What's wrong with the Aussie catching in the slips?

[King]

They just can't seem to catch a cold let alone a cricket ball these Aussie slippers. What's happened to them of late? Ponting, Hayden, Clarke, Hussey you name it they grass it. The fielding's stil great but slip catching has been dismal this summer. It surprises but Indians have caught way better than Aussies in the slips. I've lost count of number of catches that's gone down in the slips/gully. Johnson must be thinking the only way he can get wickets consistently is by bowling someone out. At times even Gilly has dropped sitters off his bowling.

[DomainK]

They just can't seem to catch a cold let alone a cricket ball these Aussie slippers. What's happened to them of late? Ponting' date=' Hayden, Clarke, Hussey you name it they grass it. The fielding's stil great but slip catching has been dismal this summer. It surprises but Indians have caught way better than Aussies in the slips. I've lost count of number of catches that's gone down in the slips/gully.[/quote'] Its not that they cant catch anything- Throw a banana, they will definitely catch. Its just that India recently peeled down their skin....they are low on confidence.

[Dirty_South]

Throw a banana, they will definitely catch.

:hysterical:

[talksport]

Dravid, Kallis, Laxman, Flintoff would be my Slip Cordon ........

[16 str8]

The slips catching has been very dissapointing. Amazing they are still able to win games with the amount they have droppped. Edit: Looks like their is no let up in the racism on this site. Wouldn't expect anything more from Indians though.

[Gambit]

Tubby,Junior and SKW must be cringing watching the current slip cordon in action.

[talksport]

Edit: Looks like their is no let up in the racism on this site.

Agree with you....There is a lot going on ICF , not just racism, and a lot of passionate cricket posters are leaving the site or not posting quite that often..

[16 str8]

It has been very poor of late. Hopefully the inclusion of Haddin as keeper will help stop the rot.

[cricket my love]

The reason for their poor catching is not able to put their mind in the game of cricket. It seems like that the whole Aussie team has so many different things in mind. Players mind have been torn between IPL and Pakistan tour. Slip is the only area where you need 200% focus and concentration.

[16 str8]

The reason for their poor catching is not able to put their mind in the game of cricket. It seems like that the whole Aussie team has so many different things in mind. Players mind have been torn between IPL and Pakistan tour. Slip is the only area where you need 200% focus and concentration.

You might be right, they do have alot to think about at the moment. But I don't think that is an excuse, I think they have just been very poor by anyone's standards.

[Mr. Wicket]

The two coaches they've had recently - Nielsen and Buchanan - have not made it a priority. It's a big contrast to the Bob Simpson days. Worth reading Ian Healy or Steve Waugh's autobiographies, just for the insight on Simmo's coaching days and his fanatical obsession with good fielding and catching. Simpson remains one of the world's greatest slip fielders, and it's not a surprise that under his coaching, Australia had probably the finest slip cordon in this generation - Taylor, Waugh and Warne. Under Buchanan, they were lucky to still have Hayden and Warne, both outstanding slippers. With Warne gone, the cracks are really showing. Being a natural athlete is not the same thing as being a fielder in a specialist catching position, as I've pointed out here before in my posts backing Akash Chopra for his abilities at short-leg. It's a similar situation at slip - it's not a position where anyone and everyone can be thrown in. As good a fielder as Symonds or Clarke are, they simply are not good slip fielders and don't have a coach/system around them that will turn them into good slip fielders. Hayden's the only really outstanding slipper right now, and he's getting older. Interesting how India's dropped a fraction of the catches that Australia have this tour, and have one of the finest slip catching cordons in the game right now. Yet they're perceived as bad fielders whereas the Aussies can do no wrong. Says a lot about what's wrong with many of the journos these days, and the obsession over diving around in the field and 'looking' fast and agile as opposed to actually being safe.

[Pancho]

ive never seen us drop so many catches. normally that is a big difference between us and whoever we are playing. mind you, we've been spoilt in recent years.. mark taylor, mark waugh, shane warne.. guess you could throw in matt hayden.. im scared to think what behind the wicket is going to look like without hayden.. something we definitely need to address..

[Mr. Wicket]

Here's a suggestion for the selectors, try also picking a wicketkeeper who keeps wicket first and bats second - given that you've got a ton of OUTSTANDING batsmen to pick from for the top 6, and a few lower order guys who can bat well like Mitch, Lee and Bracken. Ronchi's going to score lots of runs, but he's not that great a keeper. Haddin (and as a NSW and longtime Haddin fan, it pains me to say this) is a fantastic batsman, but his keeping's tailed off a bit in the last year or two. (Shudder... am I actually backing a QLDer)...... Chris Hartley's one hell of a glovesman though, and even though he may average less than half of what Haddin probably would, he'd make up for it in the long run with the gloves.

[Pancho]

lol im a ronchi fan.. ronchi should replace gilly.. 100 runs off 53 balls was it last year ? i know his 2nd 50 came off just 11 balls :haha: i have to disagree with you partially on keeper first/batsman 2nd. i think in the past 15 odd years the wicket keepers position has changed a heap. players like gilly, sangakarra, guees you could go back to alec stewart even, now dhoni.. it changes the whole make up of the team. i think if they can find someone who fits the bill somewhere in between, then they may go with him. yes its a risk for sloppy glovework, but they arent exactly going to be completely useless at keeping.. but as we have seen recently the benefit of having a '7th batsman' is a big one that in my opinion is better for the make up of a side. having a guy coming in at 7 that averages 50 must be pretty daunting. ive always appreciated how hard keeper/batsmen must train to make sure they are sharp with the keeping and batting.

[Mr. Wicket]

Pancho, you a WA guy? And yeah, I remember that knock. Been watching a bit of Ronchi in domestics lately and I like the bloke a lot - but his technique still seems too loose for the longer form. IMO, give him a few more years at domestic level and hopefully his keeping and batting will tighten up. In the meantime, maybe Haddin's the best choice. :D

[Pancho]

yeh im from WA.. haddin is the obvious and most logical choice for sure. question is, who fills the australian slip cordon when hayden goes ?

[Mr. Wicket]

No idea. I don't see any of the potential future batting lineup being really good slip fieldsmen. You've probably seen more of Pomersbach than I have (I've seen bits and pieces, mostly in one dayers/T20s, but the guy ROCKS - WA are fckwits for not picking him right now while crapping up against the QLD Rednecks) - he'll surely play for Aus soon, how's his fielding - and can he handle work in the slips?

[Pancho]

his form in the 4-day game has been solid.. averaging 70-80 i think ? but his one day form hasnt been good. when he isnt playing for WA he averages about 100 for his club in the state comp. awesome striker of the ball, he'll come good. still fairly young as well.

[Mr. Wicket]

I don't care if his form's not been good - he's a ridiculously good talent (on form against pace he looks like a cross of Hayden + Gilchrist's best shots) and needs to be nurtured by his state and persisted with. Heck, I'd like to see him thrown into the ODI team by the end of the year at least for a few games. This guy is one of the most exciting young batsmen I've seen in the world - I'd rather not wait another 4-5 years for him to get a few games...

[Pancho]

he is still young. besides, his form was pretty bad in the one day game he was almost becoming a liability. i think its wise for him to go back down a grade, and bat himself into form. he is a good talent but he has a long way to go yet. im sure he will learn a lot more from this after being dropped. definitely one to keep an eye on. here is the pura cup averages http://stats.cricinfo.com/australiandomestic/engine/records/batting/highest_career_batting_average.html?id=3226;type=tournament in one dayers he has scored 78 runs in 7 matches. thats a lot of games to carry someone hopelessly out of touch in that form of the game.