The Hindu : Sport : Wobbly Duke ball has Dhoni stumped

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Saturday, Aug 04, 2007
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Sport

Wobbly Duke ball has Dhoni stumped

‘I have never seen the ball swing so much; most of the players feel that way’

— Photo: AFP

SOLUTION IN SIGHT? With the ball talking like it does in the English conditions, Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be hoping he had these oversized gloves to help him.

Leicester: Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been finding the wobbly Duke ball tough to negotiate from behind the stumps and has sought the advice of former players, including India’s legendary Farokh Engineer.

“I have never seen the ball swing so much. It’s not just me, most of the players feel the same way. Even our bowlers have acknowledged that the Duke ball has been swinging a lot, beyond their own expectations,” Dhoni said.

“However, it’s not the swing but the wobble that has been testing wicketkeepers with their reflexes and athletic brilliance.”

Dhoni and the Indian team support staff have been consulting veteran wicketkeepers to help improve his glovework.

“I spoke to Farokh Engineer and some former players and they’ve told me to concentrate hard on my job and not to worry too much,” Dhoni said.

Difficult conditions

“Wicketkeepers do have problems when the conditions are too difficult. Even Matt Prior (England wicketkeeper) has had to keep diving around all day and he too hasn’t looked great.”

India’ fielding coach Robin Singh said, “I’ve been talking to Alec Stewart (former England wicketkeeper) and others here. I even spoke to Andy Flower, who gave up the gloves in this sort of scenario.”

Dhoni further said, “it’s happening only with Zaheer (Khan) and Sreesanth because they swing the ball and make it wobble. However, there’s been no problem when I’m standing up to RP (Rudra Pratap Singh).

“Since the ball is wobbling so much, once it pitches, it moves pretty late and that too by a long way.

“You can’t make any movement beforehand because if it takes the edge, it might come straight or to your right.

“At the same time, once it pitches on or around the off stump, the ball jags back late by a long way down the leg side.”

While Dhoni may have had a hard time with the gloves in this series, the team is fully backing him since they are aware of the demanding conditions.

On the eve of the series, captain Rahul Dravid said, “Dhoni has done nothing wrong in international cricket,” while fielding coach Robin Singh felt that the good thing about the Jharkhand player was that he had not lost his confidence.” — PTI

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