ZCZC
BSP-26
CRICKET-MOMINUL-FIELDING
Fielding will key point in pink ball Test: Mominul
KOLKATA, Nov 21, 2019 (BSS) – The fielding will be key point in the day-night Test as the pink ball generally travels faster than the red ball, said Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque.
Bangladesh will take on India in the series concluding second Test when they take on the hosts at Eden Gardens, starting tomorrow (Friday).
While all the emphasis remains in batting and bowling with pink ball one area that is largely ignored is fielding with the pink ball during the day-night affair.
The ball travels faster than usual red-ball while how the fielders will react during the twilight hours looked also to be a concerning affair for both the teams.
There’s also been talk about the ball zipping off the surface under lights and behaving like a white-ball while also behaving differently when impacted by dew.
”Pink ball appears to come a bit faster compared to the red one due to its glaze,” Mominul said here on Thursday.
”It will be challenging for the fielders as how you react is something that needs to be focused more than anything else,” he said.
Indian skipper Virat also emphasized on fielding, saying that the ball slips faster through the fingers than the normal red ball.
“One thing that surprised me was the fielding sessions. How in the slips [when] the ball hit your hand so hard, it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball that you might play with or those synthetic balls we’ve played with when we were younger.
“It really felt like that on the hand and it’s definitely because of the extra glaze [lacquer] of the ball. It’s definitely much harder, and it felt a little heavier. Obviously it can’t be a difference of weight, but for some reason, it felt heavier. Even the throws took a lot more effort than the red ball to reach the keeper,” said Kohli.
“Catching the ball we felt like how you feel like with the white ball in the afternoon. You don’t know how far the ball is and then it hits your hand very quickly. And even in the slips, it was flying pretty fast. So I think the extra glaze on the ball is making it travel faster. And it hits the hands very hard as well,” he added.
Kohli also said the team found it hard to comprehend the high catches and the anticipated distance of the ball.
“The perception was very difficult when the ball went up in the air, so I think during the day, high catches will be very difficult. We had to watch the balls straight into our palms more often than not.
“With red ball and white ball, you catch with the idea of how fast the ball is coming down, but this time, if you don’t look down at the ball in your palms, it’s gone. So, I think, the fielding session for me was far more challenging,” Kohli said.
BSS/SMP/SMM/1915 hrs