Powerplays and Fielding Restrictions in ODI and T20 Cricket
By the Live Cricket Zone editorial team · Last reviewed 17 September 2026
Limited-overs cricket restricts how many fielders may stand far from the bat during defined parts of the innings. These powerplays are why the opening overs of an ODI or T20 are so lively, why the middle overs slow down and why captains save their best bowlers for particular moments. This guide explains the current rules and how they are applied when overs are lost to weather.
The 30-yard circle
Two semicircles of 30-yard (27.4 m) radius are drawn from the centre of each set of stumps and joined by straight lines to form an oval around the pitch, marked by painted dots or a line. Fielding restrictions are expressed as the maximum number of fielders allowed outside this circle at the moment the ball is bowled. A breach is a no-ball, called by either umpire, and in most competitions results in a free hit.
ODI: three phases
| Phase | Overs | Max fielders outside the circle |
|---|---|---|
| Powerplay 1 | 1 to 10 | 2 |
| Powerplay 2 | 11 to 40 | 4 |
| Powerplay 3 | 41 to 50 | 5 |
In the first ten overs only two fielders may be outside the circle, so a batting side can hit over the infield with less risk of a boundary catch. In the long middle phase four may be out, which lets the captain post sweepers on both sides and forces batters to rotate the strike with singles. In the last ten, five may be out, but with only five inside the circle the gaps for singles open up again, and this is where teams aim for their fastest scoring. Earlier versions of the ODI rules included a batting powerplay that the batting side chose when to take; that was abolished in 2015.
T20: one powerplay
Overs 1 to 6 are the powerplay, with a maximum of two fielders outside the circle. From over 7 to 20 a maximum of five may be out. Some competitions add a variation: the Big Bash League's Power Surge, for example, shortens the opening powerplay to four overs and gives the batting side a two-over block, available from the 11th over, in which the two-fielder restriction returns. The ICC's international rules do not include a Power Surge.
Restrictions that apply in every format
- No more than two fielders behind square on the leg side at the moment of delivery. A third makes the ball a no-ball. This comes from the Laws and applies in Tests too.
- No fielder may stand on or over the pitch until the ball has left the bowler's hand.
- Fielders may not move significantly, or distract the batter, until the ball is delivered; doing so is a dead ball and in serious cases a penalty.
When overs are lost to rain
If an innings is shortened before it begins, the powerplay overs are scaled down in proportion. In ODIs the ICC publishes a table: a 40-over innings, for example, has an eight-over first powerplay, a 24-over middle phase and an eight-over final phase. In T20s the powerplay is also reduced, to five overs for a 15-over innings, down to two overs for a five-over innings. Bowlers' maximum overs are recalculated as one fifth of the new total. If an innings is interrupted after it has started, the remaining powerplay overs are recalculated from the new total in a similar way.
The slow over-rate fielding penalty
Since 2022 the ICC has enforced an in-match penalty for slow bowling in limited-overs internationals. Each innings has a scheduled finishing time, and if the fielding side has not begun the final over by that time, one fewer fielder is allowed outside the circle for the rest of the innings: four instead of five in a T20I or ODI final phase. The IPL and other leagues apply the same rule. It has made the closing overs noticeably faster and occasionally decided close finishes, since a side forced to bring a boundary fielder in with two overs left has fewer options against the batters.
How captains and batters use the phases
Batting sides usually attack in the opening powerplay while the field is up and the ball is new and hard, consolidate through the middle overs with singles and twos when boundaries are harder to find, then attack again at the death. Bowling captains often hold back their most economical bowler for the middle overs and their best yorker bowler for the end. Understanding which phase a match is in tells you what both sides are trying to do, which is what makes a live scorecard readable without the pictures.