tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24312224426441958652024-02-20T00:23:46.324-08:00Spin is kingKesavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17610198597086801212noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2431222442644195865.post-85993981466867694582017-05-13T06:39:00.002-07:002017-05-14T00:56:43.065-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;">Many men in the slip cordon - fielding records</span></b></h2>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;"><i>An analysis of slip fielding in men's Test cricket around the world</i></span></b></h3>
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My previous <a href="http://rightarmchuck.blogspot.in/2016/12/indias-slip-cordon-by-numbers-important.html">post</a> focused on Indian slip fielding and delved into the catches taken/dropped by
pace and spin. A few notes about the previous article. I am aware of the fantastic <a href="http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1056115/tracking-the-misses">article</a>
on Cricket Monthly by Charles Davis – it is comprehensive as any piece on
close-in fielding in Tests can be. My article though focuses only on slip
fielding in particular – slips are one of the few specialist areas in fielding for
which Test teams develop players. Second point - a vital part of the catches
taken-dropped ratio in my previous post was to look at the opportunities
presented to the fielders which would have lent credence to a higher ratio of
catches caught-dropped by a particular player. This article will focus on
opportunities presented to slip fielders and then looking at catches to dropped
percentage, a measure I believe might do justice to a higher percentage of
catches caught/dropped for a player. The third key note about this post - I
decided to do it for all teams in Tests since it might be a bit interesting to
see which teams really do fare well in the cordon and if teams do have fixed
specialist players for specialist positions. </div>
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The methodology remained the same –
I scrolled through ball-by-ball commentaries of every innings in Tests from 2012 until now for each team on ESPNCricinfo and thus created a master list of all catches
caught/dropped/missed in slips for all teams. From then on, it was simpler to sift
through the data and identify percentages for each team and each fielder.
Another note – the ball-by-ball commentaries were incomplete in a few instances
– missing commentary due to technical glitches/not mentioning the player name/not
mentioning the position. In those cases, assumptions were made to either arrive
at the positions based on the fielder or the fielder names based on the
position from historical data. An assumption from my previous post holds good here too - BBB commentary is subjective; different commentators on the website would have interpreted the chances in the slips differently. A safe assumption that a majority of slip catches have been classified and described accurately or nearly accurately should hold good.</div>
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In this post, we will look at the best slip
cordons for pace and spin, as well as identify best fielders for each position
in the cordon – for both spin and pace – and while we are at it, why not look
at the best slip fielders currently? For the sake of simplicity and in an
effort to keep this post shorter, I have focused on first, second, third slip
and the gully for pace bowling, and just the first slip for spin. On an unrelated note, when isn't this picture not funny when you look at Root's expression? </div>
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<i><b>Courtesy</b>: Getty Images</i></div>
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We will start with a few basic
numbers – 233 tests have been played from Jan 1<sup>st</sup>, 2012 until now
(up until the first Test between West Indies and Pakistan) – and the number of
tests played by each team is quite disproportionate. Except
Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, all teams have played 45+ tests, with England and Australia
having played 68 and 63 tests respectively. We could start by looking at the
number of opportunities created by each team and arrive at a proportionate number for each team depending on the numbers of tests played over the 5+ years period. In
this regard, England rank high - creating roughly 5.1 opportunities per game,
while New Zealand and South Africa have created close to 4.58 per Test. <span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Total opportunities for pace and spin:</h3>
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Now to deep-dive into the numbers
– which teams have a really good catching rate at the cordon? Are a few teams
still struggling to find the right combination of men in the cordon for
pace/spin? Let us look at the overall numbers first – I have arranged the
numbers in order of opportunities:</div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Given the numbers and the
relatively high number of opportunities, New Zealand seems to be the best slip
fielding team, marginally ahead of South Africa and Australia. Only Bangladesh,
India and West Indies feature in the lower 60s – West Indies lost one of its
best slip catchers (Darren Bravo) owing to a war of words, Bangladesh has
struggled to find a regular who can be dependable in slips and India’s slip
cordon for pace keeps shuffling too often to identify anyone dependable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let us dissect the chances a bit
more – how do slip cordons fare when you consider pace bowling? Or military
medium or even someone with the pace of a Rajat Bhatia? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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England’s slip catching to pace
is similar to its overall showing for pace and spin; New Zealand are the best of
the teams with opportunities being taken 80% of the time. Australia and South
Africa lag slightly behind even though they have created equal or close to
equal number of opportunities. For a team creating at least 100 opportunities with
pace bowling, India’s catch rate is the least with only 55% of catches being
taken. Even with slightly lower number of opportunities, Sri Lanka, West Indies
and Pakistan hover in 65-70% range. This can further be dissected by each
position in the cordon but let us look at slip catching for spin. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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Slip catching to spin seems to be
largely an almost equal showing by the teams with more than 60 opportunities barring
West Indies. Pakistan features high in slip fielding to spin, owing to the mostly-sure
hands of Younis Khan. Rahane for India, Steven Smith for Australia and Mathews
for Sri Lanka have fared very well in this area, leading to a higher catching percentage for spin
bowling for their respective teams. <o:p></o:p></div>
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All the representations until now
have assumed catches caught as regulation ones while drops have not been classified
into easy chances or tough ones. For the sake of this section alone, let us
look at the proportion of easy catches/great catches/regulation drops/tough
chances. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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New Zealand, South Africa and
Australia have caught a number of really good catches, more than others, as is
