Pakistani fielding

[Sir Alex]

Most Indian kids do not play on proper grounds for a long time. We play wherever we get place and the public grounds that we use don't have any grass they are just huge places of vacant land with stones lying every where. So generally no one jumps around. But, catching has always been pretty good in the places I play.

No grass and 35+ C heat levels are the main two things that zap fielders out.

 

[Xuhaib]

was always mediocre but this side has actually raised the bar for atrocious feilding.

31 dropped catches or chances in 5 test matches.

 

[Prince EWS]

Yeah, frankly I think ground-fielding and athleticism is spoken about far too often these days in Tests but if you can't catch, you really do have problems. Catching's such an under-rated skill, not only in its difficulty but in its importance.

 

[Uppercut]

Was just about to post something to that effect.

 

[Xuhaib]

Yeah, frankly I think ground-fielding and athleticism is spoken about far too often these days in Tests but if you can't catch, you really do have problems. Catching's such an under-rated skill, not only in its difficulty but in its importance.

catching is underrated because it is expected it will be taken and only the top screamers are highlighted.Usually an international side would expect 95% of their catches to be taken in a series I doubt if Pakistan is even touching 50%.

 

[NZ Guy]

A test cricketer spends far more time fielding than he does batting/bowling so its so important that at least 9 players can field. A team cant be successful if they can't field which is why Pakistan will never be a top team unless they sort their problem out.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I still can't understand how Aamer managed to drop that one. Every time I see it, it just gets worse and worse.

 

[Faisal1985]

And all you hear from the coach is that we are doing everything and the problem is at the grass roots......what a load of **** this guy......

 

[Prince EWS]

And all you hear from the coach is that we are doing everything and the problem is at the grass roots......what a load of **** this guy......

The thing is, he's probably right. To an extent anyway.

At Test level, your coach shouldn't have to teach you how to play cricket. He can help with minor technical adjustments and whatnot if there's an obvious issue but he's mainly there to prepare players mentally for games and get the best out of the ability and techniques they have; not to teach them the basics. If the selectors give him a squad of players who can't catch, then they aren't going to be able to catch when they go out there. It's probably not really any more his fault than the fact that Danish Kaneria can't bat. Now I've seen Pakistan warm up and certainly could make the catching practice a little more intense, but they'd probably just drop a stack then too; the drills accurately reflect the standard of Pakistan's catching. To blame the coach is a weak option IMO; it's obviously either a selection problem or (much more likely) a problem throughout the entire system right through to grass-roots level.

 

[Migara]

Disagree with this. All of my schoolboy and early club cricket was played on fields that were converted rugby pitches. So in winter they were destroyed with rugby/football, then come summer they were used as cricket fields. So whenever I played cricket in those early years the grounds were incredibly uneven, and you'd often wear a rolling ball in the chin from a dodgy bounce. However, we always worked hard on our fielding and i'm ashamed/happy to say fielding is probably the strongest part of my game. Having poor grounds is no excuse for not being able to field for mine.

Now lets' analyze what it is in NZ and SC. SL is the wettest country in the region, but junior grounds outside Colombo lacks even a decent grass covering. I can think what is the state of India / Pakistan which are much drier than SL, and grounds men (if any) will struggle to keep the grass cover. How good a fielder you are, you will not dive on a sandy ground. Put Jonty on one of them, and even he'll not dive. NZ is not that dry (SL might have bigger rainfall than NZ, but since it is hotter little water remains after rain), so you can have a lush green outfield even it is uneven. That may be the reason why SL cricketers are better fielders than IND / PAK / BAN cricketers. At least top Divison 2 grounds can maintain a good grass cover, unlike in India.

 

[0RI0N]

was always mediocre but this side has actually raised the bar for atrocious feilding.

31 dropped catches or chances in 5 test matches.

Xuhaib any idea who dropped the most catches in the last 5 tests?
K Akmal?

 

[G.I.Joe]

Now lets' analyze what it is in NZ and SC. SL is the wettest country in the region, but junior grounds outside Colombo lacks even a decent grass covering. I can think what is the state of India / Pakistan which are much drier than SL, and grounds men (if any) will struggle to keep the grass cover. How good a fielder you are, you will not dive on a sandy ground. Put Jonty on one of them, and even he'll not dive. NZ is not that dry (SL might have bigger rainfall than NZ, but since it is hotter little water remains after rain), so you can have a lush green outfield even it is uneven. That may be the reason why SL cricketers are better fielders than IND / PAK / BAN cricketers. At least top Divison 2 grounds can maintain a good grass cover, unlike in India.

Excellent post, that.

 

[Sir Alex]

Now lets' analyze what it is in NZ and SC. SL is the wettest country in the region, but junior grounds outside Colombo lacks even a decent grass covering. I can think what is the state of India / Pakistan which are much drier than SL, and grounds men (if any) will struggle to keep the grass cover. How good a fielder you are, you will not dive on a sandy ground. Put Jonty on one of them, and even he'll not dive. NZ is not that dry (SL might have bigger rainfall than NZ, but since it is hotter little water remains after rain), so you can have a lush green outfield even it is uneven. That may be the reason why SL cricketers are better fielders than IND / PAK / BAN cricketers. At least top Divison 2 grounds can maintain a good grass cover, unlike in India.

I agree with every word of this.

 

[Faisal1985]

The thing is, he's probably right. To an extent anyway.

At Test level, your coach shouldn't have to teach you how to play cricket. He can help with minor technical adjustments and whatnot if there's an obvious issue but he's mainly there to prepare players mentally for games and get the best out of the ability and techniques they have; not to teach them the basics. If the selectors give him a squad of players who can't catch, then they aren't going to be able to catch when they go out there. It's probably not really any more his fault than the fact that Danish Kaneria can't bat. Now I've seen Pakistan warm up and certainly could make the catching practice a little more intense, but they'd probably just drop a stack then too; the drills accurately reflect the standard of Pakistan's catching. To blame the coach is a weak option IMO; it's obviously either a selection problem or (much more likely) a problem throughout the entire system right through to grass-roots level.

But isn't the problem the very minor technical faults? The coach must fix those minor problems, should be part of the job....imo. Remember the catch YK dropped in Champions Trophy against NZ....YK by Pak standards is a great fielder. But he tried taking that in an awkward position, with his fingers at the sky....these are the types of faults Pak fielders have....Aamir, took the eyes of the ball at the last moment.

Ok, no one has to teach them catching or cricket at this level, but if someone is making technical mistakes, they should be fixed by the coach by different drills and mentoring. Is Inti capable of that at this age? I doubt it.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

If you've had minor technical flaws for the majority of your career, I think that constitutes a major technical flaw in your game. Correcting them is something easier said than done.

 

[slowfinger]

If you've had minor technical flaws for the majority of your career, I think that constitutes a major technical flaw in your game. Correcting them is something easier said than done.

But you have to do it some day.

 

[Faisal1985]

If you've had minor technical flaws for the majority of your career, I think that constitutes a major technical flaw in your game. Correcting them is something easier said than done.

a minor should be a minor, its not like they don't know how to make a cup of their palms and try to aim for the ball! Its about the right position at the right time, increased athleticism.

Ok yes, the problem is in the grass roots.....so how do we fix it? Its not like SL or IND don't play street cricket? they are nowhere close to being this terrible in the field! What is it with Pakistan then? To me its all about practice, repetition and proper drills. It is a coaches job to do that....regardless of the level.