5 best English silly point / short leg fielders of all time

When it comes to Test cricket, a team needs to take 20 wickets in order to win the game under normal circumstances and hence, the fielding positions used in this format of the game are far more attacking.

That is why close-in fielders at short leg and silly point are common positions in Test cricket. If the pitch has a bit of bounce, then fast bowlers are usually given a short leg, while on the other hand both silly point and short leg are given to spinners.

Needless to say, the fielders who are stationed at the positions and over the course of their cricketing history, England have produced plenty of top-class fielders, specialised at those positions. Here is a look at 5 of the best.

#5 James Taylor

The former middle-order batsman's career was cruelly cut short at the age of only 26 due to a heart condition. However, as long as he played for England, James Taylor was one of the finest short-leg fielders in the game and certainly among the best to have played for his country.

He played only 7 Test matches for England but his gifts as a short-leg fielder were beyond question and much of it was down to his reflexes, powers of anticipation and of course, the ability to complete a catch with either hand. On the other hand, the fact that he is a short man helped him a lot and he could get down easily as well.

The catch he took off Hashim Amla at short-leg during England's tour of South Africa in 2016 cemented his place as a player, who was supposed to make that position his own for years to come.

However, it was not to be an England and world cricket not only lost a talented batsman but potentially one of the game's great short-leg fielders.

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