- For usage in other sports, see offside rule.
In cricket, the off side is one half of the field. A cricket field is notionally divided into two halves, along a line running down the long axis of the pitch. In normal batting stance, the striking batsman stands side on to the bowler. The off side is the half of the field in front of the batsman. The half of the field behind him is called the leg side.
Note that the definition is relative to the batsman. If the batsman were to directly face the bowler, the off side would be:
- on the right side for a right-handed batsman, but
- on the left 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.
See also