Unheralded Part of The Game: Fielding

[Jono]

Sachin's almost 34, obviously he's not going to be as agile and quick as Raina/Kaif/Yuvraj, but I can honestly not remember the last time he's dropped a catch. He's had a very good arm up until his recent shoulder injury, and is most definitely not slack on the field as well. Plus he's been doing it consistently for something like 14 years now. Underrated fielder.

Why does Dravid have to be hidden though? He generally fields mid-wicket, and catches everything that goes there most of the time.

 

[viktor]

Sachin's almost 34, obviously he's not going to be as agile and quick as Raina/Kaif/Yuvraj, but I can honestly not remember the last time he's dropped a catch. He's had a very good arm up until his recent shoulder injury, and is most definitely not slack on the field as well. Plus he's been doing it consistently for something like 14 years now. Underrated fielder.

Why does Dravid have to be hidden though? He generally fields mid-wicket, and catches everything that goes there most of the time.

Sure, I am not saying Sachin is a bad fielder, infact he is a very good fielder. I just said he is not as good as the young brigade, thats all.

Dravid...he is a pretty good catcher but if he is in the field, you can always imagine batsmen stealing singles to him.

btw, I speak mainly of the ground fielding. India has been a decent catching side for a while now.

 

[open365]

Pakistan obv.

 

[Loots]

England?

England's fielding isn't too bad, if you discount slip catching.

Which is probably the most important area

 

[Turbinator]

England's fielding isn't too bad, if you discount slip catching.

Which is probably the most important area

England's fielding isn't bad but they certainly are not better than India.

 

[tooextracool]

Sachin's almost 34, obviously he's not going to be as agile and quick as Raina/Kaif/Yuvraj, but I can honestly not remember the last time he's dropped a catch. He's had a very good arm up until his recent shoulder injury, and is most definitely not slack on the field as well. Plus he's been doing it consistently for something like 14 years now. Underrated fielder.

Why does Dravid have to be hidden though? He generally fields mid-wicket, and catches everything that goes there most of the time.

Fielding isnt just about catching though,especially in ODIs. Its about ground fielding,speed in the outfield, as well as throwing. In all 3 of those areas New zealand exceed india IMO.

 

[adharcric]

Sure, I am not saying Sachin is a bad fielder, infact he is a very good fielder. I just said he is not as good as the young brigade, thats all.

Dravid...he is a pretty good catcher but if he is in the field, you can always imagine batsmen stealing singles to him.

btw, I speak mainly of the ground fielding. India has been a decent catching side for a while now.

Dravid doesn't have a strong arm but he's pretty sharp at mid-on. Either way, he's usually in the slips so it doesn't matter. One thing's for sure, India have the best off-side cordon in the world in Yuvraj-Raina-Kaif. Australia's probably up there too, with Symonds a beast and Clarke solid as well.

 

[viktor]

Dravid doesn't have a strong arm but he's pretty sharp at mid-on. Either way, he's usually in the slips so it doesn't matter. One thing's for sure, India have the best off-side cordon in the world in Yuvraj-Raina-Kaif. Australia's probably up there too, with Symonds a beast and Clarke solid as well.

Symonds-Clarke-Ponting v Kaif-Yuvraj-Raina ? (not in any order)

Also, seriously, how many overs in the ODIs do we have a slip in operation?
Dravid doesn't have a strong arm, nor is he quick across the turf.

 

[James]

One question to those Asian members, has it taken the introduction of foreign coaches to help improve the standard of fielding in the sub continent? The likes John Wright, Tom Moody, Greg Chappell, etc.

 

[FRAZ]

As far as Pakistan is concerned ,I can say with 100% guarantee that Coaching was just a minor factor but I guess good athleticism , improvement of the ground field or better grounds and on top of that Jonathan Neil Rhodes are some factors which have a lot of influence on the youngsters. I remember that when ever there were local level tournaments (tape ball ) then the prizes never included best fielder award but now they have usually two awards solely for the fielding department i.e. best catch and best fielder of the tournament .
Fielding has certainly improved and those clumsy times are over now ..
Indian film industry of the early 80's and the Pakistani cricket of the same era produced some of the clumsiest stars of all time . Elahi bros , Nazar , Tahir Naqash , hehehehe clumsiest and the the worst fielders ever and never had good impact on the youngsters .
Overall on the grass root level fielding has improved and so did on the international level .

 

[Galactic_Soap]

One question to those Asian members, has it taken the introduction of foreign coaches to help improve the standard of fielding in the sub continent? The likes John Wright, Tom Moody, Greg Chappell, etc.

Hmmmm, not necessarily, the Sri Lankan team of the late 80's/early 90's were frankly a better fielding outfit than the current crop. For me I'd have to agree with NZ being the best fielding side at the moment.