Pakistan continues to make fielding errors against Australia, scolded by commenatators

Pakistan blew a golden opportunity to put Australia in early trouble in the MCG Test when Abdullah Shafique put down a simple catch at first slip as Warner was on 2 at the time and edged a Shaheen Afridi delivery, but Shafique somehow contrived to miss the ball.

The drop was met with disbelief from the commentators, with Adam Gilchrist saying on Fox Cricket: “Can you believe it? A big life for Warner. That is the worst possible start for Pakistan, you can’t be giving these sort of chances to this batting line-up. That’s as simple as it gets.”

New Zealand great Ian Smith was also baffled, saying: “I wonder how closely he watched it, because it hit him above his hand area. I think he lost track of looking at the ball. You’ve just got to catch the ball, it’s a regulation outside edge.”

“It looked like a guy who is fielding in the slips for the first time. (Pakistan) won the toss and bowled early for that very reason, they wanted to create early opportunities. That would have been a perfect start.”

Shafique also dropped Warner in the first Test in Perth, although had to run backwards to attempt that one. Mark Waugh, known as one of the best slips fielders of all time, said Shafique shouldn’t be grassing those chances at Test level.

“That’s as easy a slips catch as you will get at this level,” Waugh said. “That hasn’t gone quickly.”

Only a couple of deliveries later Warner creamed a driver to the boundary. Luckily for Shafique, Warner was caught for 38 on the stroke of lunch which must have calmed the nerves in Shafique.

The dropped catch may not have done immediate massive damage to Pakistan, but the consistently poor fielding is a worrying sign for their future prospects. In Test matches, especially against Australia in Australia, dropped catches can be far more costly than in other formats.

It’s also incredibly frustrating for the bowlers who work hard to create edges and top-edges, only to see fielders make a mess of simple chances. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this, with a similar story unfolding at the recent Cricket World Cup 2023.

Australia is already well ahead in the game, having scored over 120 runs for the loss of two wickets. The rain offered Pakistan a temporary reprieve, but once the clouds cleared, Australia resumed their dominance against Pakistan’s fragile bowling attack.