“Catches win matches” is one of cricket’s oldest and tritest adages.
In my club match last weekend, one of the opposition’s players was winning the game, having survived two dropped catches. He had just completed his century, there was one wicket left to fall, nine runs needed to win and 11 deliveries remaining. He attempted to hit a six, the ball going in the direction of a lone fielder on the boundary edge. The ball was in the air a long time before the fielder safely clutched it to end the match. Had he dropped the ball, who knows what the final result would have been? Of course, the chances are that the match would have been over much sooner had either of the two earlier offered chances been taken.
There are much more famous examples of catches winning matches or dropped catches losing matches. In the final match and the final day of the 2005 England versus Australia series at the Oval in London, the home team needing a draw to regain the Ashes, were only 99 runs ahead, three wickets down, with over six hours left to play. At that point, Kevin Pietersen, on 13, edged a ball to the late Shane Warne at first slip, who dropped what, for him, was a straightforward catch. Despite Warne’s herculean bowling effort in taking 12 wickets in the match, he ended up on the losing side, as Pietersen scored 158 in a pulsating, counter-attacking innings.
A very expensive dropped catch occurred at Edgbaston, Birmingham on June 3, 1994. In a county match between Warwickshire and Durham, the Durham wicketkeeper dropped Brian Lara on 16. He went on to score 501, the highest ever individual score in first class cricket, which included an astonishing 390 runs in a single day.
In November 2014, at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Indian batman Rohit Sharma was dropped on four by a Sri Lankan fielder on the boundary. Sharma went on to score 294, which remains the highest ever ODI individual score. Sri Lanka, requiring 405 for victory, were bowled out for 251.
The first two examples are from the longest formats of the game, four- and five-day cricket. In these, in order to win the match, it is normally necessary for the winning team to have to dismiss the opposition in both of its innings, taking all 20 wickets. This contrasts with the shorter, limited-over formats, in which the winning side is the one which scores the most runs, irrespective of the number of wickets lost. This changes the games’ dynamics.
Modern day analysts argue that one of the key changes relates to the value and importance of fielding, especially catching. Estimates have been made by them of the average value of a wicket in the various formats. In Test cricket, there is a consensus around 36 runs, whilst for T20 cricket it is much lower at eight runs. In both cases, the average value will be higher at beginning of the innings. On this basis, it is clear that the value of taking wickets is much higher in Tests.
Some 60 percent of dismissals in Test cricket are caught. Seventy percent of these catches are taken by close fielders — wicketkeeper, slips, gully, short legs. The best catchers take 80 percent of chances offered to them. Hence, great value is placed on their ability to consistently catch out the opposition, especially those batting high up the order. In Test cricket, the relative value of catching to ground fielding is high, since wicket-taking is paramount.
In T20 cricket, 60 percent of dismissals are caught, similar to Test cricket. However, less than 20 percent of those are taken by close catchers, half of them by the wicketkeeper. This is hardly surprising given that the aim of the game seems to be for batters to hit as many balls as possible over the boundary. As a result, catches on the boundary account for a higher proportion. The importance of athletic fielding also assumes a higher value, as stopping runs being scored, especially boundaries, is a vital component of these matches.
One-day or 50-over cricket displays characteristics of the other two formats. Analysts calculate that its average value per wicket is 30 runs, near to that for Test cricket. However, fielding restrictions, designed to establish a balance between bat and ball, shape it differently. In the first 10 overs of each innings, only two fielders are allowed to be outside of a 27.5-meter circle. This has the effect of making it difficult to score singles but offers the opportunity to score boundaries. In overs 11 to 40, a maximum of four fielders are allowed to be outside the circle and, in the final 10 overs, a maximum of five.
These distinct phases in each innings have led to the need for different types of players in each phase. Boundary hitters have emerged in the powerplay and final stage whilst, in the middle stages, those skillful in rotating the strike and building a solid base for big hitters in the final overs are favored. Given the value of a wicket and the importance of scoring rate in 50-over cricket, the calculation and taking of risk by batters is crucial, placing higher importance on fielders taking catches when offered than in T20s, as per the example of Sharma.
The old adage about catches winning matches has been challenged. However, whilst it is true that catches do not automatically lead to victory or vice versa, there are psychological considerations. From a club player’s perspective, the analysts’ clinical assessment of the importance of catches and their relative lack of importance, at least in T20 cricket, misses a vital element.
