Leg side

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The leg side, or on side, is a particular half of a cricket field.

A left-handed batsman. The leg side is on the left side of this picture.

A right-handed batsman. The leg side is on the right side of this picture.

A cricket field may be notionally divided into two halves, by an imaginary line running down the middle of the pitch, through the middle stumps, and out to the boundary in both directions. The leg side is the half of the field behind the on-strike batsman, when the batsman is in normal batting stance. The half of the field in front of him is called the off side. Which half of the field is the leg side therefore depends on whether the on-strike batsman is right-handed or left-handed.

From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it can also be thought of as the left-hand side of the cricket field (and to the bowler's right). With a left-handed batsman, the leg side is to the batsman's right (and to the bowler's left). It is therefore the side of the field that corresponds to the batsman's non-dominant hand, from their perspective.

In the picture, the bowler is bowling from the bottom half of the image, the right-handed batsman (S), facing him sideways on, has his legs more on the right side of the picture, the leg-side. If the ball goes down that side of the pitch it will be "on" the batsman's legs, the on side.