Headingley whodunit: Coloured coats, black line in stands, crowded stands and general sloppiness conspire dropped catches

Indian Express

5 hours ago

Since 2019, it was the first time India had dropped more than five catches. A probe into the greasy fingers that proved expensive at Headingley.
First innings
6.6 Ravindra Jadeja drops Ben Duckett on 15
As Jasprit Bumrah provided rare width to cut, Duckett slashed hard at this one, which took the outside edge and flew low towards Jadeja at backward point. Despite getting both hands to it, Jadeja ended up grassing it. Duckett made 62.
30.6 Yashasvi Jaiswal drops Ollie Pope on 60
In the previous over, Bumrah had removed Duckett as India sensed an opening and nearly had the set batsman Pope who was in middle of a fluent knock. He tried to steer Bumrah through the cordon, but got a thick edge which Jaiswal dropped in the cordon, the ball hitting the wrists. Pope went on to make 106.
71.1 Rishabh Pant drops Harry Brook on 46
Ravindra Jadeja was in the middle of one good spell when he induced an edge of Brook who was struggling against the spinner. But because of the extra bounce, the ball climbed at Pant at an awkward height who couldn't get a hand to it. Brook went on to make 99.
84.6 Jaiswal drops Brook on 84
Of all the drops, it was the most straightforward one. As Brook tried to guide Bumrah through the slip cordon, all that he managed was an edge which went in the direction of Jaiswal at fourth slip. But the Indian opener fluffed a simple chance, handing Brook another life.
Second innings
28.5 Bumrah drops Zak Crawley on 42
As England openers were setting up a strong platform, they remained error-free as India toiled for a break. In the 29th over, Crawley drove on the up giving a caught and bowled chance to Bumrah, who was still in his follow through with the ball flying low. Hit his palm and the floor. Crawley made 65.
38.5 Jaiswal drops Duckett on 97
Mohammed Siraj delivered a short ball with fielders lined-up on the leg-side boundary. Jaiswal ran in, covered the ground and got both hands to the ball, but couldn't hold on to it as Siraj looked totally frustrated. Duckett went on to make a match-winning 149.
England too dropped catches–as many as four were spilled in India's second innings. So it could be venue specific as well. Former England captain Alastair Cook reckoned a black line in the stands' backdrop could be a reason. 'I think the main reason for this ground in particular, if you look at the stands there's a black line, a really dark black line and if the ball goes into that, I think players miss it a little bit,' said Cook.
'You miss picking up that crucial bit and you panic. When you want to catch, you want to have firm, hard hands but also a nice relaxed body. So if you miss a little bit and you think, 'where's the ball gone?' You panic and you get electric hands,' he added
Cook's teammate Stuart Broad reckoned it is easy to lose the sight of the ball at the venue.'Headingley is a difficult viewing ground,' said Broad, speaking on Sky Sports. 'You can lose a ball in the stands, and when the clouds are in, certain bits are darker. You only have to lose it for 0.1 seconds and you get tense.
Broad also revealed that since the stands were packed, it could be harder for fielders to pick the ball from the crowd. 'I think it can be quite a difficult place to catch, to be honest. Do you know what actually makes it harder? It's the crowd. When it gets a bit colder, the crowd have different coloured coats on, and there's a couple of empty seats in the stands as well, so the ball comes out a bit differently from the crowd. Also when the sun's not out, when the clouds are in, it can just be a little bit darker in certain parts of the ground.'