Dropping a straightforward catch often has a negative effect on morale. Heads go down, blame is attributed, rarely directly, mutterings abound, out of earshot of the transgressor. No one means to drop a catch but, at basic club level, where drop percentages are high, there is the distinct belief that catches still win matches.
LEIPZIG: Germany manager Hansi Flick said “it is better to be angry now than at the World Cup” as he promised his side will learn from their 1-0 home defeat to Hungary.
“I am absolutely disappointed because as a footballer you hate to lose,” Flick said after Friday’s defeat in Leipzig, his first since taking over the Germany job.
Flick said the first-half performance was the worst of his 14 games in charge, but took some responsibility himself.
“I opted for a lineup that just didn’t work so well,” he said.
“The way we approached the game, we can do much better.
“The time for experimentation is over.”
Flick’s “experimentation” referred to putting attacking midfielder Jonas Hofmann at right back, which he abandoned at half-time with the home side trailing to Adam Szalai’s 17th-minute goal.
“We wanted to try something with Jonas at right-back... we wanted to see two attacking full-backs,” said Flick.
“As a result, we couldn’t get in flow. I have to take some of the blame for that.”
Next up for Germany, as they build up to November-December’s World Cup in Qatar, is a trip next week to old rivals England.
Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, who will miss the Nations League clash after picking up a second yellow card, said Germany need to up their standards to make an impact at the World Cup.
“We wanted more today. In the first half we lost the battle against them,” Rudiger told AFP.
“We have to definitely learn our lessons from this game.”
Joshua Kimmich, clearly the home side’s best player on a disappointing night, said beating England was the first step to a successful World Cup.
“Listen... we wanted to win the group at all costs, even if you didn’t see that in the first half,” Kimmich said, with his side third in their Nations League group, behind Hungary and Italy.
“And now we can’t do that anymore, but we still want to win the last game against England to give us more confidence.”
LOS ANGELES: Ryann O’Toole started hot and Sei-young Kim finished strong on Friday to join a group of six players sharing the first-round lead in the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship.
America’s O’Toole exploded with six straight birdies from the second through seventh holes at Pinnacle Country Club and finished with eight birdies in her 7-under par 64.
“It was one of those you just start laughing,” O’Toole said of her big birdie burst. “As the fifth one poured in and the sixth one poured in I’m, like, ‘OK, I got it. I’m just going to keep going.’“
And she needed all the birdies she could get as the crowd got bigger atop the leaderboard.
South Korean Kim’s eight birdies included four straight at her last four holes, the sixth through the ninth.
“Pretty solid round today,” Kim said, adding that the soft greens made it possible to attack the pins. “I’m very happy with the strong finish today.”
The leading group in the 54-hole event also included South Korean Lee5 Jeong-eun, Japan’s Yuka Saso and Americans Megan Khang and Lauren Coughlin.
Lee5 had seven birdies without a bogey while Khang had eight birdies and a bogey and Coughlin grabbed a share of the lead with a 28-foot eagle putt at the par-five 18th.
O’Toole, who returned from a month-long break to post a ninth-place finish at Portland last week, said her round could have been even better.
“I definitely felt like I left a lot out there still,” said O’Toole, who hit all 18 greens in regulation. “Eight birdies, but I still felt like there was a ton left out there, especially on the back side.”
Coughlin was in the first group off the tee on Friday and was warming up before it was really light.
The 29-year-old admitted she was nervous coming into the week which she entered 94th in the Race to the CME Globe with only three more full-field events remaining after the tournament.
While the top 60 in the race will qualify for the Tour Championship, for those ranked 85 to 110 the coming weeks are a battle to maintain their exempt status without having to go to the Q Series qualifier.
“I knew once I got in the groove of (the first round) it would go away,” she said of her nerves, “and it did.”
The leading bunch had a one-shot lead over Taiwan’s Vivian Hou and American Lilia Vu, with another six players a further stroke back.
CHARLOTTE, US: Max Homa never felt more energized over a big putt on a Friday, perhaps because he never had so many people who shared in the celebration.
This is why making the Presidents Cup was the top of his wish list this year, and his latest afternoon heroics at Quail Hollow exceeded expectations.
The final fourballs match was all square with two holes to play, the green surrounded by American players and caddies, captains and their red carts. Homa stepped toward the hole and slammed his fist when he made a 12-foot birdie putt for a 1-up lead.
And then it got even better. Taylor Pendrith was clutch with a 15-foot birdie putt as the Internationals tried to scratch out a third tie. Homa stepped up and delivered again with another 12-foot birdie putt for the win.
