Can't catch, can't field, they're The Unstoppables

[coverpoint]

This is from Cricinfo. Question that I want to know is what is Robin Singh doing? http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/engvind/content/current/story/308630.html Can't catch, can't field, they're The Unstoppables Siddhartha Vaidyanathan at Edgbaston August 27, 2007 It's just not an Indian thing to do smart catches. The simpler they come the more likely you are to see a fielder misjudge, overrun or miscalculate the skier © AFP The series sponsors, Natwest, set up a stall at the ground called Extreme Catching, trying to draw spectators to show off their skills. It required one to stand in a trampoline cage, facing a small bowling machine, trying to grab the tennis balls that were fired in different directions. Hopefully someone in the Indian coaching staff has taken note; they need to acquire that equipment at the earliest. India's fielding fell to pieces at the Rose Bowl, splintered to a powder at Bristol before grinding to a halt here at Edgbaston. In comparison, England are soaring. If, according to Rahul Dravid, England are fielding "beautifully", India have rarely looked uglier in this department. The game turned when Matt Prior pulled off a smart catch to get rid of Sourav Ganguly and it effectively ended when Ian Bell ran out Yuvraj Singh. England were sharp, athletic and intense. India, it seems, have a problem with the laws of the game. They're treating stumps like holy shrines that need to be missed at every given opportunity. Even Mahendra Singh Dhoni summons all the tact when he needs to effect a stumping, simply clipping the bails off. Maybe it's just not done for the modern Indian cricketer to pull off smart catches. The simpler they come the more likely you are to see a fielder misjudge, overrun or miscalculate the skier. RP Singh made a fine mess of an Alastair Cook skier at fine leg, just as Ramesh Powar did at third man the other day. Such are the deeds on which close contests are built. They're treating stumps like holy shrines which need to be missed at every given opportunity. Even Mahendra Singh Dhoni summons all the tact when he needs to affect a stumping, simply clipping the bails off England have gradually improved, to the extent that their captain feels they "stop 20-30 runs on the field". Kevin Pietersen prowls at mid-off, diving around and stopping singles; his counterpart in that position is the magnificently unathletic Munaf Patel. Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett seem capable of hurling the ball from one end of the cricket field to the other. India's out-fielders, in comparison, struggle to clear the inner circle. And then there's Dinesh Karthik. He's supposed to be one of the better in-fielders but when the umpire calls 'play' he seems to think he's part of a drama troupe. He's a fine actor, sliding unnecessarily and acting as if he's the most energetic man out there, but he can't stop what he should and tries to cut off what he really can't. At a conservative estimate India concede 40 runs while fielding. Then there's the small matter of how much an English batsman scores after being reprieved (Cook made 25 more after he was dropped, Shah got seven after his mis-stumping). Then, if you're not exhausted, are the runs lost owing to their poor running between the wickets? England's batsmen are well into their stride even before the ball is bowled; India's, especially Sourav Ganguly, appear to be admiring the partner's stroke. Ganguly's innings today included a silent tribute to Chris Tavare, emulating one of the stodgiest batsmen in history with 68 dot balls. (CP's EDIT : Note I did point this out on Chooha maar khan thread) Dravid was frank in his assessment. "We are getting some good knocks and some of our bowlers are bowling well, but they are out-fielding us. Sometimes good fielders can make bowlers look better than they really are." The facts are actually pretty simple. India lack strong arms, can't slide and can't hit the stumps. Often they grass catches. Regularly they concede overthrows and sometimes make a mockery of themselves trying to execute the basic act of stopping a cricket ball. Their running between the wickets is as ponderous as ever. With four matches to go, there's still plenty of fun to be had. In 1948 you packed the stadiums to watch the Invincibles, now you can take a look at the Unstoppables.

[Ram]

Tough times ahead for Robin Singh. Poor guy , what can he do ?

