Mike Young to help India's fielding

[vvvslaxman]

I have seen competitive divisional cricket in Chennai. They are far better fielders than some of the guys we have. Somewhere along the line that fielding aspect gets lost. Ojha, Yusuf are some of the notorious examples. Even in high school, college level i have seen guys who field very well.

[diegovegaz]

i think he will make a difference, and it will show in the feild

[Feed]

No quick fix, says team India's fielding consultant Mike Young Mike Young, Team India's new fielding consultant, tells Vijay Tagore that Dhoni & Co have the ability to be an exceptional fielding side. More... No quick fix, says team India's fielding consultant Mike Young DNATuesday, December 8, 2009 1:47 IST Mumbai: Mike Young, Team India's new fielding consultant, tells Vijay Tagore that Dhoni & Co have the ability to be an exceptional fielding side. Excerpts... Have you had your first day in new office yet? I'm here for the last two days. It's wonderful that the guys have become the No.1 Test team. We are leaving for Nagpur shortly. Maybe I will work with the players from tomorrow (Tuesday). I have known these guys for a long time. It is just that we did not have a chance to work together. I'm thankful to the BCCI and Gary Kirsten for giving me this opportunity. How do you look at Indian fielding -- good, bad or ugly? I always thought that India are a very good fielding side. All of them are good fielders. I have no reason to believe they can't be an exceptional fielding unit. They are surely not the best fielding side in the world. What could be the concern areas? There are no concern areas. I'm not concerned by any aspect of India's fielding. At the end of the day, it is all about talent. And there is plenty of talent in them. My job is to work with them and give recommendations on ways to improve. I'm here to give the Indian players a different perspective on things. There are so many aspects to fielding -- catching, throwing, sliding...Which is the most important or difficult? It depends on the game. But one important point needs to be noted. People make the mistake of putting fielding under one blanket. It depends on the athlete. Some guys catch better, some guys throw better. My job is to identify those talents. That's why I keep saying that I'm not here to coach the Indian cricket team in fielding. I'm here to see and identify what the each Indian player is good at and recommend how he can improve upon his strengths. If I can do that, the Indian team as a whole can improve. With me it is an individual athlete that matters. What Indian players should do to reach the standards of Australia or England? I don't have a quick-fix solution but whatever I've seen of these guys, there is a lot of hope. Now it's a matter of me working with them and seeing how things shape up. There is no negative side to this. I'm very excited about working with them. They have got the ability to be exceptional. How much you think India can improve? I can't give a guarantee on how much percentage they can improve. I will work with each individual and give them suggestions for improvement. India has not been a strong fielding side compared to Australia or England. Even Dhoni admits that. What could be the reason? I have no idea about that. It will be unfair for me to comment on that and it is also not fair to compare one side with the other. But it is true that good fielding is more likely win more close matches. More often than not, fielding changes the balance in a close match. You were a baseball coach but made a transition to cricket... I would not like to be termed a baseball coach. I'm a professional and I will be dealing with some professionals called cricketers. As for baseball and cricket, there are many similarities -- there is batting, bowling and fielding in both disciplines. Unlike in cricket, the ball is not pitched in baseball but skills needed are more or less similar to both sports. Who are the best fielders according to you? I have not seen all and so I cannot comment. Of the players I have seen, the three best fielders are Jonty Rhodes, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds.

[Sachinism]

Should be interesting. I hope the players make the effort required to improve

[MUMBAISKIPPER]

bring in Young or Old...task of improving Indian fielding is like setting the Thames on fire

[Show_stopper]

^ not exactly...we can see the difference between 3 years ago and now...

[99.94]

Someone like Symonds or Hilfenhaus seem to look like frickin bodybuilders.

Men of Cricket Calender! :haha:

[Sachinism]

Man that was unnecessary. I say ban 99.94 :((

[99.94]

Plenty more where that came from.. are you a Watson man? Or perhaps a Clarke man? Noo, I think Johnson..

[zubinpepsi]

watto has a very nice toned body.... for flamy et al... :woot:

[Sachinism]

WTFFFFFFFFF someone lock this thread :hitler:

[zubinpepsi]

PJ why are you getting frustrated?? I tot ur straight.. no??:((

[99.94]

Katich has a nice hairy body.. Aren't you confortable with your sexuality Sachinism?

[Sachinism]

Fools I iz at work. If I'm gonna get in trouble for looking at nude people, I'd rather it be girls than dudes :((

[99.94]

If you really cared about your job you wouldn't be browsing these forums.. :winky:

[Mr. Wicket]

Got any pics of David Boon 99.94?

[99.94]

No but I heard McGrath is very keen to get him for next years calender!

[Mr. Wicket]

Will payment be in the form of VB?

[99.94]

Haha I would say so. Speaking of which, I don't if you've seen this ad, but it's hilarious. d3C-Rzo2Iwo

[99.94]

Also worth a watch. 2sIaz5vxetU&feature=related