evident from these charts. Even though the number of chances created by
Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are lesser, close to 15% of all their opportunities
have been tough chances. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Year-by-year analysis of slip fielding for pace and spin bowling:</h3>
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A year-by-year improvement for slip
fielding to pace and spin would give a better idea of how team performances in
the cordon have improved or dipped. A dip to 0 might either represent zero
number of opportunities or zero chances being converted to catches, from very
few opportunities. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
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Very few teams seem to have
sustained the quality of slip fielding to pace as New Zealand have had over the
past five years, with a catching rate constantly above 75%. South Africa have
also been consistent, barring 2015 when the percentage went below 70 before resurfacing again to keep closer to 75. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><i>Courtesy</i></b><i style="text-align: justify;">: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6hkr-4BlpjOPCnGEwkdEkzEJV_dRuGFkMvBarJ184yikbk-UnnUxGgNBa_rmnGzBi6uFhgP8-E9USkIdLThNfI9rFAWL5HW_j0W_YvIWRXQAuPN85URzC18zvMZ5sPLgDk5v2Ba-RDg/s1600/YoY+for+spin+-+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6hkr-4BlpjOPCnGEwkdEkzEJV_dRuGFkMvBarJ184yikbk-UnnUxGgNBa_rmnGzBi6uFhgP8-E9USkIdLThNfI9rFAWL5HW_j0W_YvIWRXQAuPN85URzC18zvMZ5sPLgDk5v2Ba-RDg/s1600/YoY+for+spin+-+2.png" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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Australia’s and New Zealand’s
performance are the lines that grow assuredly in this chart – in particular, owing
to Steven Smith and Ross Taylor’s outstanding slip catching but more on them
later. South Africa dipped briefly before Amla took over first slip duties and
brought consistency to the catching. From the lows of 2014, India’s rise has
been due to the emergence of Rahane as one of the best slip fielders to spin
currently. 2015 was a landmark year for him in slips, and that translated
directly to India’s performance in this chart. Following Mahela’s retirement, Sri
Lanka briefly struggled before Mathews made a mark in this position. To
understand the importance of role of specialist slip fielders in teams, I have charted
out performance of teams by position and top fielders for each position – a minimum
number of 10 opportunities was used to look at the top fielders for first/second/third
slips to pace and first slip to spin, and 5 opportunities for fielders in the
gully region for pace to be represented in the charts. Let us look at slip
fielding to pace first and move onto spin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Slip fielding by position - pace bowling:</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUwYyv08JUVfDJ0EeN9VYPHfvioFviHIkDRNiBLyWFaHT_MTIDH133uNQyhMV1JSLbc-_kPhb901NO9rYegiEKwb5BACUsaP9SBZPBMKcDaF3XmVfKM5B1T5MqQMNV9TaiKPa9aNuT4A/s1600/Pace+-+first+slip+by+team.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUwYyv08JUVfDJ0EeN9VYPHfvioFviHIkDRNiBLyWFaHT_MTIDH133uNQyhMV1JSLbc-_kPhb901NO9rYegiEKwb5BACUsaP9SBZPBMKcDaF3XmVfKM5B1T5MqQMNV9TaiKPa9aNuT4A/s1600/Pace+-+first+slip+by+team.png" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSx8fWX-Gi_5a7YxPMIJH9KXUoHFlLiYF-TC0WmDEvKZf1jQb5y5Ao5M-uXRyK75_FNkSgXdR-0-XlDSIExkdKnCxpWwb5z1WXIdCmyAFwo2zhgnyXDSIs3hpRPHeYeUCf2I4NuSi2kc/s1600/Pace+-+first+slip+by+top+fielders.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSx8fWX-Gi_5a7YxPMIJH9KXUoHFlLiYF-TC0WmDEvKZf1jQb5y5Ao5M-uXRyK75_FNkSgXdR-0-XlDSIExkdKnCxpWwb5z1WXIdCmyAFwo2zhgnyXDSIs3hpRPHeYeUCf2I4NuSi2kc/s1600/Pace+-+first+slip+by+top+fielders.png" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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South Africa leads this chart,
with 82% of chances being converted to catches primarily because of stellar
catching by Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla who have caught 54 of 66 total
chances. New Zealand ranks high at 79% since the primary slip fielder has been
Ross Taylor on most occasions and having caught 40 catches from 50
opportunities. Australia has had decent success in this position but with the
retirement of Michael Clarke and Shane Watson (28 out of 34 chances combined), it
has struggled to find a consistent first slip fielder. England languishes in
the low 70s – Strauss and Cook have held on to that fort constantly but have
caught only 63 out of 88 chances. Although both are good slip fielders, Cook
has dropped more catches over the past two years than before. Sri Lanka and West
Indies feature in the low 70s as well – Sri Lanka face a similar problem to
Australia, merely in terms of finding one slip fielder who can catch well. West
Indies had Darren Bravo who caught 12 out of 16 chances but going by the
current scenario, it does not seem likely that he will be back in the team. India’s
predicament is no surprise with Murali Vijay having caught only 55% of the
time. Pakistan has tried numerous fielders in the absence of Mohammad Hafeez (who
is an average first slip fielder himself with 5 catches out of 8 chances), but
none have stuck. It would be fair to say that the hunt is on for teams other
than South Africa, New Zealand and maybe England if Cook doesn’t improve his
catching. Let us take a few more paces to move on to second slip now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8f0eu1B0SnyiSIWwBPQDpqiaibqwy95Sa06zFvMmx9OCrttUokt3cvcCJbtmBF5dpFAdr0YwSo_5525m0MoRVaRWlZYg5pWrT-dv2FBVlElb4ATJ8p8Tkc2_-FXLqJjTqSiRzFCQqJnQ/s1600/Pace+-+second+slip+by+team.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8f0eu1B0SnyiSIWwBPQDpqiaibqwy95Sa06zFvMmx9OCrttUokt3cvcCJbtmBF5dpFAdr0YwSo_5525m0MoRVaRWlZYg5pWrT-dv2FBVlElb4ATJ8p8Tkc2_-FXLqJjTqSiRzFCQqJnQ/s1600/Pace+-+second+slip+by+team.png" /></a><br />
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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Second slip catching standards seem almost the same as compared to first slip – among teams with at least 50
opportunities, Australia is on top with 78%. Steven Smith has been exemplary in
this position, having caught 28 out of 34 chances. South Africa and New Zealand
lag behind in the 70-75% range. Kallis was quite a handful, having caught 17
out of the 20 chances and following him, de Villiers, du Plessis, Alviro
Petersen and Dean Elgar have caught 43 out of the 57 opportunities presented. New
Zealand have had fair success although it is a tale of two parts with similar results
– Martin Guptill took 21 out of 29 chances in the second slip but in between
his absences or after, Mark Craig, Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee and
Jimmy Neesham have taken 25 from 29 chances. Currently, they seem to be trying
Jeet Raval who took 6 out of 7 chances and then dropped 4 consecutively – the experiment
may not last much longer if he drops more. England feature in the 60s again – Swann
and Bell had caught 30 out of 47 chances before Swann’s exit and Ian Bell’s
sacking gave rise to a number of fielders tried out but with marginal success. West
Indies has a higher conversion rate, albeit with fewer chances – Darren Sammy, Kraigg
Brathwaite and for a brief while, Darren Bravo caught 19 of the 23
opportunities. Pakistan has had one slip fielder for second slip – Younis Khan who
has caught 19 from 25 chances. Sri Lanka is still trying to find an able slip
