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Shafique trying to take a catch with closed eyes. It was such a comical fielding, I am speechless. Dropped an easy one when Usman Khawaja was on 21. He will make them pay now.
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[PICTURES/VIDEOS] Pakistan's fielding performance on tour of Australia and New Zealand (2023/24)
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Sycamore
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Looked like it was his first time trying to catch a ball in his life.
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Yet another comical error here but this time it was the debutant Khurram Shahzad. You should take thoese easy peesy ones.
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Blow by blow of how the drops happened
==
Pakistan fielder Abdullah Shafiique drops a catch during a Test against Australia.(Supplied: Seven Network)
Losing the toss, being asked to bowl, Pakistan needed wickets urgently on day one, especially as David Warner was cutting loose T20-style. at better than a run a ball.
So when Usman Khawaja skied a top edge off Aamir Jamal when on 21, Pakistan must have breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Abdullah Shafique, tracking back from first slip, dropped Khawaja in frankly comedic fashion.
Even a crowd accustomed to watching the West Coast Eagles all year would have expected the 24-year-old to claim the mark.
However, the Pakistani opener turned his head away at the crucial moment, opened his hands, the ball hit his chest and bounced away for four runs off his boot.
Khawaja was eventually out for just 41, so the mistake only cost 20 more runs. But the psychological blow was far more damaging.
Pakistan fielder Khurram Shahzad drops a catch during a Test against Australia.(Supplied: Seven Network)
Warner had reached his century, Pakistani heads were dropping. What the tourists needed was something to spark them.
Instead, it was another shocking mistake in the field that cost them.
Warner pushed Agha Salman up over extra cover, but didn't quite get enough on it, sending the ball straight to Khurram Shahzad.
Shahzad backed up, held up his hands and then watched the ball go over his head, through his hands before bothering to jump.
Warner was on 105 at the time — he made a further 59 runs before holing out.
Stop me if you've this one before, but Pakistan missed a regulation chance to get an Australian batter out.
The damage had really been done by the time Warner was on 141 as the shadows grew long late in the day, but there was still time for one last frustrating stuff-up in the field.
The Aussie opener shuffled down the pitch to Salman, who had done an admirable job as a part-time spinner in trying circumstances and beat the outside edge on this occasion.
But the ball spun past the shoulder of almost stationary wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed and into the hands of first slip Babar Azam. He had a shy at the stumps, but by that point Warner was comfortably back in his crease.
One egregious miss per session. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
Source ABC
==
Pakistan's (first) horror drop
Pakistan fielder Abdullah Shafiique drops a catch during a Test against Australia.(Supplied: Seven Network)
Losing the toss, being asked to bowl, Pakistan needed wickets urgently on day one, especially as David Warner was cutting loose T20-style. at better than a run a ball.
So when Usman Khawaja skied a top edge off Aamir Jamal when on 21, Pakistan must have breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Abdullah Shafique, tracking back from first slip, dropped Khawaja in frankly comedic fashion.
Even a crowd accustomed to watching the West Coast Eagles all year would have expected the 24-year-old to claim the mark.
However, the Pakistani opener turned his head away at the crucial moment, opened his hands, the ball hit his chest and bounced away for four runs off his boot.
Khawaja was eventually out for just 41, so the mistake only cost 20 more runs. But the psychological blow was far more damaging.
Another shocking drop
Pakistan fielder Khurram Shahzad drops a catch during a Test against Australia.(Supplied: Seven Network)
Warner had reached his century, Pakistani heads were dropping. What the tourists needed was something to spark them.
Instead, it was another shocking mistake in the field that cost them.
Warner pushed Agha Salman up over extra cover, but didn't quite get enough on it, sending the ball straight to Khurram Shahzad.
Shahzad backed up, held up his hands and then watched the ball go over his head, through his hands before bothering to jump.
Warner was on 105 at the time — he made a further 59 runs before holing out.
Another miss? Really?
Stop me if you've this one before, but Pakistan missed a regulation chance to get an Australian batter out.
The damage had really been done by the time Warner was on 141 as the shadows grew long late in the day, but there was still time for one last frustrating stuff-up in the field.
