Catches win Matches, yet "FIELDER" is never the Man of the Match !

Catches win Matches, yet "FIELDER" is never the Man of the Match !

I am a big cricket fan. 

1969-70.  India vs. Australia.  5th Test at Chennai (then Madras). 1st day’s play.  Australian  Batsman Doug Walters just  then completed a  chanceless century.  The last over of the day. Bowler – Bishen Bedi.   Penultimate delivery. Venkatraghavan, the customary gully fielder was moved to first slip. As the bowler delivered, the ball flew off the edge of Walters' bat.  Venkat simply turned around 180 degrees behind to snatch the ball just before it could kiss the grass.

If I could remember the qualitative ton of Walters, evenly I could recall the sparkling catch of Venkat, who easily was the best close-in fielder during that period, next to Eknath Solkar. From that day not only I became the fan of Venkat for his fielding, but also assumed the equal distinction of fielding as a vital department of the game, on lines with batting and bowling.

Cricket, has undergone a  tremendous change, both as a game in terms of format, and commercially in terms of money and fame. With the shorter version getting more and more  prominent, fielding also obviously gains its share of momentum.  If you take Indian cricket, say the same Test match cited above, you will observe that hardly two or three players will figure in the quality fielding category- Solkar and Venkat in the close-in fielding  and MAK Pataudi in the outfield. 

About four decades from then, we have, at times, seen Dhoni, struggling to hide seniors like Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar (all old legs) on the field. Today, it is not easy for a new entrant to contend for his place merely by being a bowler or batsman, but fielding is a definite must.

A run saved is a run scored.  Very true, we have seen that in the 1999 World Cup (SA vs Australia). The same WC, again, exposed Herschelle Gibbs not for just "dropping"  the catch of Steve Wagh, but the World Cup!  A top quality team like South Africa yet to win a World Cup!   Certain positions like "wicket keeping" and "slip" demands  more than constant alert. The pick & throw, astounding catches, diving stops, the stretch, the slide,  the fall, the stumping, direct hits .... The  fielding  grade, individual exceptions aside, has gone up by leaps and bounds, all glory to the ODIs, T20 and IPL.  Specialist fielding coaches are deployed in every team. The eminence given to fielding as a vital organ of the game is seen to be believed in terms of abnormal and acrobatic shows by some fielders. 

Now: Are the fielders getting their due?  Is media giving adequate coverage? Even media, correct me if I am wrong, only makes a passing reference to the fielding efforts vis-a-vis batting or bowling. Are the cricket pundits and bodies like BCCI bestowing the unbiased attention to the fielding department it deserves? Are they giving the due recognition to the the 'third department' of the game?  Are cricket fans showing the same level of support to fielders as they do to the batsmen and bowlers? Is fielding meted out a step-motherly treatment? Are we biased?

Is it that Man of the Match (MOM) belongs to the exclusive domain of batsman or an occasional bowler?  Is there any rule, restriction or guideline that denies the fielder to be the contender? Can somebody explain what parameters are considered by the match adjudicators in deciding the MOM?  Psychologically, the bias is loaded more in favour of batsman, sometimes the bowler, and never the fielder.  None of the three departments  can play or perform without the support of the other two.

Out of 11 players on the field, barring the bowler, the rest are the fielding majority.  Even the bowler has to be on guard to grab a caught & bowled opportunity.  When a wicket falls, however good the catch or stumping may be, all eyes are on the bowler and all the players go  around the bowler to jubiliate and greet, not that the fielder is neglected, but the degree certainly varies.

The bowler gets his credits and confidence invariably through the energetic and enthusiastic support of the fielders. What if catches are floored, stumpings are missed? I am  not even remotely suggesting to dilute the  merit of the bowler. But then, can a bowler perform independently?  How many times a bowler gets his victims only by "bowled" and "LBW"? Even Anil Kumble in his record scalp of 10 wickets against Pakistan, six  are through catches.  

It will be interesting to scan through the records of some of the best bowlers like Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Muthiah Muralidharan, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee...  Out of their total tally of wickets, how many were "catches", how many were "bowled & LBWs". 

If a bowler at crucial times takes a couple of vital wickets, he immediately becomes a contender for MOM award.  If those wickets are due to some stunning catches, the fielder is not considered for any recognition.  If a batsman scores a ton, he raises his bat; If a bowler gets, say, five wickets, he is given the "match  ball" which he holds aloft. But if a fielder grabs 5 catches.....?  Of course, there is Karbon Kamaal Catch for the best catcher, but it is like giving a small tip to a bearer in a restaurant - utterly disproportionate value to the merit of the fielder and the game. 

More energy is required for maintaining a high stamina and standard throughout the innings. Even the fielder who is directly not involved in fielding must lookout to backup for the throws from other fielder on either side of the wicket.

Pataudi was titled the "Tiger" more for his fielding. Jonty Rhodes made people recognise him as an artist of fielding. While many players would consider fielding as a burden, Mohamed Azharuddin showed he was  an exceptional fielder, who enjoyed  his fielding like his batting.

Why not have some yardstick to consider:

A fielder/wicket-keeper seizing more than 5 victims, must be in the reckoning for the MOM.

Or, a separate award be instituted for the "best fielder of the match" and honour him along with the MOM.

A committee comprising of top fielding specialists and coaches like Jhonty Rhodes, Adam Gilchrist....  should  go into the subject of "according greater recognition for fielding", in greater depth. The notion of 'Fielding  as a relatively neglected segment" must be removed from the minds of the cricket players and cricket lovers.  With appropriate support and recognition, a day may come when a player will be selected in the playing XI sheerly as a specialist fielder even if he is an otherwise a part-time bowler or non-specialist batsman.

We all relish Chris Gayle clouting a 110-metre six, revel the straight drive of Sachin Tendulkar, but let us also look forward to rejoice the catch of the match  .... in the same measure.

http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/06/open-letter-to-sachin-tendulkar.html
http://kmurthy608.blogspot.in/2012/08/book-mark-rahul-dravid-timeless-steel.html

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