fielder following the retirement of Mahela Jayawardene. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicufJF5Wfbu8fNTMjJ2kmYDcz0FGZySrxn6XEQvPsvqX-GFy139suPIagPa3W9tUoL9zoBneCblbSyYOPviNhF_reRZWfWPmS3Kc6g5tP0oRrGnQApA2xV3obH2WU7cW_almkfRjDdA_M/s1600/Pace+-+third+slip+by+team.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicufJF5Wfbu8fNTMjJ2kmYDcz0FGZySrxn6XEQvPsvqX-GFy139suPIagPa3W9tUoL9zoBneCblbSyYOPviNhF_reRZWfWPmS3Kc6g5tP0oRrGnQApA2xV3obH2WU7cW_almkfRjDdA_M/s1600/Pace+-+third+slip+by+team.png" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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South Africa and New Zealand have
been extremely consistent in the third slip - Faf du Plessis. JP Duminy, Dean
Elgar and Alviro Petersen have taken 22 catches out of 23 opportunities. New
Zealand have done exceedingly well too, with Dean Brownlie, Jimmy Neesham, Corey
Anderson and Tim Southee (9/11) having taken 26 out of 29 chances. England have
struggled to find a good slip fielder for this spot – Joe Root caught 10 out of
15 chances from 2013-2015 before he moved to second slip, and the ones after/during
2015 (James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Chris Jordan, Ben Stokes and James Vince)
have caught only 5 of the 9 chances that came their way. Australia has tried
Mitch Marsh, Steven Smith, David Warner, and in one instance, even Nathan Lyon,
to tighten up their third slip catching but apart from Usman Khawaja (4 out of 5 chances), the
catching has largely been below average. India has an even 50% in this spot, the
players tried out being Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, and Virat
Kohli – all four whose catching has been inconsistent. Pakistan seems to have
found a reliable close-in fielder in Azhar Ali who has taken 5 out of 6 chances
at third slip. Which leaves one more position – the gully region. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4QlyoOo_2HMakGqo_P8Dl4uzWJb5Vu1PPSp03AHTC0qrFGGb-y7E_s3oPbSBEd4WC8aFm3PocnT24GBl4e-TVSYN0csy6pFVVSIp-GloYYcShYc2BQvPCVEQVsWHmOXeVcaNEcuJuTE/s1600/Pace+-+gully+by+team.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4QlyoOo_2HMakGqo_P8Dl4uzWJb5Vu1PPSp03AHTC0qrFGGb-y7E_s3oPbSBEd4WC8aFm3PocnT24GBl4e-TVSYN0csy6pFVVSIp-GloYYcShYc2BQvPCVEQVsWHmOXeVcaNEcuJuTE/s1600/Pace+-+gully+by+team.png" /></a><br />
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Gully, like third slip, has had
fewer opportunities than the first or second slips. New Zealand’s high catching
rate, at 92%, can be directly attributed to Kane Williamson’s fantastic catching
in this spot – he has caught 27 out of 29 chances here. Australia has a high percentage
too, with Lyon, the Marsh brothers and David Warner having taken 16 catches
combined from 22 opportunities. England features high in this list for a change
– partly due to Joe Root who took all 8 out of 8 catches from 2013-14. Others
in the England team have been quite successful – James Anderson, Jos Buttler, Alex
Hales and Ben Stokes have taken 8 out of the 10 chances from 2014-16. With the
growing realization of Ben Stokes’ outstanding catching abilities including ones
that demand quick reflex times, he will feature in important positions in the
cordon, even if not in the gully region. India’s performance has not been
spectacular but Rahane has offered slight relief having taken 7 out of 10 chances. Surprisingly,
South Africa have one of the lowest percentages among teams with relatively high number
of opportunities – JP Duminy has taken 6 out of 10 chances although other players
tried have not had a great record. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Slip fielding by position - spin bowling:</h3>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Now that we have looked at slip fielding
to pace, let us look at first slip to spin. It throws up more fielders and a
few more constants.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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First slip catching to spin has
shown varying qualities across teams. Pakistan, for instance, has been lucky to
have the inimitable Younis Khan, who has taken 26 catches out of 34 opportunities
(at the time of writing this post, he caught 2 or 3 more in the second test against West Indies). Australia has Steven
Smith who, like Kane Williamson at gully to pace, has taken 25 out of 27
chances at first slip to spin. India’s story is much familiar – Rahane has taken
34 out of 43 opportunities. West Indies have had a good showing of 75%, although
the men that have helped it happen – Darren Sammy who took an unbelievable 13
out of 13 chances and Darren Bravo who took 6 out of 8 chances – are both out
of contention for their sides. Jermaine Blackwood has been tried but has taken
only 8 out of his 13 opportunities. South Africa have had Dean Elgar and Kallis
before; combined, they took 9 out of 11 chances before Amla took over the role and
has an impressive 11 catches from 13 chances. Sri Lanka has had average success – Mathews has
27 out of 37 chances after Mahela had taken 13 catches out of 22 opportunities.
Arguably, Mahela’s slip catching form dropped considerably towards the end of
his career. Bangladesh have used Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan,
and Soumya Sarkar who have taken 19 out of 24 opportunities thus lending to a
high 81% at first slip. A note about England’s Chris Jordan who has an
astonishing 8 out of 8 chances – his non-selection by the team has led England
to pitch Stokes in that position. Anderson, Cook, Ben Stokes, Root and Adam Lyth
have a combined 14 out of 20 opportunities – which seems to be just about
average for the overall figure of 72%.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Top slip fielders - by pace and spin:</h3>
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<br /></div>
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Now that we have seen by
position, it would do well to look at top fielders for pace and spin over the
past five years. A few names feature prominently in this list. Understandably,
the list is long for pace owing to the greater number of positions. To add some
credence to a higher catching rate, I limited the number of opportunities for
pace and spin to 20 each. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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A few slip catchers for pace
stand out when you look at this chart – Ross Taylor, Graeme Smith, Kallis and
Michael Clarke feature in the high 80s range. Their slip catching record had
been such that until the end of their careers, they were not, or in the case of
Ross Taylor still hasn’t been, displaced from their positions. Kane Williamson
has been a fabulous catcher in the cordon for New Zealand and might end up as
one of their best catchers in history. For players with a relatively higher
number of opportunities, we have quite a few notable fielders with catching
percentages in the 70s. Steven Smith - who has grown as a catcher just as he
has with his batting, Joe Root – who has spilled a few but still remains one of
the better catchers in his team, Alastair Cook – a slip fielder who has
slightly waned over the past couple of years, Younis Khan – who has been very consistent
throughout his career, Martin Guptill who has even 75% with his catching, Darren
Bravo with 74%, and Dean Elgar at 72% -
who has been very good at third slip. Among current players, only Amla
features in the 60s. Shikhar Dhawan and Dimuth Karunatne have the lowest