The Aussie opener shuffled down the pitch to Salman, who had done an admirable job as a part-time spinner in trying circumstances and beat the outside edge on this occasion.
But the ball spun past the shoulder of almost stationary wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed and into the hands of first slip Babar Azam. He had a shy at the stumps, but by that point Warner was comfortably back in his crease.
One egregious miss per session. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
Source ABC
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Same old issue which cant get fixed.
Now it's a disussion that thankfully they never dropped too many catches because we know two three drop catches are mandatory for them.
Now it's a disussion that thankfully they never dropped too many catches because we know two three drop catches are mandatory for them.
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SHan dropped Marsh's catch as Austria was looking in a a good position. Even though the ball was travelling, you gotta take these catches else you are going nowhere in the match.
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That was not a difficult one by any means. Shan should have taken it.
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Same old story!
A dolly dropped at slip by Abdullah Shafiq in just the third over.
A dolly dropped at slip by Abdullah Shafiq in just the third over.
Last edited:
SpiritOf1903
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Pathetic
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Abdullah has been poor in the slips. Why is he there? Pakistan has nobody else to replace him?
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The commentators got exited but Abdullah dropped it in the slips. It was a dolly.
View attachment as catch.mp4
View attachment as catch.mp4
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Another chance for Pakistan, a difficult one but should have to take some extra ordinary catches like these to get back into the game.
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Salman Agha took a blinder, Pakistan need to keep carrying the momentum with such fielding efforts.
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Rizwan definitely is a better wicket-keeper than anybody else in Pakistan. Look at this catch.
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Fielders in the slips should come 1 step ahead. These bowlers are not bowling 145+ that you are standing that far. That Hassan Ali's delivery to Smith was a beauty and should have been a wicket of the Pak fielder had some sense.
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Get out of the slips Abdullah. ANother easiest of catches dropped. This guy has been a mess.
angrypathan
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Babar, Imam or Saud are all far better slip fielders than Shafique
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I think he's dropped 4 already between the 2 tests. Yesterday he said "it's part of the game." but really its only part of his game.
Most important position in tests and you have the biggest butterfingers standing there. Zero accountability or game awareness from the captain and management. He is somehow STILL standing there. Pathetic.
zaidihusain
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Abdullah is awful in slip cordon. You can't give chances to Australian batsman by dropping such sitters. He has literally dropped the match
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Salman should have gone for the rebound
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Abdullah is in covers now. Another importance fielding spot.
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How good was this catch from Salman? A one-handed screamer in the slips.
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Justin Langer's. comments on Pakistan poor fielding display in the Australian tour
"We've seen some of the easiest catches dropped by Pakistan and we said it before the series started - if Pakistan have any chance of competing in this series, they must take their catches," Langer said on Channel 7. "That's almost again impossible to drop. He's obviously nervous. He is on debut. He missed out yesterday, but again, Pakistan have to get this right."
"And Babar had gone back to first slip. Now he is fielding at second slip. It's craziness to me, and it's costing Pakistan big time. David Warner's licking his lips. He's had some good fortune this series, but he's licking his lips. It's very, very poor cricket. Pakistan could've had Warner twice now. The chance last night with the ball bouncing just over the stumps. That's a shocking put-down."
"Interestingly enough, Salman had just gone off for that over and he's back on. Would he have been in that slip cordon? You talk about attention to detail. Salman, I assume, has gone off for a bathroom break. He's got five minutes until the drinks break. He's got five minutes! And it could again cost Pakistan the Test match."
"All we talked about last Test match, besides the Pakistan sundries, was their dropped catches. It was the number one topic last Test. And to drop another one as simple as that, on a wicket as good as this, will be very costly for Pakistan."
"We've seen some of the easiest catches dropped by Pakistan and we said it before the series started - if Pakistan have any chance of competing in this series, they must take their catches," Langer said on Channel 7. "That's almost again impossible to drop. He's obviously nervous. He is on debut. He missed out yesterday, but again, Pakistan have to get this right."
"And Babar had gone back to first slip. Now he is fielding at second slip. It's craziness to me, and it's costing Pakistan big time. David Warner's licking his lips. He's had some good fortune this series, but he's licking his lips. It's very, very poor cricket. Pakistan could've had Warner twice now. The chance last night with the ball bouncing just over the stumps. That's a shocking put-down."