[Predator_05]

Extremely harsh words, but i can't really disagree with him. Hell, my appraisal of this team's performance would be along similar lines. The fielding was simply comical and allowed England 30 more runs than they should have scored. Stuart Broad should have been run out by a mile, Rudra Prateek had an absolute shocker when he did that stupid overthrow, then Zaheer fielded off his yorker when Tremlett took off for a single but missed a fairly straightforward run-out. Those two sure made India pay with their big hitting towards the end...Tremlett in particular hit that monster six, a shot which would have killed the hopes of any bowler. Two years ago, the Indian fielding looked top class against Sri Lanka and South Africa at home - on rock hard Indian pitches. That also happened to be a much younger team - no Ganguly, no Munaf, or Powar. Fielding in England should be much easier for these players as the grounds are grassier and easy to slide around on. Get rid of the slobs and you will see better fielding

[Guest BossBhai]

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[coverpoint]

So Mr. Vaidi ... where were you when pretty much the same team hacked your beloved "Angez" in the Test match series ... ohhh about 2 weeks ago ? Also where were you during the 5-1 hammering circa 2006 .. again with pretty much the same team ? My guess : Slurping away at Idli vada dosa dipped in copious amounts of Sambar made by Amma ?

Sir, is test cricket the same as ODI's? In tests u can grit out runs and slow fielders can work out. ODI's are a young man's game. And that 2006 team was much younger. We had Kaif and Raina .... and as they said No munna or Ganguly. Not the same team

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Ram]

CP .. are you saying that Cricinfo and the Poms have now started to consider ODI's as the benchmark of cricketing skills ? And doesnt a Test match test your skills for 5 continuous days ?

BB , ODIs arent a skill based game anymore. You need people to fill specific roles in the team, flexibility in bowling and depth in batting. And fielding is a VITAL part of odis. Mistakes in the field are bound to hurt the team more in odis , than in tests.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Ram]

MM, Regardless of whether our team is adept at ODIs or Not the point that Iam trying to make is Test matches are always considered the truer representation of Cricketing skills and CI wastes no oppurtunities in driving home that point sometimes very patronizingly (depending on how their masters team performs) . The same guys will criticize our Test performance (Remember Dileeps article on how our Wins didnt mean much due to various excuses like Flintoff wasnt there etc etc ?) depending on what the situation is. If England wins this ODI series I want be one bit surprised if CI proclaims the Eng team as the overall winners based on some idiotic theory. What also is true is no such scathing and condescending articles were forthcomming from CI when we whipped Eng 5-1 mercilessly.

Agree with you BB , especially on Crapinfo's bias. I had infact , some months started a thread saying how racist crapinfo was. They have their own constituency to appease. Let them keep doing it.

[King]

Is this the second worst fielding side ever you have seen? I have seen Pakistan field so badly many times but Indian team right now has to be the worst fielding side no doubt. Indians used to catch well but they are now consistently dropping few every game too.

[Predator_05]

So Mr. Vaidi ... where were you when pretty much the same team hacked your beloved "Angez" in the Test match series ... ohhh about 2 weeks ago ? Also where were you during the 5-1 hammering circa 2006 .. again with pretty much the same team ? My guess : Slurping away at Idli vada dosa dipped in copious amounts of Sambar made by Amma ?

It was a different team, and who cares what happened last year ? The author is required to call it the way he sees it. India's fielding was shambolic today

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Predator_05]

why go last year Predz .... did you miss Dileeps article after the Test series which was less than 2 weeks ago ?

I don't read Dileep's articles anymore, yaar. Waste of time.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[coverpoint]

Bheemji, tests and odi's are different games. What works in tests doesnt work in odi's oldies can play tests .... better as they may be odi's are a young man's game. you dont have like them ,... but it needs a different sets of skills .... skills our team doesnt have

[Guest BossBhai]

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[fineleg]

Saving runs by fielding is one thing, for heavensake HOLD ONTO CATCHES please!!!

[abhinav]

Its not about youngsters or oldies..Aussies have plenty of oldies in their side and yet they field as if their life depands on it. It is true that a strong fielding unit makes the bowling look mush better then it actually is. Our effort in the field in the current ODI series has been pathetic. Period.