catching record to pace for the period considered – at 55% and 57% respectively.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGQKl1iyW-RWj3LdnxVxQUIbaFKQVdBx8fWgZJb0g8OKMI8LG0bC54Mmk4lpApv-3K_S97td4VS00f34VtlDvFnkG4qfzovD4CWlUWh5NLLJvl5P3bAAf9GYNeEhFYZmxq_OkPdo7oRY/s1600/Spin+overall+-+top+fielders.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGQKl1iyW-RWj3LdnxVxQUIbaFKQVdBx8fWgZJb0g8OKMI8LG0bC54Mmk4lpApv-3K_S97td4VS00f34VtlDvFnkG4qfzovD4CWlUWh5NLLJvl5P3bAAf9GYNeEhFYZmxq_OkPdo7oRY/s1600/Spin+overall+-+top+fielders.png" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Out of slip catchers to spin, Darren
Sammy stands out with a 100% conversion rate. Of the current set of players, Steven
Smith is way ahead of the pack at 92% - the next best is 77% by Rahane. Younis Khan
again makes a case for being one of the safest slip catchers to spin with a
rate of 77%, while Mathews has just above 70%. It is indeed surprising to note
that all the other fielders have catching percentages of less than 65%,
excepting Sehwag. Ross Taylor has largely done well for his team at slip,
although a below-average performance in an away series in 2013 resulted in
sub-65 catching rate. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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To cap this all, I charted out
the top slip fielders to pace and spin with a minimum number of 45
opportunities combined. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFVn4uYu3vqlTo8zxtLxqe8cYTYvE2C1WTaMiYykMiUXRPw4nLLA_W_k1fYgmjqm2hnWpQUHWTwdH2AYGnDradNutXJfBy7WFTrSIE4UwjN3Lc7UWpdjoboSATM-En_67aedPiGDVrqU/s1600/Top+slip+fielders+-+overall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFVn4uYu3vqlTo8zxtLxqe8cYTYvE2C1WTaMiYykMiUXRPw4nLLA_W_k1fYgmjqm2hnWpQUHWTwdH2AYGnDradNutXJfBy7WFTrSIE4UwjN3Lc7UWpdjoboSATM-En_67aedPiGDVrqU/s1600/Top+slip+fielders+-+overall.png" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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The clear leader here is Steven
Smith - with almost an equal number of opportunities as Cook or Ross Taylor, Steven
Smith has an outstanding catching rate of 80%. The next best is 78% by Younis
Khan and with his retirement after the current test series against West Indies,
Pakistan would do well if they find an equal replacement to the man. Joe Root
and Ajinkya Rahane are slowly but steadily catching up in the race to be the
best slip fielders in men’s cricket currently. Michael Clarke was a fairly good
slip fielder as well, as is evident from the 75% catching rate. Cook would do
well to improve his rate from 70% currently to more than 75% while James
Anderson has the lowest among them all at 58%. The chart above pits them all
almost equally, with the exception of Steven Smith, Alastair Cook and James Anderson.
Let us look at one final chart in this post – how many of the catches taken by
these fielders were very good ones, and how many of them were tough chances?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyZpNwO5LL54kxdrcmLz2bqJ-cTz8ChjDXwwOtmZTD5p1Mhnh0xQOBhzISafh2ZNhP0J2v9f6PQ1qUfuECRFP38KSHc6mk0YIt-zBT-BBY5Keya5EW58OisoK2zFPmba7s6NdButcKTA/s1600/Top+slip+fielders+-+overall+-+doughnut+chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyZpNwO5LL54kxdrcmLz2bqJ-cTz8ChjDXwwOtmZTD5p1Mhnh0xQOBhzISafh2ZNhP0J2v9f6PQ1qUfuECRFP38KSHc6mk0YIt-zBT-BBY5Keya5EW58OisoK2zFPmba7s6NdButcKTA/s1600/Top+slip+fielders+-+overall+-+doughnut+chart.png" /></a></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
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<b><i>Courtesy</i></b><i>: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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With this chart, we can see that
Michael Clarke and Ross Taylor are separated by very little – Clarke has a number of really good catches, a shade higher than Ross Taylor while the latter has had more tough
chances than Clarke. Younis Khan’s chart shows a better picture – although he
dropped almost 21% of his catches, at least 8% of them were tough ones. And
while Joe Root and Rahane have equal catching rates, Root has taken a higher
proportion of great catches, which should place him slightly higher than Rahane.
Cook has been just about average – he has dropped 25% of his catches overall,
even excluding the tough chances. James Anderson has had it a bit tough – even though
he has caught only 59% of all catches, with 6% being very good ones, he has had to
deal with 18% of tough chances, which overall doesn’t make him to be as bad a
slip fielder as was shown in the previous chart. The pick of the lot is,
without a doubt, Steven Smith – he has caught 80% of all his chances, with
close to 15% of them being great takes. He has dropped only 16% of normal
chances – which is among the lowest when compared with the other slip fielders in this chart. He is
the best slip fielder in men’s cricket currently but you knew that already, didn’t
you?</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Note: The above post contains stats and analyses up to the first Test between West Indies and Pakistan which concluded on April 25, 2017.</i></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Edit (14/5/2017): The post has been edited to show trend lines for year-on-year performance of slip fielding to pace and spin as two separate charts each for pace and spin.</i><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Edit 2 (14/5/2017): The second chart for year-on-year performance for spin had incorrectly mentioned "Pakistan" twice in the legend. The error has been rectified.</i></b><br />
<br />
<b><i>I tweet (occasionally) @ rightarmchuck</i></b></div>
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Kesavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17610198597086801212noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2431222442644195865.post-23340073639088304312016-12-11T08:13:00.000-08:002017-01-05T09:21:27.945-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">India’s slip cordon – by the numbers<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<h4>
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><i>An analysis of India's slip fielding</i></span></b></h4>
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An important series. First test.
Day one. two catches dropped in the slips within the first hour. Cricket has
seemingly become better with bigger scores, and better fielding abilities.
However, if there is one thing in cricket that hasn’t quite been as good as it
was before, it is slip fielding. In particular, India’s slip fielding over the
past few years has dipped considerably, considering the standards set by
Dravid, Sehwag and Tendulkar. Rahane has been exceptional in the cordon and Rohit
has been good too. In this piece, I attempt to look at India’s slip catching in
tests over the past 5 years by the numbers – catches taken, catches dropped, and
who amongst the players tried out in the slip cordon is the best - in addition
to making an attempt at understanding the positions of the players in the
cordon.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Before I get in to the numbers, I
will give you a brief explanation about the simple methodology – I looked at
the tests India played over the past five years. At the time of starting to
accumulate data for this article, the first test in this period was Test # 2027
in 2012 - against Australia in Australia in what was the second test of the
series. I trawled through ESPN Cricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary to take note
of India’s dropped catches in addition to logging in data about catches taken
in the slips. The commentary on the website is straightforward enough when
describing such opportunities – words such as “dropped” and “chance” are used.
