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India’s slip cordon – by the numbers

India have had numerous slip fielders in recent times

Two catches dropped in the slips within the first hour of the first Test of a series. 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. In this piece, an attempt has been made 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.

Also Read: Relay catching: Newest addition to the cricketing manual

Before getting into the numbers, a brief explanation about the simple methodology – all the Tests India played over the past five years were looked at. 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.

Slip catches dropped by India – By the numbers

Over the period of the 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 (Source: ESPNCricinfo). 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.

Slip catching has been India’s bugbear once they started losing good slip fielders in the form of Sehwag and Dravid; in these 46 matches, the Indian slip cordon has caught 126 of them and dropped 64 of them (Sources: ESPNCrincinfo, Analysis). The numbers indicate that the cordon dropped a catch for every two catches they caught which, by itself, is quite a telling statistic.

 

 

 

 

The number of catches dropped in away Test matches is 35, as compared to 29 in home Tests – without a 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.

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.

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 19% of all chances. Next is Ashwin, who has 17% - but the slips for the spin department represent no major threat now as will be illustrated later in the article. (Sources: ESPNCricinfo, Analysis)

 

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 lapse 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.

 

Dropped catches by innings

Dropping catches changes 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 were 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.

There are several other instances when 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.

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. Keener and more astute observers of the games India played would be able to 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.

First innings

Slip catches dropped in the first innings of a test match: 2012 - Nov 2016
YearTest #AgainstHome/AwayOver of the dayBatsmanFielderBowlerScore when droppedFinal scoreDiffTeam score when dropped ResultSeries standing
               
20122ndNZH10GuptillKohliZaheer Khan17533623/1365 a.o.India won by 5 wickets1-0
20131stAustraliaH9WarnerSehwagAshwin18594143/0380 a.o.India won by 8 wickets0-0
    18SiddleSehwagHarbhajan13196349/7380 a.o.  
20133rdAustraliaH36WarnerKohliJadeja507121103/0408 a.o.Ind won by 6 wickets2-0
    58CowanKohliOjha648622146/2408 a.o.  
20132ndWest IndiesH18Kieran PowellAshwinBhuvi21482748/1182 a.o.Ind won by innings and 126 runs1-0
    45Narsingh DeonarineKohliAshwin12219148/5182 a.o.  
    51Denesh RamdinVijayAshwin112 n.o.11168/8182 a.o.  
20141stNew ZealandA2Peter FultonDhawanZaheer Khan113121 for 0503 a.o.New Zealand won by 40 runs0-0
    29Kane WilliamsonVijayShami321138176/3503 a.o.New Zealand won by 40 runs0-0
20143rdEnglandA12Alastair CookJadejaPankaj Singh15958025/0569/7 decEngland won by 266 runs1-0
    61Jos ButtlerDhawanShami238562471/5   
20143rdAustraliaA25WatsonDhawanShami37521583/1530 a.o.Match drawn0-2
20154thAustraliaA8Chris RogersKL RahulShami19957646/0572 a.o.Match drawn0-2
    90WatsonAshwinYadav618120344/2   
    25Shaun MarshVijayAshwin97364415/4   
20151stSri LankaA4Kaushal SilvaDhawanAaron45113/0183 a.o.Sri Lanka won by 63 runs0-0
20162ndWest IndiesA53Shannon GabrielRahaneMishra15150196/9196 a.o.Match drawn1-0
20164thWest IndiesA3Kraigg BrathwaiteKohliBhuvi432 n.o.286 for 062/2Match drawn2-0
20161stEnglandH1Alastair CookRahaneShami021210/0537 a.o.Match drawn0-0
    2Alastair CookKohliYadav121201 for 0 Match drawn 
    6Haseeb HameedVijayYadav13311824/0   
20163rdEnglandH3Alastair CookJadejaShami327244 for 0283 a.o.India won by 8 wickets1-0
    54Jos ButtlerKarun NairYadav74336162/5   

Test # - Denotes nth test in a series; H - Home, A - Away; Diff - difference between bastman's final score and score when dropped

