Stars at first slip: Ajit Wadekar (India), Mark Waugh (Australia), Mohammed Azharuddin (India), )Inzamam-Ul-Haq (Pakistan), Ian Chappel (Australia).

Second slip: The fielder at second slip is to the right of the first slip position. But, in physical positioning, the second slip is more or less aligned with the wicketkeeper. The second slip is generally employed on a long-term basis in Test matches. In the LOIs, the second slip may be employed by genuine fast bowlers as they anticipate snicks from the batsmen who would like to open the phase of the bat and glide the ball.

Stars at second slip: Greg Chappel (Australia), Mark Taylor (Australia), Clive Lloyd (West Indies).

Third slip: Another vital component in the slip cordon, the third slip is a fast bowler's delight. This position again is to the right of the second slip and a step ahead of the wicketkeeper. Third slip is normally employed in Test matches by fast bowlers and the medium pacers when the ball is new.

Fourth slip: An absolute necessity for tearaway fast bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Alan Donald, Shoaib Akhtar, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Dennis Lillie, Thomson and Richard Hadlee. The fourth slip is a rare commodity except in LOIs, but normally employed by the Australian, South African, West Indian and Paksitani fast bowlers in Test matches at least in the initial spells. The fourth slip is again to the right of the third slip to form an umbrella cordon.

Gully: A position that entices batsman to go for the slash outside the off stump. The position is to the right of the slip cordon and covers the area just square of the wicket on the off side. Requires a lot of agility as the ball can come sharply from the inside edges. It is generally employed as a run saving position in both the versions of the game. An ideal position for a bowler to be stationed in between overs as he need not have to waste energy trekking up to his bowling mark when his turn comes.

Stars at gully:Azharuddin (India), Jadeja (India), Kumble (India).

Third man: This is a boundary line position right behind the slip cordon. The fielder at third man has to cover a vast area on the outfield. The fielder at third man is also required to have a strong arm as he may sometimes have to hurl the ball from the boundary line to the wicketkeeper in one quick action. This can be an ideal place for fast bowlers to get back their breath in between overs like any deep fielding position.

Silly point: A highly specialised position in front of the wicket on the off side. The fielder is almost within handshaking distance of the batsmen. The idea of silly point is to put additional pressure on the batsmen. This position assumes special significance for spinners as a lot of bat-pad catches may go in that direction. The fielder at silly point has to show a remarkable reflex action to take quick catches as well take fast evasive action if the batsman goes for a big one. In short, this fielding position requires the fielder to show tremendous guts.

Stars at silly point: Rahul Dravid (India),V.V.S. Laxman (India).

Point: A position which is exactly at 90 degrees to the batsman. This position requires the fielder to show a lot of anticipation. The fielder at this position invariably charges at the batsman and has to keep an eye for the hard square drives. Sometimes the fielders may have to take blinders of catches at this position. Quick reflexes are also required to stop the ball going to the deep.

Cover point: This is another crucial position on the off side in front of the wicket. This is the area in which batsmen normally drive through with the full flow off the bat and hence fielders at this position have to be extra alert. The position is between point (square off the wicket) and cover, hence the name cover point. Cricketers who specialise in the cover region are also good cover point fielders.

Stars at point: Jonty Rhodes (South Africa), Ricky Ponting (Australia), M. Azharuddin (India).

Deep point: Essentially a defensive position, the fielder at this position is more or less stationed at the boundary line. The deep point is right behind the point fielder. The idea of this position is to prevent the batsmen from scoring boundaries. Sometimes a fielder at square third man can also man the deep point boundary, but will have to do a fair amount of running to reach the ball.

Cover: This is an important fielding position in front of the wicket. The fielder at cover is more or less in line of the ball when the batsmen are making strokes from the meat of the bat. The fielder at cover is stationed to the right of point and will have to anticipate the movement of the ball from the movements of the bat. Another position where the ball can come with blinding speed on the up.

Stars at cover: Vivian Richards (West Indies), Nawab of Pataudi Jr. (India), Brijesh Patel (India)

Extra cover: )Another additional position in front of the wicket. A captain can opt for cover and extra cover when he wants to have a strong off side field. Similar to that of cover, the extra cover fielder is a little to the right and more in line with the "V" of the batsman's stroke. The fielder at this position needs to have a strong desire to attack the ball after it leaves the bat.

