The edge of uncertainty

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....

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 hasnt 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.

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And this isnt 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.

After conducting a long fielding session with the Black Caps,assistant coach Shane Jurgensen talks about the the added emphasis on fielding in New Zealand cricket. We need to take all our chances,so were pretty diligent in our practice. Over the years fielding has been one of the strongest assets of this team,and it will be very important in this series. We want to be the team who can take most catches most frequently, says the 32-year-old Aussie,who toured India with the under-19 squad.

Being an outsider,he has carefully studied New Zealand pitches and the length that bowlers generally stick to in order to get the behind-the-stumps dismissals. In Australia,you simply pitch the ball up but things are different here. There might be a green tinge to the surfaces but one still has to bowl hard at the wicket. The idea is to bring the batsmen forward, he says.

Once that is done,Jurgensen says the conditions take over and the ball is usually navigated into the hands of the slips,gully or the wicketkeeper. Moisture,especially on the first morning,plays a part. Thats how dragging the batsmen forward induces edges behind the stumps, he adds.

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The home teams behind-the-stumps cordon of Ross Taylor,Jesse Ryder,Tim McIntosh,Daniel Flynn and McCullum is used to aerial attacks,but the same cant be said about the visitors from slower,lower tracks. Comparing the home record of the two glovemen Dhoni (36 catches from 17 Tests) and McCullum (68 from 20) makes things clear.

The ball is now in the court of Sachin Tendulkar,VVS Laxman,Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag alongside Dhoni. How they perform,not just in front of the stumps but also behind them,could have a big impact on this Test series.