How NOT to catch.

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SteveyD said:
Re: How NOT to catch.



Crocodile style = putting both hands together on the ball at the same time?
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No, with one hand above the other - back of left hand facing the ground fingers pointed towards the in-coming ball, the right hand just above it, so that the back of the right hand is facing the sky!
 
Watching the recent test between England and Sri-Lanka, I'm just amazed that Panesar is so inept in the field when catching high balls, he looks he worse than me and I'm 51 and I'm a 3rd/4th XI club player. How on earth is that allowed, surely he would have been pulled up on this years ago and would have had him practicing with high catching for hours till he gets it right, how can you be at international level and be that poor?
 
I've noticed that Ricky Ponting tended to take most catches fingers up, even when they are generaly lower then you would normally take it like that.
 
Aussie style is definitely the worst way to go, its like you're deliberately trying to palm the ball down onto the ground. As its become fashionable, I've watched more and more people try to catch like this over the past 20 years, and the number of drops I've seen outnumbers the number of catches about 5 to 1. Its just a completely unnatural way to catch.

The ECB has some drills on its website that you can do to try and get yourself out of this awful habit. I recommend them heartily.
 
SLA said:
Aussie style is definitely the worst way to go, its like you're deliberately trying to palm the ball down onto the ground. As its become fashionable, I've watched more and more people try to catch like this over the past 20 years, and the number of drops I've seen outnumbers the number of catches about 5 to 1. Its just a completely unnatural way to catch.

The ECB has some drills on its website that you can do to try and get yourself out of this awful habit. I recommend them heartily.
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I don't agree, Aussie style has two big advantages:

1) you get your eyes right in the line of the ball up until the catch so there is minimal depth perception error possible
2) the 'basket' that is created with the hands is larger
 
I haven't played reguarly for years but seriously couldn't catch skied ball to save my life.. Funnily enough though was actually pretty good at hanging on to a chance at somewhere like point when it was smashed straight at us.
 
boogiespinner said:
I don't agree, Aussie style has two big advantages:

1) you get your eyes right in the line of the ball up until the catch so there is minimal depth perception error possible
2) the 'basket' that is created with the hands is larger
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But statistically, it has a much, much lower success rate.

Lets not get confused here, catching with the figners pointing up is the correct way to take a flat catch coming at above shoulder height.
The problem arises when people try to use this method to catch the ball at below shoulder height or to high catches. In that case, its an absolutely dreadful method and simply doesn't work. Your arms cannot rotate to create a sufficient catch area and you end up just palming the ball straight down into the ground. Its such an unreliable method, I would liken using it to trying to show off by doing a trick catch.

If you attempt to take a catch like this and inevitably drop it (as statistics suggest you will) I wouldn't blame the bowler for giving you a good hard kick in the shins for not taking the catch sufficiently seriously to use the correct technique.
 
I mean SLA, you might feel you have seen more drops with one way than another, but you really can't just pluck figures out of the air and then call it 'statistics'. I honestly thought you might have had some study or analysis to link to.
 
boogiespinner said:
I mean SLA, you might feel you have seen more drops with one way than another, but you really can't just pluck figures out of the air and then call it 'statistics'. I honestly thought you might have had some study or analysis to link to.
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I didn't, you cheeky little monkey. The ECB research is the most extensive study I am aware of.

Just for future reference, if I say statistics I mean cold, hard, statistics. I don't mean "my personal impression".
 
SLA said:
I didn't, you cheeky little monkey. The ECB research is the most extensive study I am aware of.

Just for future reference, if I say statistics I mean cold, hard, statistics. I don't mean "my personal impression".
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So, what ECB research? I have been googling and haven't found anything. Can you please link to it?
 
Kram81 said:
I haven't played reguarly for years but seriously couldn't catch skied ball to save my life.. Funnily enough though was actually pretty good at hanging on to a chance at somewhere like point when it was smashed straight at us.
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Same for me, the reaction time for a skied ball is so long that I always screw it up, whereas balls where the reaction time is fractions of a second - like you I've held onto them and occasionally they've been great catches!
 
SLA said:
I didn't find it online. We were shown it as part of our coach education programme. They probably haven't published it online.
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Yeah ECB stuff is heavily copyrighted and protected, you almost have to be an ECB coach in order to have access to the video footage and I reckon they must come with a death threat if you ever consider copying and distributing. Try getting hold of wings to fly or finding any of the footage on-line - basically you can't and wont!
 
someblokecalleddave said:
Same for me, the reaction time for a skied ball is so long that I always screw it up, whereas balls where the reaction time is fractions of a second - like you I've held onto them and occasionally they've been great catches!
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I find you kind of think you have it 'covered' then at the last moment it swings away from you, plus as you say so much time to think about it when skied..
 
You just have to focus on your technique on high flies. Get behind it, get side on with knees bent, position your laundry basket, then get your hands up into the bucket.
 
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