"Interestingly enough, Salman had just gone off for that over and he's back on. Would he have been in that slip cordon? You talk about attention to detail. Salman, I assume, has gone off for a bathroom break. He's got five minutes until the drinks break. He's got five minutes! And it could again cost Pakistan the Test match."
"All we talked about last Test match, besides the Pakistan sundries, was their dropped catches. It was the number one topic last Test. And to drop another one as simple as that, on a wicket as good as this, will be very costly for Pakistan."
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This was crazy, almost like Saim was in a zero gravity simulator as flew into the air
FearlessRoar
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Renowned fielding coach Julien Fountain, in an exclusive interview with Saj, while speaking on Pakistan's fielding concerns:
"I think to call it rubbish might be a bit harsh. I think it comes down to a number of factors. It's not a black or white kind of answer. I mean, every international team obviously works very hard on their fielding. Pakistan is no different; I know they work super hard on the field. Your question would then be, why on Earth do we drop catches? The answer to that is a little bit more complex than just "oh, they can't catch" or "oh, they can't field." There's a lot more to it, and you have to understand all the different factors involved."
"So, for example, you can take any of those players and run a catching practice, and I guarantee that they will catch 95 to 100% of catches. They will catch pretty much everything. And, so, yes, there may be some technical issues; however, it comes down to – I'm sure you've heard the phrase – cricket is a very much a mental game, and I think Test matches above all are supremely mental. It's a huge, huge mental undertaking, and I think the best way to sort it out would be the same process that you go through as a batter. You have to be able to switch your concentration on for a short period of time, be completely 100% committed to that ball at that moment, and understand all the different technical elements that might be required of you. So, you have to turn that on in your brain; you have to be physically ready, and then you obviously have to execute if needed or not, and then you have to be able to switch it off again, so you don't get overloaded with fatigue."
"No humans can concentrate solidly for a two-hour session; you have to be able to switch it on and off. In the same way, if you talk to any elite batter, they will tell you they don't concentrate from the moment they step out over the line, over the rope, to the moment they step back off the rope. They do it in bites, in small chunks, and they'll turn that concentration on; they'll give it 100%. Nothing else, nothing disturbs them, and then they'll turn it off. That's why you see batters, you know, they'll laugh and joke occasionally with each other because they're in that downtime, that concentration downtime because you have to have that. You can't solidly stay in that concentration period; If you do, your head's going to explode."
"I think to call it rubbish might be a bit harsh. I think it comes down to a number of factors. It's not a black or white kind of answer. I mean, every international team obviously works very hard on their fielding. Pakistan is no different; I know they work super hard on the field. Your question would then be, why on Earth do we drop catches? The answer to that is a little bit more complex than just "oh, they can't catch" or "oh, they can't field." There's a lot more to it, and you have to understand all the different factors involved."
"So, for example, you can take any of those players and run a catching practice, and I guarantee that they will catch 95 to 100% of catches. They will catch pretty much everything. And, so, yes, there may be some technical issues; however, it comes down to – I'm sure you've heard the phrase – cricket is a very much a mental game, and I think Test matches above all are supremely mental. It's a huge, huge mental undertaking, and I think the best way to sort it out would be the same process that you go through as a batter. You have to be able to switch your concentration on for a short period of time, be completely 100% committed to that ball at that moment, and understand all the different technical elements that might be required of you. So, you have to turn that on in your brain; you have to be physically ready, and then you obviously have to execute if needed or not, and then you have to be able to switch it off again, so you don't get overloaded with fatigue."
"No humans can concentrate solidly for a two-hour session; you have to be able to switch it on and off. In the same way, if you talk to any elite batter, they will tell you they don't concentrate from the moment they step out over the line, over the rope, to the moment they step back off the rope. They do it in bites, in small chunks, and they'll turn that concentration on; they'll give it 100%. Nothing else, nothing disturbs them, and then they'll turn it off. That's why you see batters, you know, they'll laugh and joke occasionally with each other because they're in that downtime, that concentration downtime because you have to have that. You can't solidly stay in that concentration period; If you do, your head's going to explode."
Another day another drop.
This time Babar Azam against NZ in the 1st T20.
