Possession (sports)

Sports have different rules governing how possession is kept or lost ("turned over"), which affect the strategy of gameplay.

In bat-and-ball games including baseball and cricket, the ball is controlled by the fielding team, which is on defense.

Similarly, in rugby league, offensive teams have six chances to score, or tackles, before losing possession.

A shot clock speeds gameplay by requiring teams to attempt to score within a certain period of time or lose possession.

[2] It has historically been assumed that a greater possession percentage correlates with a scoring advantage, however, at least one study has questioned this assumption.