A note to add – I understand that the BBB commentary is subjective; different
commentators on the website would have interpreted the chances in the slips
differently. It is indeed vital to take this into account; however, only nine
of the total number of dropped chances had been classified as “tough” chances.
A safe assumption that a majority of slip catches have been classified and
described accurately or nearly accurately should hold good.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfr-22a-OSqryuWmn23qKGHyrUlwSAYvCv6qZqhyphenhyphenwxCJELOhiQgRvtHczLHNugAf3ELLjVKs4rf1MCGh1Dqn-He95TED860mAZ2IRCzymgTLmrFjOg2-KCCV_9ybC8rMbgzrb2j17zeo/s1600/Slip+catch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfr-22a-OSqryuWmn23qKGHyrUlwSAYvCv6qZqhyphenhyphenwxCJELOhiQgRvtHczLHNugAf3ELLjVKs4rf1MCGh1Dqn-He95TED860mAZ2IRCzymgTLmrFjOg2-KCCV_9ybC8rMbgzrb2j17zeo/s1600/Slip+catch.jpg" /></a></div>
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<img alt="Slip catch.jpg" src="file:///C:/Users/RAMANU~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_21" /><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">Picture courtesy:
Yahoo Cricket</span></div>
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Over the period of last five
years, India played 46 test matches – 22 at home and 24 away. Out of these 46
matches, it won 22, lost 13 and drew 11 <i>(Source: ESPNCricinfo)</i>. The win-loss ratio isn’t good enough
and there are a multitude of factors to account for when a team loses – the
toss, the batting and the bowling performances of the teams, and equally
important being the fielding.<br />
<br />
Slip catching has been India’s bugbear once they
started losing able slip fielders in the form of Sehwag and the like. In these
46 matches, the Indian slip cordon has caught 126 of them and dropped 64 of
them. The numbers indicate that the cordon dropped a catch for every two
catches they caught which, by itself, is quite a telling statistic. <i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
<i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYi62WvEOqTvd-pA4xeft92tSPbYB6P7bXFTNwhZ3Bazr7cf2S5XeokJMCtoXC5ZXPhyphenhyphenOIF2IOSH06xexl3pkb5ZjNh1soiHw_xOTqoOd5EqsyVMI5oQd5uCJ6YRvEM4JzKx4vwcvtsE/s1600/Catches+dropped+by+pace-spin.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYi62WvEOqTvd-pA4xeft92tSPbYB6P7bXFTNwhZ3Bazr7cf2S5XeokJMCtoXC5ZXPhyphenhyphenOIF2IOSH06xexl3pkb5ZjNh1soiHw_xOTqoOd5EqsyVMI5oQd5uCJ6YRvEM4JzKx4vwcvtsE/s640/Catches+dropped+by+pace-spin.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4V4SrWlMxssoI4gkdGz-28yc9UPQKAH9IA1FDsiQAHw7pmUBaZZaHYthbi0m9Dvmwm8ibiqXPXvm-C8nxAP315kNZ9SLnB67OJ2TtKJXRSgrdOMRPozXJfbmLXiv8yDv0r6Ef6gMFeRk/s1600/Slip+catches+dropped+home+games.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4V4SrWlMxssoI4gkdGz-28yc9UPQKAH9IA1FDsiQAHw7pmUBaZZaHYthbi0m9Dvmwm8ibiqXPXvm-C8nxAP315kNZ9SLnB67OJ2TtKJXRSgrdOMRPozXJfbmLXiv8yDv0r6Ef6gMFeRk/s1600/Slip+catches+dropped+home+games.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dfYwIKuqu-wWrbbiB4qdtZtb_RgxYBVt0EFSWLld6i_vemeySRJoQG0HP83PlvKA8qJF_WpEXb6K6b8aQnycwE36g1vHyJZuq5Dd89bhc4KwbeDKjeMv7SLNTtesiOHgAKcmdH_5zZ0/s1600/Slip+catches+dropped+away+games.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dfYwIKuqu-wWrbbiB4qdtZtb_RgxYBVt0EFSWLld6i_vemeySRJoQG0HP83PlvKA8qJF_WpEXb6K6b8aQnycwE36g1vHyJZuq5Dd89bhc4KwbeDKjeMv7SLNTtesiOHgAKcmdH_5zZ0/s1600/Slip+catches+dropped+away+games.png" /></a></div>
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<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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The number of catches dropped in
away test matches is 35, as compared to 29 in home tests –without doubt, chances
in away tests are always more crucial. The charts also show that Indian slip
fielders have spilt more catches off seamers than the spinners – 40, compared
to 24 off the latter.<br />
While there are more opportunities for catches off
seamers – the areas covered by the slip cordon for a seamer as opposed to a
spinner are larger hence producing more opportunities for a catch to be taken
or dropped, the number of chances dropped off seamers is indeed slightly high. It
is also interesting to note that the number of catches dropped increases after
the retirements of Dravid, Sachin and Laxman, and the axing of Sehwag.<br />
The
chart below shows bowlers off whose bowling the catches have been dropped. Of
all these bowlers, catches have been dropped off Shami’s bowling the maximum,
accounting for 17% of all chances. Next in line is Ashwin, who has 11% - but
the slips for the spin department represent no major threat now as I will
illustrate later in the article.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tQVSQqH_iz_Ps04qQbvEKNBAmRaVJLMyQ4yab_rynSmKtRToY-JOrfUVD3eLx4ylUQ_ZI_Cr3Wfc2B3fYP3D0Y1ZEHmEA6xsXff1adWI-MyYSIDxaotkepb8uuJafKkwiYSBXc4fnQ0/s1600/Catches+dropped+-+by+bowler.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_tQVSQqH_iz_Ps04qQbvEKNBAmRaVJLMyQ4yab_rynSmKtRToY-JOrfUVD3eLx4ylUQ_ZI_Cr3Wfc2B3fYP3D0Y1ZEHmEA6xsXff1adWI-MyYSIDxaotkepb8uuJafKkwiYSBXc4fnQ0/s1600/Catches+dropped+-+by+bowler.png" /></a></div>
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<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
<br />
<b>Dropped catches by over of the day:</b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Is it possible that Indians tend
to drop catches later during the day when it seems too long? Maybe it could be
a case of lapses in concentration – the ability to switch on and off has often
been talked about to work perfectly for Dravid and other excellent slip
fielders. A chart of when the slip fielders have dropped the catches indicates
no correlation as to the assumption of the fielders dropping catches later in
the day. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrEbr2upX8f1u9RYwgL-jowXC0cJSDkI7EKYNuTStVvL0pyqZD_8Z-ugbQyjQ3ZO5SPkE3fo6bt5AjxmnNOTgvBcAqzrx7nq7enMwYwaT8yhvudMTsdTH6eC2rVwr6Fky0SmsqBmCsOc/s1600/Catches+dropped+by+over+of+day.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrEbr2upX8f1u9RYwgL-jowXC0cJSDkI7EKYNuTStVvL0pyqZD_8Z-ugbQyjQ3ZO5SPkE3fo6bt5AjxmnNOTgvBcAqzrx7nq7enMwYwaT8yhvudMTsdTH6eC2rVwr6Fky0SmsqBmCsOc/s1600/Catches+dropped+by+over+of+day.png" /></a></div>
