sport of cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running... In the sport of cricket, the crease is the area demarcated by white lines painted or chalked on the field of play. ...

See also

• Cricket terminology