Considering that Pakistan I believe had the best ratio vs other teams of non drops to drops in the world cup 2023 at 86%, there is a pretty worrying decline in our fielding standards over the last couple of months. Wonder what changed? Introduction of new blood maybe?
At this point it's a bit of a joke.
This time Babar Azam against NZ in the 1st T20.
Considering that Pakistan I believe had the best ratio vs other teams of non drops to drops in the world cup 2023 at 86%, there is a pretty worrying decline in our fielding standards over the last couple of months. Wonder what changed? Introduction of new blood maybe?
At this point it's a bit of a joke.
Savak
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Another day another drop.
This time Babar Azam against NZ in the 1st T20.
Considering that Pakistan I believe had the best ratio vs other teams of non drops to drops in the world cup 2023 at 86%, there is a pretty worrying decline in our fielding standards over the last couple of months. Wonder what changed? Introduction of new blood maybe?
At this point it's a bit of a joke.
Pakistan's fielding and Fitness always goes to the dogs under a Pakistani coaching staff.
These players need a tough task master no nonsense person like Steve Rixon
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Another day another drop.
This time Babar Azam against NZ in the 1st T20.
Considering that Pakistan I believe had the best ratio vs other teams of non drops to drops in the world cup 2023 at 86%, there is a pretty worrying decline in our fielding standards over the last couple of months. Wonder what changed? Introduction of new blood maybe?
At this point it's a bit of a joke.
After watching such drops so frequently, I am hopeless now.
We have to live with the fact that Pakistan has the most pathetic fielding side.
Has anyone ever see another team lose more games from dropped catches than Pakistan?
I’m relatively young at 31. All my damn life all I’ve ever seen Pakistan do is drop catches.
I can accept being outclassed fitness wise, batting, bowling etc to some extent. But catches? These are professional players training day in day out all their life so far with coaches from all over the world.
How is this still such a huge problem?
I’m relatively young at 31. All my damn life all I’ve ever seen Pakistan do is drop catches.
I can accept being outclassed fitness wise, batting, bowling etc to some extent. But catches? These are professional players training day in day out all their life so far with coaches from all over the world.
How is this still such a huge problem?
adzzy786
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Said it a the beginning of the tour Pakistan will loose matches due to dropped catches, had they held them then things could have been different but it’s every single damn match
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‘Needed a kick up the backside’: Aussie legend Border’s fix to Test cricket’s great divide
Schooled on the importance of catching by respected coach Bob Simpson, Australian great Allan Border believes an increased focus on fielding would reduce the growing disparity between nations in Test nation.
With the final Test of the summer beginning on Thursday at the Gabba, Australia is on the verge of sweeping all five Tests in series against Pakistan and the West Indies.
The Australians have been largely dominant with the ball and have had moments of fortune with the bat against Pakistan in the first three Tests and the West Indies in Adelaide when catches have been spilled.
Retired opener David Warner and all-rounder Mitch Marsh were among the Australian batsmen to benefit from shoddy fielding from Pakistan in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, while the West Indies were far from competitive last week in Adelaide.
Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique was a repeat offender during a dispiriting series and was ultimately removed from the slips cordon.
“Visiting teams keep dropping catches. That is what keeps costing them,” Border told The Follow On.
“That seems to me, through the Pakistan series and the game against the West Indies, even though it might not have made too much difference to the result, it certainly does not help your cause, does it?”
The Fox Cricket expert, 68, said when Simpson took over as Australian coach in 1986, improving the fielding standards of the national team was an immediate priority and delivered almost instantaneous success.
Australia won the World Cup in 1987 and defeated New Zealand for the first time in four years in a Test series in the same year as it began to build towards becoming a power in the 1990s.
“(It was) the very first thing Simmo addressed,” Border said.
“He basically maintained that if you become a really, really solid and high-quality fielding team, even if you have not got the best cricket team, you can stay in the contest for longer, if the other side is better than you.
“You can win games just on fielding alone. That was very good for the side at that time. We had been through some tough periods (and) had not been playing good cricket. And a lot of it was because we were dropping catches. And that is what visiting sides to Australia are doing at the moment.
