Close catching - an art in itself

By A.C De Silva

Close catching ... This aspect of cricket plays a major part in becoming an efficient fielder. Much has been said about wonderfully anticipated catches close to the wicket.

As the bowler starts his run-up the fielder crouches knees flexed hands held loosely in front of him about two feet off the ground, palms facing towards the batsman. With the weight on the balls of his feet he's on balance ready to set off in any direction high or low, left or right.

Advantages of crouch

As the ball is about to be played, and in this case edged, the fielder should be motionless, still crouched, head still, waiting for his eyes to instruct his hands and body and completely free to let his reflexes do the work. Why crouched? Because it's easier to stand up suddenly then to bend down from an upright position. Such a close catches has a marvellous chance of catching that edge. Now suppose anticipation gets into the act: Our fielder having seen the intended stroke before impact, believes the ball is going to be deflected away to his left and so starts to move in that direction. But no human being can judge just how thin an edge the batsman will get.

Take the backward short leg position as an example. A wafer-thin brush of the inside edge of the bat will send to ball to the right of our fielder, who remember, is all set to go to his left. Even if hasn't actually moved an inch but merely assumed in his mind that the ball will be deflected to his left, he has to chance whatsoever of catching that particular ball.

His muscles are now programmed to go left and a reversal of instruction as his eyes tell him otherwise will leave him momentarily paralysed. The ball is only in catching range for a half a second at most so another chance has gone begging.

Anticipation results in more catches being missed close to the wicket than it gobbles up. You have only a half-chance of being right. So why not, as in batting and bowling, leave it to your eyes to decide?

To be a first-class close fielder you should be able to catch the ball cleanly and surely with either hand. All of us favour one side, so in practice make a point at working on your weaker flank. Of course there's no substitute for endless repetition practising. It's rather like that necessary chore that faces musicians, scale practice.

The coin trick

A little trick that was used on before going out will probably be of some use in sharpening your reflexes. The quicker your reactions the easier you will make that vital catch. Take two tenpenny pieces and lay them on the flat of your hand with your arm extended in front of you at shoulder height. One coin should be near the tips of your fingers, the other towards the base of your palm. With a slight upward flick of your rigid arm, not just the hand push the coins into the air. Then quickly turn your hand over palm now facing towards the ground and grab them one at a time as they drop downwards. You should be able to reclaim both before they reach waist height.

Two coins shouldn't pose much of a problem. Now try three with the extra coin near the roots of the fingers. When you can catch four with either hand (the extra one should be placed on your wrist) with the rules described then you will have sharpened your speed and coordination of hand and eye to rival the greatest close fielders the game has known.

Most close catchers prefer to field on one side of the wicket. Try the slips and then the short leg positions for yourself. You can experiment during a practice match. Once you've found the place where you feel happiest, try to become something of a specialist there .

Watch bat and ball

A lot has been spoken about and written too whether to watch the bat or ball from the bowler's hand. The best thing is to try and watch both and see which you prefer. There are no hard and fast rules, but according to the veterans it is better to watch the edge of the bat from the off-side position and a spot around the batsmen's front knee from short leg. Most veterans recommend this because it helps to cut down the chances of anticipating wrongly by following the ball's progress down the wicket before the batsman has actually made contact.

Attempt to catch everything no matter how far away or improbable it may appear. Otherwise there will be too many times when a ball will pass you by and on reflection you'll realise it was within reach if you'd tried first time.