Series standing to be read as tests won by India at that point in the series-tests won by opposition up until the test mentioned

Second innings

Slip catches dropped in the second innings of a test match: 2012 - Nov 2016
YearTest #AgainstHome/AwayOver of the dayBatsmanFielderBowlerScore when droppedFinal scoreDiffTeam score when dropped Match situationResultSeries standing
                
20123rdAustraliaA12David WarnerVirat KohliZaheer Khan12618054193/0369 a.o.L - 32 (Aus)Aus won by innings and 37 runs0-2
20121stNZH23WilliamsonSehwagAshwin13321962/4159 a.o.L - 376Ind won by innings and 115 runs0-0
20121stEnglandH49BresnanSehwagAshwin61913122/7191 a.o.L - 399Ind won by 9 wickets0-0
20122ndEnglandH65CookSehwagHarbhajan8512237176/2413 a.o.L - 151England won by 10 wickets1-0
20123rdEnglandH14CookPujaraZaheer Khan1719017327/0523 a.o.L - 289England won by 7 wickets1-1
20131stSouth AfricaA17Graeme SmithAshwinZaheer Khan19684947/1244 a.o.L - 233Match drawn0-0
    64Faf du PlessisVijayShami17203207/6244 a.o.L - 73  
20141stEnglandA9James AndersonVijayShami458136403/9496 a.o.L - 54Match drawn0-0
20142ndEnglandA10Sam RobsonRahaneShami817918/0319 a.o.L - 278India won by 95 runs0-0
    40Gary BalanceDhawanStuart Binny321107891/3319 a.o.L - 204  
20144thEnglandA12Jos ButtlerKohliBhuvi347036259/6367 a.o.L - 107 (Eng)England won by innings and 54 runs1-1
20145thEnglandA31Alastair CookVijayAaron657914171/1486 a.o.L - 23 (Eng)England won by innings and 244 runs1-2
    36Alastair CookRahaneAshwin70799176/1486 a.o.L - 28 (Eng)  
20151stBangladeshA11Imrul KayesDhawanYadav10726243/1256 a.o.L - 419Match drawn0-0
20152ndSri LankaA14SangakkaraRahaneAshwin2432847/1306 a.o.L - 346India won by 278 runs0-1
20153rdSri LankaA1TharangaKL RahulIshant Sharma0443 for 0201 a.o.L - 309India won by 117 runs1-1
    22Kusal PereraKL RahulYadav9554663/6201 a.o.L - 249  
    48HerathKL RahulYadav42497170/8201 a.o.L - 142  
20153rdSouth AfricaH18DuminyKohliAshwin13352235/679 a.o.L - 180India won by 124 runs1-0
20163rdWest IndiesA6Leon JohnsonKL RahulShami4231912 for 0225 a.o.L - 341India won by 237 runs1-0
    53Shane DowrichKL RahulBhuvi12186219/8225 a.o.L - 134  
20163rdNew ZealandH4GuptillRahaneShami21725130/0299 a.o.L - 527India won by 321 runs2-0

Test # - Denotes nth test in a series; H - Home, A - Away; Diff - difference between bastman's final score and score when dropped

Match situation - L - 319, for eg, denotes India leading by 319 runs unless when opposition is leading in which case it is denoted using parenthesis; L - 2 (SL) denotes opposition leading by 2 runs

Series standing to be read as tests won by India at that point in the series-tests won by opposition up until the test mentioned

 

Third innings

Slip catches dropped in the third innings of a test match: 2012 - Nov 2016
YearTest #AgainstHome/AwayOver of the dayBatsmanFielderBowlerScore when droppedFinal scoreDiffTeam score when dropped Match situationResultSeries standing
                
