Golden slippers
With Rahul Dravid in world-record catching territory, Andrew Stevenson, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald , takes a look at the worth of the slips.
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
With Rahul Dravid in world-record catching territory, Andrew Stevenson, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, takes a look at the worth of the slips.
Some reckon it looks as easy as shelling peas. You stand in the slips, the ball comes your way, you generally don't have to move, you make the catch and the batsman begins the long, slow march to the dressing room. While few who've ever stood in a slips cordon for a Test match would rate it easy, Cricket Australia fielding coach Mike Young has the bar up much, much higher. "I truly believe slips catching in Test cricket, mentally, is the hardest thing I've ever seen in sport, when you consider you're out there all day and that you've got to be ready every ball.”
Peter English is former Australasia editor of ESPNcricinfo