The Hindu : Sport : ‘The worst fielding side in the world’

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Wednesday, Aug 29, 2007
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Sport

‘The worst fielding side in the world’

S. Dinakar

— PHOTO: AFP

BEST OF THE LOT: Yuvraj Singh sparkles with his brilliant fielding in the Indian team.

Birmingham: They have been diving after the ball has passed, chasing without speed, fumbling frequently, struggling to throw from outfield, and dropping catches.

The Indian fielding so far in the NatWest ODI series has been, to put it mildly, sub-standard. The side is conceding at least 25 runs extra on the field, denting the confidence of the bowlers, increasing the job of the batsmen.

An English journalist in the press box quipped — “They (the Indians) are the worst fielding side in the world.” Moments later Rudra Pratap Singh put down the simplest of catches at fine-leg.

In Monday’s ODI here, outstanding ground-fielding and catching lifted the English attack just when India appeared to have the match in the bag.

Sensational stops can create pressure, force mistakes, open avenues. Errors on the field have the opposite effect – they actually help the batsmen break the bowling shackles. Preventing singles from being stolen – not allowing the batsmen to rotate the strike – holds the key in most games. If this aspect is ignored, the entire sequence of events could change.

Robin Singh was a livewire in the field during his playing days. Now, the lapses have left the Indian fielding coach disappointed.

However, he told The Hindu in an exclusive interview, “There is no point in feeling depressed. We have to move on. The next game is an opportunity.”

Adds Robin, “I have been a fielding coach for just over four months now. And fielding is something that has been a major issue with the Indian team for generations. To be honest, we have to improve in every area. The process will take some time. We have to be patient.”

Meanwhile, jokes about India’s fielding have been flying around. A former Indian cricketer said normally sides would look to pick a couple of weak fielders for the additional runs, now they just have to eliminate a couple of good fielders and there are more runs everywhere else! This is, indeed, a sad commentary on the state of the present Indian fielding, particularly on the bigger grounds.

Robin makes no excuses: “Fielding is like batting or bowling. You have to be in the game all the time. Push yourself. Concentrate 100 per cent for the full 50 overs. Expect the ball to come to you all the time. You also have to read the game. You can be a good fielder, but if you do not anticipate well, it is of little use. It is not as if we are not making an effort but...”

Robin orchestrated an extended fielding session ahead of the third ODI, where much focus was on catching and throwing. Most of the catches – both the high and the flat ones – were taken then. Then, arrived the match and we returned to a familiar story.

Says Robin: “There have been flashes of brilliance but they are getting buried under the mistakes. We held some very good catches, particularly in the slips, in the Test series here. We have been playing almost non-stop cricket and I have not been able to spend quality time individually with the players. There have been a couple of fielders who have improved, but we have lacked consistency. Fielding is all about consistency.”

Robin is right, but the Indian fielders, on the evidence of this series, have not got their basics right. And consistency stems from the right basics.

The only brilliant fielder in present side is Yuvraj Singh, and even he has slowed down a touch after his knee injury.

Fielding session

The Indian cricket team had an unscheduled fielding session at Manchester on Tuesday afternoon. This was earlier supposed to be a day of rest.Rahul Dravid’s men meet England in the fourth NatWest ODI series game, a day/night affair, at the Old Trafford on Thursday.India needs to improve its fielding rather dramatically and skipper Dravid did concede — “They (England) have outfielded us so far.”The Indian captain also suggested Dinesh Karthik would receive more opportunities at No 3.

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