During the last two practice sessions leading up to the first Test, it took a while for the Team India kitbags to open, and the shining willows to come out. After the usual warm-up and stretching exercises, fielding drills were unusually long and intense. With a lot of edges expected during the series, time was spent in the slip cordon, with the regulars patiently revising the art of allowing the red cherry to glide into their cupped hands.

The past experience of players who have stood in the catching zone in New Zealand suggests that the frequency with which balls fly towards them is very high in these parts. A quick check of past scoresheets proves that those with butter fingers have no place to hide. Of the 18 New Zealand wickets that fell the last time India played a Test in Hamilton, eight catches were held behind the stumps. Parthiv Patel took four, Rahul Dravid two, while Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman one each.

There has been a lot of talk about the changing nature of pitches since that match in 2002-03 series, but the mode of dismissals hasn’t changed much. Just last year when England toured New Zealand, 22 batsmen fell behind the stumps in the Hamilton Test. New Zealand wicketkeeper McCullum took four catches while England opener Alastair Cook at gully and Andrew Strauss at first slip were involved in three dismissals each.

And this isn’t just a Hamilton-specific phenomenon. The venue for the second Test, Napier, has a similar reputation. West Indies were the last team to play a series here, and they opened their campaign at Napier with edges flying thick and fast. Rival keepers McCullum and Denesh Ramadin finished the game with five victims each while slip fielder Chris Gayle and Ross Taylor had three snaps apiece.

... contd.