Extra bounce reason for India's slip problems: Jonty Rhodes
While they've batted poorly to lose the first two Tests of the on-going series against England, India have been pathetic in the field too - they dropped three catches in the slips (Shikhar Dhawan twice, and Ajinkya Rahane once) in the first game at Edgbaston. Rhodes offered a technical explanation for India's fielding woes. In fact, As per statistics, India have dropped more catches then they've caught in the slips since 2014.
The 49-year-old put down India's poor slip catching in England so far to a technical reason. "So, the key difference for me is that when you practice catching a cricket ball during practice...you don't have time to think on a cricket field. So, you start thinking about a 'drop.' The majority of balls in India, because of the low bounce, whether you're fielding in the slips or covers, the catches come between your knees or the ground. So, most of the catches are taken with your fingers pointing down. But we South Africa and Australia, because of the extra bounce, are accustomed used to catching the ball with the reverse cup fingers.
Drawing from his experience of having been the fielding coach of the Mumbai Indians for a long time, Rhodes said that it wasn't easy to change the technique of the Indian fielders overnight. "I worked with the (Indian) players in the IPL. You change somebody in six weeks, after four weeks they start changing. But a year later, you come back and notice that they're still back to their old habits. So, it's very difficult to change as it happens what you instinctively don't want to do."
He also pointed out that it was only now that the India had started producing genuine pace bowlers, which meant that those fielding in the slips were still getting used to the ball coming to them at good speed and height. "You also look at the Indian pace attack. For a long time, it was more about defence, then attack…relying on spin bowling or accurate seam. As a slip fielder, if you're accustomed to Sourav Ganguly bowling with the new ball or first change, and suddenly you've got Mohammad Shami, Bumrah and Ishant Sharma, who're bowling with pace and bounce. Catching the ball isn't easy," he summarised.
The Indians, he felt, need to train hard if they wanted to improve their slip-catching. "My father had drilled it into me that you've to practice like it's a match situation," he recalled.
Fielding too, he felt, was all about adapting to the conditions, which isn't easy. "For us South Africans, it means coming here, catching the ball low and playing on turning wickets. You've to be able to adapt. The problem is that when you're under pressure, then your true self as a cricketer comes out," Rhodes said.
He felt that a big reason India were struggling against England in the Tests was the absence of pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who missed the first two Tests due to injuries. "It's amazing, South Africa just hosted India for a Test series, and India came close to winning that series, which was unheard of, because of their pace attack. Unfortunately, two of your main bowlers who did so well in South Africa, haven't been available (got injured in this series)," sympathized Rhodes.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...roblems-jonty-rhodes/articleshow/65426168.cms