Sweeper cover: Akin to a sweeper back in soccer, the role of sweeper cover is highly defensive. In fact, the sweeper cover position is an outcome of Limited Overs Internationals where the fielding sides decide to keep the runs (especially from boundaries) to the bare minimum. Like any deep fielding position, the fielder at sweeper cover is required to have a strong arm to return the ball either to the wicketkeeper or at the non-striker's end.

Short mid off: A position pretty close to the bat, but not within hand shaking distance of the batsman like silly point. This is a position of gamble as it can curb the stroke making ability of the batsmen or make the batsmen go boldly for the gaps. A very safe pair of hands is required at this position as hard catches can be expected around this region. The position is almost mid way to the wicket from the batting crease.

Mid off: An ideal position on the off side for the captain to judge the trend of the game. The captain also can have easy access to the bowlers in between balls during an over. This position is almost straight in line with the bat and the fielder has to be alert for the straight drives from the meat of the bat. With the ball traveling fairly fastly in this direction, the fielder has to be quick on his feet. A keen sense of anticipation is also required to lap up uppish strokes.

Stars at mid off: Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Nasser Hussain (England), Nawab of Pataudi (India).

Long off: Another defensive position deep on the off side. A fielder at long off has to cover a fairly substantial area from the sight screen to the sweeper cover position and beyond. As in any deep position, the fielder at long off is required to have a safe pair of hands. A good eye and quick co-ordination are the other prerequisites to be a successful long off fielder as skiers can be difficult to judge especially under flood lights in LOIs.

Long on: This position is an exact mirror image of long off on the on side of the wicket. The area of coverage for a long on fielder will go up to deep mid wicket and beyond.

Mid on: This is another position almost straight of the batsman and in some ways similar to the mid off position. This is another position from which captains can judge the situation of the game. The mid on fielder has to be alert for uppish strokes especially when batsmen face spin bowlers. The tendency to loft down the leg side can end up as sharp chances in the mid on region.

Mid wicket: A fielder at mid wicket has to be extra alert as any bad ball down the leg side or short pitched delivery will leave this area open for vulnerability. Especially against wristy players like Mohammed Azharuddin, fielders manning mid wicket will have a job on their hands.

Deep mid wicket: A typical boundary line position, it is almost a replica of the sweeper cover. The functions are to obviously cut off the boundaries. The fielder at deep mid wicket also has to be careful while judging skiers. Could be a difficult position under lights. Like any boundary line position, fielders at mid wicket will have to put up with the over enthusiasm of fans.

Short mid on: A position more or less similar to the short mid off, but on the on side. These positions are generally use to bring pressure on batsmen. If the going gets tough for the bowling side, these positions are generally withdrawn. Shane Warne made a special position of short mid on, which was more or less within handshaking distance of the non-striker.

Forward short leg: )A very important close catching position for both medium pacers and spinners. This has become one area of great specialisation with some fielders training to stand in this position. An extremely high degree of alertness is required for this position. A great sense of anticipation is required as the fielder may have very little time to react either to evade or to take a catch.

Stars of forward short leg: Eknath Solkar (India), Rahul Dravid) (India), V V S Laxman (India).

Short square leg: A position to the right of forward square leg. This used to be very popular when the Indian spinners were on a song. Rarely seen in the modern version of the game, it is sometimes employed against players who are especially strong of their hips. There is every chance that a batsman playing off his hips may not keep the ball on the ground and as short square leg can be handy in such situations.

Backward short leg: This position is akin to first slip on the leg side and is very often referred to as leg slip. Again a position used when spinners are in operation, the fielder at backward square leg needs to show a good sense of judgement and anticipation. The wicketkeeper can be a hindrance which the fielder at backward square leg may have to overcome.

Square leg: This position is square of the wicket on the on side almost in line with the batting crease. This is also the position for the leg umpire. Between the wicket and the square boundary, it prevents the batsman from going for uppish pull shots. The fielder at square leg needs extra caution when fast bowlers are in operation. A mistimed hook or pull shot can result in a catch to the square leg region.

Deep/ backward square leg: )This position is usually adopted by fast bowlers to tempt the batsmen into the hook shot. This is region can also be monitored by the fielders from the deep mid wicket and deep fine leg regions. The same qualities of long and safe arms are required to man this fielding position.

Fine leg: As the name indicates this position is fine on the leg side to the right of the square leg region. A traditional position where fast bowlers generally relax in between overs. A region which is normally manned for flicks of the hips. The fielder from this position will have to cover ground on either side to stop the ball from crossing over.

Stars of fine leg: Most fast bowlers.