20121stNZH33GuptillKohliOjha1516122/0164 a.o.L - 257Ind won by innings and 115 runs0-0
20124thEnglandH54PietersenSehwagJadeja26490/2352/4L - 94 (Eng)Match drawn1-2
    60BellSehwagPiyush Chawla75116 n.o.41283/3352/4L - 287 (Eng)  
20132ndAustraliaH5WarnerKohliBhuvi13261319/0131 a.o.L - 247Ind won by innings and 135 runs1-0
20133rdAustraliaH26LyonKohliOjha1218683/3223 a.o.L - 8Ind won by 6 wickets2-0
20141stNew ZealandA7McCullumVijayZaheer Khan11013/3105 a.o.L - 314 (NZ)New Zealand won by 40 runs0-0
20142ndNew ZealandA23McCullumDhawanZaheer Khan157302145327/5680/8L - 81 (NZ)Match drawn0-1
20143rdEnglandA41RootRahaneJadeja52564201/3205/4 decL - 440 (Eng)England won by 266 runs1-0
20141stAustraliaA47David WarnerVijayShami8910213168/3290/5 decL - 241 (Aus)Australia won by 48 runs0-0
20143rdAustraliaA23Chris RogersDhawanIshant Sharma33572490/1318 a.o.L - 155 (Aus)Match drawn0-2
20162ndWest IndiesA50Shane DowrichRahaneMishra537421251/5388/6L - 53Match drawn1-0

Test # - Denotes nth test in a series; H - Home, A - Away; Diff - difference between bastman's final score and score when dropped

Match situation - L - 319, for eg, denotes India leading by 319 runs unless when opposition is leading in which case it is denoted using parenthesis; L - 2 (SL) denotes opposition leading by 2 runs

Series standing to be read as tests won by India at that point in the series-tests won by opposition up until the test mentioned

 

 Fourth innings

Slip catches dropped in the fourth innings of a test match: 2012 - Nov 2016
YearTest #AgainstHome/AwayOver of the dayBatsmanFielderBowlerScore when droppedFinal scoreDiffTeam score when dropped Match situationResultSeries standing
                
20142ndAustraliaA14Steven SmithKohliAaron9281963/2 Target 128Australia won by 4 wickets0-1
20151stSouth AfricaH25Stiaan van ZylDhawanYadav21361572/6109Target 218India won by 108 runs0-0
20153rdSouth AfricaH72RabadaRahaneAshwin462172/8185 a.o.Target 310India won by 124 runs1-0
20162ndNew ZealandH75Matt HenryRahaneJadeja16182188/8197Target - 376India won by 178 runs1-0
20163rdNew ZealandH12GuptillRahaneJadeja8292142/2153 a.o.Target - 475India won by 321 runs2-0
20162ndEnglandH4RootKohliAshwin9251691/2158 a.o.Target - 405India won by 246 runs0-0

Series standing to be read as tests won by India at that point in the series-tests won by opposition up until the test mentioned

Slip catches taken by India

It would be unfair if the number of catches taken in the slip cordon is neglected 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 assist spin, and in part due to the emergence of Rahane as an able slip fielder to spin.

 

 

 

Ratio of slip catches taken to slip catches dropped

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 off pace bowling in 2014 is almost a factor of 2 – following the exit of a dependable 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 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%.

Ratio of slip catches taken to slip catches dropped: By player

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.

 

 

The average of the ratio for the current crop of players stands at 1.89. 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 between India and England; 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.

Rotation of slip fielders in the cordon

Nasser Hussain, 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.

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.

Also Read: How fielding in modern-day cricket has gone beyond the bounds of possibility

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 1st, 2nd and 3rd slips respectively in the first Test against England while Rahane was at gully. If either Rohit Sharma or Shikhar 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, both Kohli and the team management must have realised 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.

An attempt was made to understand fielders and their positions in the slips in the 5-year period. 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.

The following diagram is left open to interpretation – it was mainly done 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. With five players (based on availability) and four positions in the cordon, it is possible to find the best combination and slot them in their respective places.

Rahane might have to move into 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.

Also Read: Deciphering the fielding positions in Cricket: Backward Point

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, if it is a valid argument.

 

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.

 

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 if Dhawan and Rohit return to the squad. Indian fans will have to hope that the cordon starts catching more and dropping less in future Tests.

Note: All the stats and analyses considered in this article are up to the third Test between India and England which concluded on November 29, 2016.

Stats courtesy of ESPNcricinfo

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