The old-age theory of “catches win matches” has never carried as much weight as it has this South African season.
It is a simple fact that gets proven in almost every RamSlam T20 Challenge match, and will undoubtedly be the case again on Friday evening when the Cape Cobras face-off against the Dolphins at Kingsmead.
The latter suffered a severe case of the yips at the beginning of the tournament before the Cobras followed suit last Friday against the Highveld Lions when swing bowler Mthokozisi Shezi could not find a hole big enough to hide after his two comical mishaps in the outfield at the Wanderers.
The Cobras, though, have arguably the best fielder in the competition and according to SuperSport analyst and former Proteas batsman HD Ackerman “maybe in the world”, in the form of SA Engelbrecht.
But even he put one down last Sunday against Titans after handing out a few lessons just two days previously when the 25-year-old claimed three beautiful catches in quick succession at the Bullring.
“Yes, I did drop a catch. That shows it can happen to anyone. The guys are training really hard. But it’s a confidence thing hey ... like if one goes down it can have a contagious effect on the other players because then everyone tenses up and the pressure increases.
“That’s when players go with hard hands at the ball because everyone is thinking ‘I don’t want to be the next guy to drop it’ and before you know it, the ball has popped out,” Engelbrecht explained.
Cobras coach Paul Adams has a tough test ahead of him then, with perhaps a shift from only focusing on hitting more catches at training to working on the mental state of his players, which will hopefully free them up in the field.
It may sound simplistic and basic, but Engelbrecht believes nothing has changed in the technique of catching since being taught how and where to point the fingers as a junior.
“Still the same way of catching, nothing different. It is simply a confidence thing,” he said.
The Cobras will travel today with an unchanged squad to Durban. - Cape Times