The matches felt closer. The outcome was not. Homa’s big putts at the end allowed the Americans to win another session by a 4-1 margin, stretching the lead to 8-2.
“It was pretty surreal,” said Homa, who improved to 2-0 in his debut. “The atmosphere out there is insane. There’s so many people you can feel them on the back of your neck.”
Quail Hollow was packed with 40,000 fans on a gorgeous autumn day, with former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush among those at the course.
In five matches that covered 87 holes, the players combined for 67 birdies and three eagles, and three matches went the distance.
All the International team could manage were two halves. What it faces now is a task even more monumental against a US team that looks well on its way to a ninth straight win in this lopsided affair.
“We feel like we’ve played some pretty good golf, some solid golf tee-to-green, particularly the last couple of days,” International captain Trevor Immelman said. “But we have absolutely been out-putted. No doubt about it.”
He was with that final match as Homa and Billy Horschel dropped key putts down the stretch. And when Pendrith dropped his birdie on the last and it look like he and Corey Conners might escape with a half-point, Homa was just as clutch.
“I was nervous as could be over that putt, but it was fun,” Homa said. “I was telling my wife, when we talk about things money can’t buy, money cannot buy that feeling. And that was something that I will remember forever, and I will tell anybody who ever wants to hear about it how that felt.”
For the second straight time on home soil, the powerful American team goes into a double session on Saturday with a mathematical chance to win the cup.
There are four matches of foursomes and fourballs, and the Americans would have to win seven of them and halve the other to clinch the cup. That sounds unlikely, except for who they have and how they’re playing.
The International teams led in one match — Mito Pereira and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, for a total of five holes — that ended in a halve with Cameron Young and Kevin Kisner.
Over two days and 10 matches, International teams have had a lead for only 10 of the 170 holes that have been played.
The 12 Americans are among the top 25 in the world and most of the are playing like it. The International team was cobbled together at the last minute with more defections to Saudi-funded LIV Golf run by Greg Norman, a former Presidents Cup captain.
Norman sent out a tweet wishing the International team well, accompanied by a photo of the team from its lone win in 1998. “Outside of all this angst — golf is golf, competition is competition; something every golfer thrives on.”
One of replies was from Immelman: “LOL.”
“I pretty much say it exactly as I’m thinking it,” Immelman said. “What I said was exactly what I was doing when I read that tweet. I was laughing out loud.”
The strength of the American team came from a pair of dynamic partnerships. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele were 5-up at the turn and easily held on for a 3-and-2 win over Hideki Matsuyama and Tom Kim.
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas improved to 6-2 as a team in Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup matches, leading from the fourth hole in a 2-and-1 victory over the Australian pair of Adam Scott and Cameron Davis.
As usual, Spieth and Thomas were far from dull.
They were 2 up with five holes to play when Thomas hit 6-iron that came inches away from an ace on the par-3 14th over water to a back pin for birdie. And right when it looked as though the International side might get closer, Spieth was up to his tricks.
His approach on the 15th was headed for the stream when it hit the rocks and caromed over the green into the rough. He chipped 15 feet by, and then made the putt to halve the hole.
The Spieth-Thomas and Cantlay-Schauffele teams, formed as much by friendship as their games, are 2-0 this week and are tough to beat no matter whom the International team sends out against them.
The passion came from the Presidents Cup rookies.
Horschel hasn’t played for his country since the 2007 Walker Cup and said he felt like vomiting for three hours ahead of his match. For Homa, it was the second straight day he was in the final match, and both made it to the 18th green with a big audience outside and inside the ropes.
“It’s surreal to have 10 of the best golfers I’ve ever seen in my life watching you and you’ve got to help them,” Homa said. “It’s a heavy weight. But it’s also really fun.”
ROME: It was a rough night for two teams expected to be World Cup contenders. England lost at Italy 1-0 and were relegated from the top tier of the Nations League, and Germany lost at home to Hungary by the same score.
Italy, who didn’t qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, went ahead at the San Siro when Giacomo Raspadori controlled a ball over the top from Leonardo Bonucci and scored from the edge of the area in between several England defenders.
Italy full back Federico Dimarco also hit the post in the rematch of last season’s European Championship final which was won by the Azzurri.
The goal of the night belonged to Hungary captain Adam Szalai, who scored with an audacious backheel flick 17 minutes in following a corner.
