Against specialist fielders: Give everyone a chance

I'm against specialist fielders. I'm not opposed to the idea of cricketers doing stellar duty for their captains in fielding positions that require particular catching or fielding skills (like, say, first slip, forward short-leg, or extra-cover) but rather, against the misuse of a certain species of recreational cricketer by his supposed 'team-mates.'

The phenomena I am about to describe should be familiar to many of us that have played recreational cricket. In a team of eleven cricketers that play cricket on weekends, it emerges that one, sometimes even two, team members, bat lower down the order, are not given any bowling, and often, as a final garnishing of insult, are inevitably sent to field at third-man, deep fine-leg, or deep backward-point.

These brave souls, who love the game, have sacrificed their weekend time to make up the eleven required to play the game on the weekend, spend their time underused and underappreciated, perhaps being consigned scoring duties while waiting their turn to bat at Nos. 9 or 10.

How does this situation come about? Recreational teams often feature strong, selfish, personalities (perhaps frustrated high-school or college cricketers who did not make it any further) who like to bat higher up the order, demand bowling spells, and like to field in the slips. Sometimes they form a clique with the captain, and merely require a few more bodies to make up the eleven. The 'team' such as it is, is merely them, and them alone. The rest just make up the numbers, and are treated accordingly.

Human nature being what it is, this sort of marginalization comes easily to some, and may even be borne with little resistance by the victim. The 'specialist fielder' wants to play cricket; he wants to be on a cricket field on a weekend, watching and playing cricket; he wants to be with his 'teammates' participating in a contest. His 'exploiters' want to play the game too, but they have forgotten that cricket is a team game, and recreational cricket should not be taken too seriously, especially if it means running on-field proceedings in such a way that not everyone gets a chance to contribute and participate.

A captain that runs a recreational cricket team bears a special responsibility to ensure everyone that plays for him gets a chance to play the game, somehow. Recreational games are invariably limited-over games and those batting down the order often do not get a long enough bat; if those same players are not given a bowling spell, then their participation in the game has been cruelly curtailed. Winning games is always fun, and everyone loves a contest, but it should not happen at the expense of ruining the recreational cricket experience for those that play on the same team as you. A good Australian friend of mine said it especially bluntly with respect to bowling: "Anyone that wants a bowl in a weekend game should get one; it's not the f***ing Ashes!"

Lose a few games if you must; it won't be the worst thing in the world. Otherwise, be brave enough to take the field with just nine or ten cricketers, and tell the 'specialist fielder' he should find another team, one that is willing to respect his love for, and commitment to, the game.