Indian Catching-4: The Australian Connection

Coming to that 1990's Australian side, they had some truly great catching fieldsmen supporting Taylor - Junior, Warne and Punter immediately come to mind. The Ponting that leads their 2006 team is still right up there but Tubby & Junior are gone and Warne is ageing. The others, Hayden and Martyn, are pretty decent but not in the class of their predecessors. And they are nearly 35. What's more worrisome for Australia, the people designated to replace them may even struggle to match them.

With most Australian batsmen today making debut at the fag end of their 3rd decades in life, reason tells us not to expect Australian catching to reach any new highs in the immediate future. In a way the Australians are also feeling the pangs of fielding succession, albeit to a lesser degree than the Indians under Rahul Dravid.

[next: Remembering Akash Chopra]