Why third man has its point

Third man. It's the place where duffers and donkeys field, but a lonely life on the boundary has its uses, writes Rob Bagchi on his Guardian blog. And it's high time England reinvigorated the lost art of fielding at third man.

Third man and its more threatening but now rarely seen relative, the fly slip, are so unfashionable that sides seem prepared to leak scores of runs there rather than plug the gap. Perhaps not stationing a man down there is designed to encourage the streaky shot, and the cheap boundaries conceded there are a quid pro quo for the edge to slip the captain hopes will eventually materialise. But it seems obvious that if the bowler's plan of attack is to hit that famous corridor outside off-stump the penalties can quickly outweigh the rewards.