Germany captain Thomas Muller, who was marking Szalai, didn’t appear to take into account that Szalai was going to attempt a shot on goal with his back to the net from a sharp angle but the ball sailed over the head of goalkeeper Marc-Andreter Stegen and inside the far post.
Hungary lead Group 3 with 10 points, followed by Italy (8), Germany (6) and England (2).
On Monday, Italy visit Hungary and England host Germany in the final round of group matches. The group winner books a spot at the finals in June.
Bosnia and Herzegovina were promoted to League A following a 1-0 win over regional rival Montenegro, with Ermedin Demirovic scoring in first-half added time after being set up by Edin Dzeko.
Unbeaten Georgia secured promotion from League C with a 2-0 win over visiting North Macedonia following an own goal from Bojan Miovski and another from Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has five goals and five assists in eight Nations League matches.
Estonia were promoted from League D after beating Malta 2-1.
The US put on a dismal performance in a 2-0 loss to Japan in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Daichi Kamada scored following Weston McKennie’s giveaway in the 24th minute, and Kaoru Mitoma added a goal in the 88th. In their next-to-last World Cup warmup, the Americans failed to put a single shot on goal.
Japan are preparing to play in its seventh straight World Cup.
Also, Qatar-bound Cameroon were beaten by Uzbekistan 2-0, and South Korea, who have also qualified for the World Cup, drew with Costa Rica 2-2.
Iran — in a World Cup group with England, the US and Wales — beat Uruguay 1-0.
World Cup host Qatar lost to Canada 2-0 in Vienna.
LONDON: This day, this match, had to come, of course, for Roger Federer, and for tennis, just as it inevitably must for every athlete in every sport. Federer bid adieu Friday night with one last contest before he heads into retirement at age 41 after a superlative career that included 20 Grand Slam titles and a statesman’s role. He wrapped up his days as a professional player with a loss in doubles alongside his longtime rival Rafael Nadal for Team Europe in the Laver Cup against Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock of Team World. The truth is that the victors, the statistics and the score (OK, for the record it was 4-6, 7-6 (2), 11-9) did not matter, and were all so entirely beside the point. The occasion was, after all, about the farewell itself. Or, better, the farewells, plural: Federer’s to tennis, to the fans, to his competitors and colleagues. And, naturally, each of those entities’ farewells to Federer. “It’s been a perfect journey,” Federer said. “I would do it all over again.” When the match, and with it, his time in professional tennis, ended, Federer hugged Nadal, then Tiafoe and Sock. And then Federer began crying. As cascades of clapping and yells of affection came from the stands, Federer put his hands on his hips, his chest heaving. Then he mouthed, “Thank you,” while applauding right back toward the spectators who had chanted, “Let’s go, Roger! Let’s go!” during the concluding moments of a match that lasted more than two hours and ended at about 12:30 a.m.
The Swiss star announced last week that the three-day team event, which was founded by his management company, would be his final event before retirement, then made clear the doubles outing would be his last match. His surgically repaired right knee — the last of three operations came shortly after a loss in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July 2021, which will go down as his final official singles match — is in no shape to allow him to continue. “For me, just personally, (it was) sad in the first moment, when I came to the conclusion it’s the best decision,” Federer said in an interview with The Associated Press this week about his emotions when realizing it was time to go. “I kind of held it in at first, then fought it off. But I could feel the pain.” A couple of hours before Friday’s match, Federer tweeted: “I’ve done this thousands of times, but this one feels different. Thank you to everybody who’s coming tonight.” He had said he wanted this to feel more like a party than a funeral, and the crowd obliged, rising for a loud and lengthy standing ovation when Federer and Nadal — each wearing a white bandanna, blue shirt and white shorts — emerged together from a tunnel leading out to the black court for the last match on Day 1 at the O2 Arena. The spectators remained on their feet for nearly 10 minutes, through the pre-match warmup, holding aloft phone cameras to capture the moment.
Federer plans a party not a wake as he prepares to lay his professional career to rest
They came ready to roar for him, some with Swiss flags, some with homemade signs, and they made themselves heard with a wall of sound when Federer delivered a forehand volley winner on the match’s second point. Similar reactions arrived merely at the chair umpire’s announcement before the third game of “Roger Federer to serve,” and again when he closed that game with a 117 mph service winner. Doubles requires far less movement and court coverage, of course, so the stress on his knee was limited Friday. Federer showed touches of his old flair, to be sure, and of rust, as to be expected.