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<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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<br />
<b>Dropped catches by innings of the match: </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<!--[endif]--></div>
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Dropping catches change the
momentum of a match sometimes, or a series, and can even change a player’s
career. A few fans will always remember Jadeja dropping Cook in the third test
against England when India was 1-0 up in the series. That drop made a
difference in that match, the series (which England went on to win 3-1) and Cook’s
career when he had gone 11 innings without a fifty.<br />
There are several other
instances when the catches have been dropped at crucial junctures. It would be
difficult to exactly quantify how much each drop meant – we can probably look
at the differences between how much the batsman had scored until then and his
final score. It is possible to see when these catches have been dropped, how
the match was poised then, and observe if India was ahead, level or behind in
the series.<br />
The following four tables show catches dropped in each innings of a
test match, along with the factors indicated above. The rows shaded in grey
indicate, in my opinion, crucial points in a test match when chances have gone
begging. I am sure there would be keen observers who could point to other match
situations in this list which were crucial. Notice that a few of the catches dropped
in the first innings come within the first hour of play (assuming an average
over rate of 12 per hour); underlining even more the number of chances early in
the day and the importance of taking them.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>First innings:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2HU-edFjDoi8K8VrqKCRFeMD4JVghJW2EjnMIgzFyRJJrYiPujXCgJcWeoe9MgDexYYCbf-Qu3XsC1CIlPJAIgk8sF77aUCqP3FzKf4pCm2ZZtl3Lsnz7y2h5r9hJkf0OpyFqCbBOnA/s1600/Dropped+catches+-+1st+innings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2HU-edFjDoi8K8VrqKCRFeMD4JVghJW2EjnMIgzFyRJJrYiPujXCgJcWeoe9MgDexYYCbf-Qu3XsC1CIlPJAIgk8sF77aUCqP3FzKf4pCm2ZZtl3Lsnz7y2h5r9hJkf0OpyFqCbBOnA/s1600/Dropped+catches+-+1st+innings.PNG" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b><b> </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Second innings:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HehjR6fUfc2sh7yS6f1WwOyyIe2XaIjroKUbDRo-uk2UdkaLGdh-BvCLmCYhg9Ri1SmNbesFGP4VSPPUdZN7WacOn-1YoezAJyF1HTBa_jO4FniaHsOLOEakmM0TLBSUGx4Sa3wvPRU/s1600/Dropped+catches+-+2nd+innings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HehjR6fUfc2sh7yS6f1WwOyyIe2XaIjroKUbDRo-uk2UdkaLGdh-BvCLmCYhg9Ri1SmNbesFGP4VSPPUdZN7WacOn-1YoezAJyF1HTBa_jO4FniaHsOLOEakmM0TLBSUGx4Sa3wvPRU/s1600/Dropped+catches+-+2nd+innings.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
<i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i>
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Third innings:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRn1zRu6OdEtt0pYc_WtxR6msDev5UOvtFiGV4THISz3otcJxK48IclQRZ4W7DjN_Itkj4X0JCuLTqjoKFQ9SfwtJK65zXWtG10a9Itb1LKyP0RQ_kxmm1BLCOw3-qY_36tLH89T7v-Vw/s1600/Dropped+catches+-+3rd+innings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRn1zRu6OdEtt0pYc_WtxR6msDev5UOvtFiGV4THISz3otcJxK48IclQRZ4W7DjN_Itkj4X0JCuLTqjoKFQ9SfwtJK65zXWtG10a9Itb1LKyP0RQ_kxmm1BLCOw3-qY_36tLH89T7v-Vw/s1600/Dropped+catches+-+3rd+innings.PNG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
<i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i>
<!--[endif]--></div>
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<b> </b><b>Fourth innings:</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tb0tAsUhqwzmz8QI3Fzu22KKjqip9IhpMjiwKXCafEwGQbLG1pQ2gCyoHhAar1-iV__AVaslUfd_s5dwddMT0iqkuCaXJK_k-O5wvJWAX6w6pYECAKoaw9G4cE-mEqNzCfOc7aGtGDs/s1600/Dropped+catches+-+4th+innings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tb0tAsUhqwzmz8QI3Fzu22KKjqip9IhpMjiwKXCafEwGQbLG1pQ2gCyoHhAar1-iV__AVaslUfd_s5dwddMT0iqkuCaXJK_k-O5wvJWAX6w6pYECAKoaw9G4cE-mEqNzCfOc7aGtGDs/s1600/Dropped+catches+-+4th+innings.PNG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i>
<span style="text-align: left;"><b>Slip catches taken by India:</b></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It would be unfair if I did not
point out the number of catches taken in the slip cordon in the same period,
seeing that there are a couple of players in the slip cordon who stand out. The
stacked column in the following chart for home games in 2015 is exceptionally
tall, in part due to the matches played on pitches which assisted spin, and in
part due to the emergence of Rahane as an able slip fielder to spin. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMdYfl8x8n0q_RhSJeJ6Ycsn4cX75AV8fTxlIndEznxt82ledBpO-ahECPidZQp90__SZV4KHQkuPZtaHTK_Ki9yZa6rpZcjG7FQdMwE5Gv1ZcMDO9le4ixOEvBVvuSTYt4Zlz1961DY/s1600/Slip+catches+caught+total.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMdYfl8x8n0q_RhSJeJ6Ycsn4cX75AV8fTxlIndEznxt82ledBpO-ahECPidZQp90__SZV4KHQkuPZtaHTK_Ki9yZa6rpZcjG7FQdMwE5Gv1ZcMDO9le4ixOEvBVvuSTYt4Zlz1961DY/s1600/Slip+catches+caught+total.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgK82ByB5TnwyhfP9GzhSZG9kE3KypwsxAEDSBrrNxLk53Dcwgqz_ranB8XivXItpsDGny7CVU31bCiS5N9PhL_JA7chJZtBXLDp0kKpFu3UjpOYsf8AWR7XPvZYGUTfneEBgKMIuwzA/s1600/Slip+catches+caught+home+games.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgK82ByB5TnwyhfP9GzhSZG9kE3KypwsxAEDSBrrNxLk53Dcwgqz_ranB8XivXItpsDGny7CVU31bCiS5N9PhL_JA7chJZtBXLDp0kKpFu3UjpOYsf8AWR7XPvZYGUTfneEBgKMIuwzA/s1600/Slip+catches+caught+home+games.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagY9ZXTQHorhES5NEmRGdmrozcNVDgSZH8OMBSkJOI3srwO6SYZkz7Wp-Uzyym0-mkIBtHIpiEC1wCW4cuEGpTLE12Ebg9xJ-g6t6dneZ_tMK1v6KLZ1OYw7pZocWajIDlqKTKbqnLn0/s1600/Slip+catches+caught+away+games.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagY9ZXTQHorhES5NEmRGdmrozcNVDgSZH8OMBSkJOI3srwO6SYZkz7Wp-Uzyym0-mkIBtHIpiEC1wCW4cuEGpTLE12Ebg9xJ-g6t6dneZ_tMK1v6KLZ1OYw7pZocWajIDlqKTKbqnLn0/s1600/Slip+catches+caught+away+games.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