“You make it hard on yourself if you start dropping catches and that is what Simmo recognised in us. In the mid-1980s, we had got a bit slack in that area, if that is the right term, and we needed a kick up the backside in terms of drilling us to be a better fielding side.
And the results showed.”
During the Test series against Pakistan, middle-order star Mark Waugh gave a masterclass in slips catching to demonstrate what the tourists were doing wrong in the cordon.
Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin lamented at the MCG that the tourists were effectively practising their catching from a stationary position with little anticipation required.
Border, who will provide analysis for the second Test of the West Indies series for Fox Cricket, said he finds it hard to understand why there is not a greater focus on the skillset around the world, saying it would reduce the gap between the powerful nations and the rest.
“The best teams throughout history are teams that have quality players, but they don’t miss catches when they come along. They take catches,” Border said.
“It is one thing to catch all the regulation catches. But if you stick your hand out and catch a screamer, that can change the course of momentum very quickly.
“It is such an important part of the game that sometimes gets overlooked. It is seen as a bit ho-hum.
“It is a fairly boring part of the practice participation, the fielding drills you go through, but at the end of the day, you spend half the game out in the field and if you want to win games, you probably spend more than half the game out in the field.”
FOX SPORTSSchooled on the importance of catching by respected coach Bob Simpson, Australian great Allan Border believes an increased focus on fielding would reduce the growing disparity between nations in Test nation.
With the final Test of the summer beginning on Thursday at the Gabba, Australia is on the verge of sweeping all five Tests in series against Pakistan and the West Indies.
The Australians have been largely dominant with the ball and have had moments of fortune with the bat against Pakistan in the first three Tests and the West Indies in Adelaide when catches have been spilled.
Retired opener David Warner and all-rounder Mitch Marsh were among the Australian batsmen to benefit from shoddy fielding from Pakistan in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, while the West Indies were far from competitive last week in Adelaide.
Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique was a repeat offender during a dispiriting series and was ultimately removed from the slips cordon.
“Visiting teams keep dropping catches. That is what keeps costing them,” Border told The Follow On.
“That seems to me, through the Pakistan series and the game against the West Indies, even though it might not have made too much difference to the result, it certainly does not help your cause, does it?”
The Fox Cricket expert, 68, said when Simpson took over as Australian coach in 1986, improving the fielding standards of the national team was an immediate priority and delivered almost instantaneous success.
Australia won the World Cup in 1987 and defeated New Zealand for the first time in four years in a Test series in the same year as it began to build towards becoming a power in the 1990s.
“(It was) the very first thing Simmo addressed,” Border said.
“He basically maintained that if you become a really, really solid and high-quality fielding team, even if you have not got the best cricket team, you can stay in the contest for longer, if the other side is better than you.
“You can win games just on fielding alone. That was very good for the side at that time. We had been through some tough periods (and) had not been playing good cricket. And a lot of it was because we were dropping catches. And that is what visiting sides to Australia are doing at the moment.
“You make it hard on yourself if you start dropping catches and that is what Simmo recognised in us. In the mid-1980s, we had got a bit slack in that area, if that is the right term, and we needed a kick up the backside in terms of drilling us to be a better fielding side.
And the results showed.”
During the Test series against Pakistan, middle-order star Mark Waugh gave a masterclass in slips catching to demonstrate what the tourists were doing wrong in the cordon.
Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin lamented at the MCG that the tourists were effectively practising their catching from a stationary position with little anticipation required.
Border, who will provide analysis for the second Test of the West Indies series for Fox Cricket, said he finds it hard to understand why there is not a greater focus on the skillset around the world, saying it would reduce the gap between the powerful nations and the rest.
“The best teams throughout history are teams that have quality players, but they don’t miss catches when they come along. They take catches,” Border said.
“It is one thing to catch all the regulation catches. But if you stick your hand out and catch a screamer, that can change the course of momentum very quickly.
“It is such an important part of the game that sometimes gets overlooked. It is seen as a bit ho-hum.
“It is a fairly boring part of the practice participation, the fielding drills you go through, but at the end of the day, you spend half the game out in the field and if you want to win games, you probably spend more than half the game out in the field.”
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Look at this superb by the Windies player in the slips. What a difference such catches could have made to the result during Pakistan vs Australia series..
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Even simpler catches were dropped - criminal from Pakistan.
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