As his parents and wife sat in front-row seats behind a baseline, there were a couple of early forehands that sailed several feet too long. There also was a forehand that slid right between Sock and Tiafoe and seemed too good to be true — and, it turned out, was: The ball traveled through a gap below the net tape and so the point was taken away from Federer and Nadal. Although it amounted to, essentially, a glorified exhibition, all four doubles participants played as if they wanted to win. That was clear when Sock leaped and screamed after one particularly terrific volley or when Tiafoe sent a couple of shots right at Federer and Nadal. But the circumstances did allow for moments of levity.
Federer and Nadal were able to laugh after a bit of confusion over which should go for a ball on a point they lost. After Nadal somehow flicked one back-to-the-net shot around the post, only for it to land barely wide, Tiafoe crossed over to extend a hand with congratulations for the effort. In the first set, the two greats of the game couldn’t quite hear each other between points, so Federer trotted from the net back to the baseline to consult with Nadal, then pointed to his ear to signal to the fans what the issue was. Before Federer, the men’s mark for most major tennis championships was 14 by Pete Sampras. Federer blew past that, accumulating eight at Wimbledon, six at the Australian Open, five at the US Open and one at the French Open, setting a new standard that Nadal, now with 22, and Novak Djokovic, with 21, equaled, then surpassed, as part of a golden era for the sport. Federer’s substantial resume includes 310 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, a Davis Cup title and Olympic medals. Beyond the elegance and effectiveness while wielding a racket, his persona made Federer an ambassador for tennis, someone whose immense popularity helped attract fans.
All the Fedal feelings.#LaverCup pic.twitter.com/WKjhcADFoe
Surely, there are those who would have found it particularly apt to see Federer finish across the net from Nadal, often an on-court nemesis but eventually an off-court friend. Maybe it could have taken place about 15 miles away at Center Court of the All England Club, say, or in Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros, or Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park, or even Arthur Ashe Stadium, the centerpiece of the US Open, the lone Grand Slam tournament at which they never faced off, somehow. Perhaps they could have provided everyone with one final installment of a head-to-head matchup as memorable as any in the long history of their sport — or, indeed, any other. Roger vs. Rafa — just one name apiece required — belongs up there with McEnroe vs. Borg (as it happens, the two Laver Cup team captains, John and Bjorn), Evert vs. Navratilova, Sampras vs. Agassi, Ali vs. Frazier, Magic vs. Bird, Brady vs. Manning, and so on. Over the years, Federer and Nadal showed off individual greatness and compelling contrasts across their 40 matches, 14 at Grand Slam tournaments, nine in major finals: righty vs. lefty, attacker vs. grinder, seeming effortlessness vs. relentless intensity. And yet, there was an unmistakable element of poetry with these two men who challenged each other and elevated each other performing as partners, slapping palms and sharing smiles. “Two of the ‘GOATs’ playing together,” said Sock, using the popular acronym for “Greatest of All-Time.” This goodbye follows that of Serena Williams, the owner of 23 major singles championships, at the US Open three weeks ago after a third-round loss. It leaves questions about the future of a game he and she dominated, and transcended, for decades. One key difference: Each time Williams took the court in New York, the looming question was how long her stay would endure — a “win or this is it” prospect. Friday WAS it for Federer, no matter the result.
“All the players will miss him,” said Casper Ruud, who beat Sock in singles 6-4, 5-7, 10-7. The other results, which left Team Europe and Team World tied at 2-2: Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-1 in a match interrupted briefly when an environmental protester lit a portion of the court and his own arm on fire, and Alex de Minaur got past Andy Murray 5-7, 6-3, 10-7. Due to begin playing shortly after the end of Murray’s loss, Federer and Nadal first provided him with some coaching tips, then watched part of that one on TV together in a room at the arena, waiting for their turn. When Federer and Nadal were in action, it was Djokovic’s turn to suggest strategic advice. The last hurrah came after a total of 103 career singles trophies and 1,251 wins in singles matches for Federer, both second only to Jimmy Connors in the Open era, which began in 1968. At the height of his powers, Federer appeared in a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals, winning eight, from 2005-07. Extend that to 2010, and he reached 18 of 19 major finals. More than those numbers, folks will remember the powerful forehand, the one-handed backhand, the flawless footwork, the spectacularly effective serve and eagerness to get to the net, the willingness to reinvent aspects of his game and — the part of which he’s proudest — unusual longevity. “I don’t think we’ll see another guy like Roger,” Tiafoe said. “The way he played, and the grace he did it with, and who he is as an individual.”