<i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i>
<span style="text-align: left;"><b>Ratio of slip catches taken to slip catches dropped:</b></span><br />
<!--[endif]--></div>
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<br />
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
An even better indicator, though
simplistic, would be the ratio of catches taken to catches dropped by the team
over the period concerned. A higher ratio would, naturally, indicate a good
showing in the cordon. The charts below show the comparison of this ratio – the
ratio for pace bowling in 2014 is almost a factor of 2 – following the exit of
a slip cordon, the newer slip cordon struggled in their catching. Playing away
from home didn’t help too, with a lot of catching opportunities in England, New
Zealand and Australia coming off pace bowling mainly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqOV1PHE4SfF8kksSni5q0_2iItE6YT5mz6LTkaKn1ZITGy9ZHUYuQt_K-LLI48haH7phF_742IVrzSXWZm4ZkC9R1Gohxpumdzs0teUl1PrOnPKkeWROGL206JVPN4GdmpwaEiCqYOQ/s1600/Total+ratio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqOV1PHE4SfF8kksSni5q0_2iItE6YT5mz6LTkaKn1ZITGy9ZHUYuQt_K-LLI48haH7phF_742IVrzSXWZm4ZkC9R1Gohxpumdzs0teUl1PrOnPKkeWROGL206JVPN4GdmpwaEiCqYOQ/s1600/Total+ratio.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
<i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i>
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJ1F3d6-iAdKAyS_i_JqGAv3N_mDDX_e4VZTgsSPaNN7l2j_ya96x0mPqa5_EHz_SbCwlNBWU9vy8qEg8RN-Oc6Q4acjPO148aFAfcwUau7YMe7uZG94l1fzpBUx-2lYGwT64do-xXuk/s1600/Total+ratio+-+pace.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJ1F3d6-iAdKAyS_i_JqGAv3N_mDDX_e4VZTgsSPaNN7l2j_ya96x0mPqa5_EHz_SbCwlNBWU9vy8qEg8RN-Oc6Q4acjPO148aFAfcwUau7YMe7uZG94l1fzpBUx-2lYGwT64do-xXuk/s1600/Total+ratio+-+pace.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCD42SCM0OYdjDr9xauudRd4hCbXIAwCtI6SYKe9505hqDpeORwwo-uVVRbC9ZY7Cc8PMMkiwTcLLxmgs_sHTSx7P88Pzz5ishSHhhLOVFSyWLq02uOtOfMx0irR9qPUwBGmDn0KEJf_U/s1600/Total+ratio+-+spin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCD42SCM0OYdjDr9xauudRd4hCbXIAwCtI6SYKe9505hqDpeORwwo-uVVRbC9ZY7Cc8PMMkiwTcLLxmgs_sHTSx7P88Pzz5ishSHhhLOVFSyWLq02uOtOfMx0irR9qPUwBGmDn0KEJf_U/s1600/Total+ratio+-+spin.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
<i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9g_Dg876InzU_Oal642ymMa-McVmIj5pekELtrjwMi-UMJ43FA1Bfjgd0ezRUi3mUCbG3BlPCpxzsToz4CB_ZZkDChcnnGnvMdP4U-dKVI8MDeMQETyEJSCDcisjv4_F3Hsrkl3gt_ZQ/s1600/Total+ratio+-+by+player.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9g_Dg876InzU_Oal642ymMa-McVmIj5pekELtrjwMi-UMJ43FA1Bfjgd0ezRUi3mUCbG3BlPCpxzsToz4CB_ZZkDChcnnGnvMdP4U-dKVI8MDeMQETyEJSCDcisjv4_F3Hsrkl3gt_ZQ/s1600/Total+ratio+-+by+player.png" /></a></div>
<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJe6C_3wCDBQ2-cisLXk4sSGvT-E5Qw0gPaNAmM9adP4RsjKoOijYE3sf29NDP52H_kav9NPiNq6eVFZceefOiuk87AoqcwIgha55-IDPYGjQh5EUxC4y8JEz6aBUwzNfdOg1Z7kvBNc/s1600/Total+ratio+pace+-+by+player.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJe6C_3wCDBQ2-cisLXk4sSGvT-E5Qw0gPaNAmM9adP4RsjKoOijYE3sf29NDP52H_kav9NPiNq6eVFZceefOiuk87AoqcwIgha55-IDPYGjQh5EUxC4y8JEz6aBUwzNfdOg1Z7kvBNc/s1600/Total+ratio+pace+-+by+player.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzgxceAvgDEhYbKyLVqE6KYpRwbLPE3bTgLh5N_dyjl97lSNrYHy51pQ7rBcY6an6HRyWMRVOhZ6XWtA78LZO8QDp9v_rdZOp08fdYSz6R2mO9x8pDCyl5a4KgUhu4oKDRpXZbh3vT9c/s1600/Total+ratio+spin+-+by+player.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzgxceAvgDEhYbKyLVqE6KYpRwbLPE3bTgLh5N_dyjl97lSNrYHy51pQ7rBcY6an6HRyWMRVOhZ6XWtA78LZO8QDp9v_rdZOp08fdYSz6R2mO9x8pDCyl5a4KgUhu4oKDRpXZbh3vT9c/s1600/Total+ratio+spin+-+by+player.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
<i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i>
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The chart above shows why Rahane
has been quite brilliant for a slip fielder to spin. He has taken 27 catches to
spin and dropped just 8 of them and that, even by normal standards, has been
exceptional. He has evolved to be a dependable first slip option to Ashwin and
Jadeja. Fun fact: of the 28 catches taken by spin in 2015, Rahane claimed 19 of
them – close to 70%.<br />
<br />
<b style="text-align: left;">Ratio of slip catches taken to slip catches dropped - by player:</b><br />
<b style="text-align: left;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Another exercise would be to chart
a ratio of catches taken to catches dropped for each player in this generation
and understand why Rahane is so important in the slip cordon for India.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLosygaWWQ3U0-ClwIeNUrQgLAAB7HKhaYdJ00ZLT-f2sdIwHtT02Fe9j2NCcJGh1ZdGYGu9dHEqAqWSzejVfnmyEf6U0VSryon4W_XAlSbM5mJGWZcvoHZa6yzrazp86cuz81_nfOR0U/s1600/Ratio+comparison.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLosygaWWQ3U0-ClwIeNUrQgLAAB7HKhaYdJ00ZLT-f2sdIwHtT02Fe9j2NCcJGh1ZdGYGu9dHEqAqWSzejVfnmyEf6U0VSryon4W_XAlSbM5mJGWZcvoHZa6yzrazp86cuz81_nfOR0U/s1600/Ratio+comparison.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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<br />
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The average ratio for the current
crop of players stands at 1.8. Considering the standard set of fielders in the
slip cordon as was observed in the ongoing series against England, Vijay and
Kohli are at 1.56 and 1.5 respectively. Jadeja received a lot of flak for
dropping Cook in the 2014 series and more recently in the first test; his ratio
is at 1.5 as well. Rahane’s ratio is 3.27 – way above his slip partners. It is
also important to mention Rohit Sharma, who has featured in the slip cordon often.
