The fielder must stop the ball with his hands or, if this fails, with some other part of his body. To do this, he must bend and place one knee on the ground with the other foot open in a sideways position so as to get as much of his body behind the ball as possible. This is called the 'long barrier' position and the ball is fielded in line with the knee and heel of the opposite foot. Hands are open in normal catching position. There will be occasions when the ball is wide of the fielder and he will need to dive to try to stop it in some way, even one-handed, so as to prevent any runs being taken.

Overarm Throw

The ball is picked up just in front of the right foot, and as the left foot comes down the throwing arm is in line with the shoulder, wrist cocked and ready to throw, opposite hand pointing at the target.

The weight is forward as the throw is completed with a full follow-through. The throw should be aimed at the wicket-keeper's head as this will result in the ball dropping at the top of the stumps. Try not to let the ball bounce before it reaches the wicket-keeper, and bear in mind that speed is no substitute of accuracy.

Attacking Pick-Up & Underarm Throw

When the ball is struck towards the fielder, he should run at it, and during his last step put his right foot at right angles to the ball, picking it up just in front of the right foot. Eyes should be kept on the ball and as the follow-through of the left foot touches the ground, the ball is thrown underarm to the wicket-keeper or bowler or to try to hit the stumps.

Chasing the ball

The ball is picked up with the throwing hand and the body is quickly turned to face the stumps again. The back foot then anchors to stop your momentum and helps to change your weight so that the throw can be completed with your weight moving towards the target.

The same principles apply as for a normal throw-in.