SYDNEY: Since day one of their tour Down Under that first took them to New Zealand before coming to Australia for a full series, Pakistan have been looking for ways and means to improve their fielding that has so far proved to be their Achilles heals.
But more than six weeks and four Tests later, Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam declared on Friday that there are no shortcuts that can make his charges better fielders overnight.
“To improve your fielding you will have to go back to grassroots level,” Intikhab told Arab News in an interview here at the Sydney Cricket Ground. “There are no short-cuts. You cannot teach a cricketer how to field better in a few training sessions or through any lectures. You can only guarantee that a player will go on to become a world class fielder if he has received extensive training since his younger days,” said the former Pakistan captain.
Intikhab and fellow Pakistan team officials have been under constant criticism for their inability to bring about an improvement in the fielding department. Many critics blame Pakistan’s poor fielding as one of the major reasons why they almost lost a Test series in New Zealand last month and are now trailing 0-1 in the three-match contest against Australia.
In New Zealand, butter-fingered Pakistani players dropped several catches, many of them sitters, throughout the series even as officials kept promising that there will be improvement. They later hoped that things will change in Australia but Pakistan began their Boxing Day Test in Melbourne by flooring a couple of catches early in the day as the hosts went on to pile up a substantial first innings total that turned out to be too big for Pakistan. The visitors lost the match by a 170 runs.
“We have tried everything that we can to help our players become better catchers during this tour,” said Intikhab. “But the problems runs deeper. In Pakistan we don’t have a culture that can help produce world class fielders.”
Intikhab said that the country’s cricketing authorities will have to take this issue very seriously.
“Its good to have specialized camps for batsmen and bowlers but I believe what we need most desperately is a system that can help produce good fielders.”
According to the coach, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) can play its part by staging regular camps where youngsters can sharpen their catching and fielding skills but was quick to add that it is departments and associations, which need to play an even bigger role.
“What we need is a system in which there is proper and regular training of fielders at the junior level all over the country. The only way that can be done effectively is by having the departments and associations, who have their own cricket teams, having such exercises regularly and with the help of experienced and qualified coach,” said Intikhab.