He has caught 9 in the cordon off seamers, and has dropped none. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b>Rotation of slip fielders in the cordon:</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Nasser, one of the best commentators
in the game currently, made a pertinent point about developing a set of players
to stand in the slip cordon and nurture them. While Rahane does stand at first
slip for the spinners, he is often found in the gully region for the seamers.<br />
To
be fair, India has tried out quite a number of players in the slip cordon for
the seamers and it appears as though it is trying to find the right
combination. It must also be said luck has not favored them as well. Players such
as Dhawan, Rohit and KL Rahul have missed out games owing to injuries or
inconsistency.<br />
The fielders have been moved around a lot in the cordon – maybe an
attempt at finding who fits where best. Vijay, Kohli and Jadeja were at 1<sup>st</sup>,
2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup> slips respectively in the first test against
England while Rahane was at gully. If either Rohit or Dhawan make a return to
the side, it is possible that the player will either be slotted in the first or
third slip position. Or it might prompt another upheaval of sorts in the slips
with Dhawan back to his second slip spot, Vijay staying at first and Kohli
moving to third. In any case, I am sure both Kohli and the team management have
realized a set of specialist fielders are necessary for the slip cordon, and
that a good fielder in the outfield does not necessarily translate to a good
slip fielder.<br />
I attempted to understand fielders and their positions in the
slips in the 5-year period. Since no website, to my knowledge, looks at recording
the positions of various fielders on the field, the following diagram was
created using information from the BBB commentary – either through the catches
dropped/catches taken/a rare mention of who was standing where in the cordon. The
shaded cells show where the dropped catches occurred with the corresponding player
name in the cell. There were a few instances where players were shifted from
one slip to another within the same game as well as instances where players in
the shaded cell went on to take a catch or two in the same innings.<br />
The
following diagram is left open to interpretation – I have tried to see which primary
slip fielder moved where. In my view, Kohli, Vijay, Dhawan, Rohit and Rahane
are the go-to slip fielders available currently. Five players and four positions
in the cordon – based on availability, it is possible to find the best combination
and slot them in their respective places.<br />
Rahane might have to move in to slips
if the team is unable to find someone suitable for those positions – going by
his record in the slips for the spinners, it might be a solid gamble to go with
him. He was tried in the second slip position to pace bowlers in 2014 but it
must be remembered that he was still evolving as a slip fielder then. 2015 was
a revelation of sorts for him – not to forget the world record of 8 catches in
an innings. It is also possible to counter this argument by insisting that
Rahane is a slip fielder for the spinners alone and might not be suited for standing
up to pacers – someone with technical expertise can probably explain why.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2Z8ZBFAT5L0cF1ZlT6YEmjmcGOXDvwljR4kF6ZHLcC9xyI0X_hKtwVXuH69Or-zMxRDcUuXzENjuK7gIK4GAkyPUF75bJOw_spydQIYgo9QrvMDYN3jOFRzKTDeU17v0cnXatNK08EY/s1600/Slip+fielding+-+pace+Final.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2Z8ZBFAT5L0cF1ZlT6YEmjmcGOXDvwljR4kF6ZHLcC9xyI0X_hKtwVXuH69Or-zMxRDcUuXzENjuK7gIK4GAkyPUF75bJOw_spydQIYgo9QrvMDYN3jOFRzKTDeU17v0cnXatNK08EY/s1600/Slip+fielding+-+pace+Final.PNG" /></a></div>
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<i>Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i></div>
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The usage of fielders for spin is
much more straightforward. Until his axing, Sehwag held fort at first slip.
Vijay and Kohli were both identified and tried at first slip but the team
finally hit gold with Rahane. He has good reflexes and seems to have the right
temperament to stand in the slips. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKry8AjZ0Dvu5zZGeSqMLWe503Rv1XVA12PuQky0Q8Kr_wnP8lydtFk_ZQjFQNOoEGF-QqbQK8-uvmSKqV_pmGqWZ3VDyz3n2Z8jUNMhQnYEgDmLBCFAn7pJ_9whk3-WeYpAjGURoz0Qo/s1600/Slip+fielding+-+spin+Final.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKry8AjZ0Dvu5zZGeSqMLWe503Rv1XVA12PuQky0Q8Kr_wnP8lydtFk_ZQjFQNOoEGF-QqbQK8-uvmSKqV_pmGqWZ3VDyz3n2Z8jUNMhQnYEgDmLBCFAn7pJ_9whk3-WeYpAjGURoz0Qo/s1600/Slip+fielding+-+spin+Final.PNG" /></a></div>
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<i style="text-align: left;">Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis</i><br />
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<o:p> </o:p>For now, the slip cordon seems to
be set on Vijay and Kohli. An inclusion of another regular at slip such as
Dhawan or Rohit would make things interesting. The 4-test series against
Australia might throw up some interesting scenarios for India to consider and
decide who goes where in the slip cordon. Indian fans will have to hope that
the cordon starts catching more and dropping less in future tests.<br />
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<b><i>Note: The above article contains stats and analyses up to the third Test between India and England which concluded on November 29, 2016.</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Edit: The above article was originally published on 12th December, 2016. The post was updated to include sources for the charts in the article, in addition to including sub-headings and a byline.</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Stats courtesy of ESPNCricinfo</i></b><br />
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<b><i>I tweet @ rightarmchuck</i></b></div>
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Kesavanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17610198597086801212noreply@blogger.com0