How Justin Langer revived Australia’s fielding standards
When Justin Langer took over the national job Australia’s once great fielding standards had dropped to an all-time low - this is how he turned it all around.
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Justin Langer rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Twelve months ago his team was spilling catches and committing overthrows as a smattering of messy fielding mistakes helped England bank a 5-0 ODI whitewash.
Even the reliable Kane Richardson was a culprit, dropping Jason Roy in a T20 and then getting dropped by Langer, who thought at the time that Richardson would never play for Australia again.
It reminded Langer, a West Coast board member, of his team facing Greater Western Sydney, which had smashed the Eagles by 67 points in a semi-final the previous year.
But instead of Lachie Whitfield, Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio cutting the Eagles to shreds it was Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy embarrassing his Aussies.
“It really was like watching West Coast Eagles play GWS – they were just too fast for us,” Langer told the Herald Sun.
“That’s what it was feeling like. We’ve always prided ourselves on being lightning fast between the wickets and being a brilliant fielding side.
“It goes back to Bobby Simpson, and it felt like the other teams were too quick for us both in the field and between the wickets.
“We had to remedy that, and we’ve done that by selection and by putting some emphasis on the way we field and throw and the way we run between wickets.
“If you look at our World Cup squad, we now have a gun fielding side, and that’s not a fluke.”
The return of Steve Smith and David Warner helped the selection aspect. While they are still recovering from elbow surgeries, the inner ring already has a sharper edge.
“They create a huge amount of presence,” captain Aaron Finch said.
“Dave, in particular, is so quick. He mightn’t have the best arm at the moment, but he’s so quick to the ball that you can’t run.
“Smith is like a flytrap there at slip. And when he gets in that short cover he reads angles and he anticipates so well.”
With stumps-smasher Glenn Maxwell also prowling, it’s a brave batsman who sneaks a single against the intimidating in-field.
“An inner ring of Smith, Maxwell and Warner – my God, it’s like walking into an electric chamber,” Langer said.
As coach of Perth Scorchers, Langer’s No.1 KPI was throw-ins – because it indicated the skill of the athlete and attitude of the team.
Cricket’s stats boffins have started collecting rich data on fielding, such as Roy saving 10 runs against South Africa and then costing England 18 runs against Pakistan.
“You can measure it,” Langer said, “But you just know.”
“That’s why I carry my little book around. It’s not to pick blokes up on it, it’s to remind them that one of the most important parts of our jobs is to look sharp in the field and keep pressure on the opposition – that’s why the throwing is so important.
“One of our values is our mates and you’re looking after Alex Carey as well. If you’re throwing to his feet or all over the place it looks sloppy, it’s not looking after him and it’s just slack.”
They say catches win matches. Well, Australia could easily have entered the clash against Sri Lanka at 1-3 rather than 3-1.
In Nottingham, Nathan Coulter-Nile was on 61 runs when he pulled West Indies spinner Ash Nurse to Shimron Hetmeyer at mid-wicket.
A sliding Hetmeyer spilled the catch, and Coulter-Nile added another 31 runs in Australia’s 15-run win. Ouch.
Then, in Taunton against Pakistan, Aaron Finch’s thick edge flew straight to Asif Ali at first slip.
The ball burst through Ali’s hands for four runs and Finch made another 56 runs off just 39 balls. Australia won by 41 runs. Ouch.
In fact, no team highlights the importance of fielding quite like Pakistan, which gave Finch and Warner a combined three lives.
They are in the World Cup’s best four teams for both batting and bowling and in the worst few teams for fielding.
Coach Mickey Arthur conceded on the eve of the World Cup that Pakistan’s fielding was his No.1 concern.
Yet when they shocked England by 14 runs in the World Cup, the host nation put the loss down to 11 misfields that cost 17 runs plus a dropped catch by Roy.
Four days earlier and England analyst Nathan Leamon told his players they saved 64 runs against South Africa, the country’s best-ever performance.
India clocks its players over 20m and 40m to help decide where they field.
“The biggest qualities you need to be a good outfielder is a good arm, combined with good speed across the turf,” fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar said.
“These are good qualities for somebody fielding 70 yards away from the bat, and then the arms play a vital role.
“When it comes to in-field you look at speed, agility, ability to change directions and the reaction time.”
Australian assistant coach Ricky Ponting rates injured allrounder Marcus Stoinis as his team’s best outfielder.
Maxwell is the clear run-out king, with Finch highlighting how he secured Wednesday’s win against Pakistan by firing in a rocket with one stump to aim at.
“He’s up there with the best in the world when he’s hitting the stumps like the other day,” Finch said.
“That was at a crucial time. If Sarfaraz bats to the end, (Pakistan) probably get really close, if not home.”
Indian players are always encouraged to have a ping, partly because it keeps their shoulders warm for future chances. Similarly, hand-warmers are encouraged.
They aim to rattle the stumps once every third or fourth throw, although against Australia there were 10 pings and nine misses.
Finch pointed out that the depth of fielding class at his disposal meant they could load up the ring with world-class fielders.
“The fast guys (and) the guys who anticipate the play, you can keep them in the circle for longer,” he said.
“When you’re trying to fill some holes in the field, your good fielders have to go to the boundary to try to cut off twos, which then makes it easier to get the ones in the ring.
“But when you have got confidence in everyone, anyone can field all around the grounds”.
Some experts argue you’re only as good as your worst fielder, because when the trophy is on the line there’s every chance the ball will follow that player.
So, which team is the best?
“We’re going to be close,” Langer said.
“We’ve got a very good fielding side. England are very athletic, that’s one of the big reasons they’re No.1 in the world, they look fit.
“They’ve got a couple of wicket-keeping options in (Jos) Buttler and (Jonny) Bairstow, which means they generally spend a lot of time moving and are agile.
“I think it’ll be a big part of the World Cup, that’s what I believe, and I think we’re in a really good position with that.”
THE WORD ON SOME OF THE AUSSIES
JASON BEHRENDORFF
“Gun arm” – Langer
MITCHELL STARC
“Magnificent athlete” – Langer
KANE RICHARDSON
“A great athlete” – Langer
ADAM ZAMPA
“Improved out of sight, particularly on the boundary” – Langer
“Really safe hands” – Finch
MARCUS STOINIS
“He’s our best outfielder” – Ponting
NATHAN COULTER-NILE
“He’s a gun fielding on the boundary” – Finch
DAVID WARNER
“Dave is so quick. He mightn’t have the best arm at the moment, but he’s so quick to the ball that you can’t run” – Finch
STEVE SMITH
“He’s like a flytrap at slip, and when he gets in that short cover he reads the angles and he anticipates so well” – Finch
GLENN MAXWELL
“Up there with the best in the world when he’s hitting the stumps” – Finch
PAT CUMMINS
“Pat throws himself around” – Langer
DROPPED CATCHES
Pakistan 8
England 8
New Zealand 4
Australia 4
South Africa 3
West Indies 2
Bangladesh 2
Sri Lanka 1
Afghanistan 0
India 0
LANDSBERGER’S 10 BEST FIELDERS AT THE WORLD CUP
Glenn Maxwell (Aus)
Ravi Jadeja (Ind)
Ben Stokes (Eng)
Andre Russell (WI)
Faf du Plessis (Saf)
Steve Smith (Aus)*
Virat Kohli (Ind)
Martin Guptill (NZ)
Kane Williamson (NZ)
David Warner (Aus)*
* When fully fit
… AB de Villiers would still be No.1, if not retired.
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