• Home
  • Who Said What
  • It Is The Crowd Stuart Broad Blames Fans For Poor Fielding Standards In Headingley Test

"It Is The Crowd": Stuart Broad Blames Fans For Poor Fielding Standards In Headingley Test

Abhinav Tyagi

Bumrah and Empty Stands - (Source : @Johns/X.com)Bumrah and Empty Stands - (Source : @Johns/X.com)

The India-England series has gotten off to a thrilling start, with the stage set for a high-octane finish on Day 5. Batting has been top-notch, with over 1,000 runs aggregated, and the bowlers have also impressed.

However, fielding standards have been a cause for concern, as both teams have dropped numerous catches over the first four days. Interestingly, ground fielding has been excellent, but the main issues have arisen in the slip cordon, where the two teams have dropped more than 10 catches.

Stuart Broad Blames Crowd For Dropped Catches

Yashasvi Jaiswal, in particular, failed to hold onto three opportunities and faced criticism for his struggles in the gully cordon. In the latest developments, England legend Stuart Broad has weighed in on the dropped catches, attributing some of the errors to the crowd and conditions at Headingley.

Broad stated that Headingley is a difficult ground for fielders. He blamed the empty seats and the crowd’s coloured coats for some of the dropped catches in the first Test.

“I have more empathy for fielders dropping catches now that I am not playing, and they are not coming off my bowling! Headingley is a difficult viewing ground—you can lose the ball in the stands, and when the clouds are in, certain bits are a bit darker. You only have to lose sight for 0.1 of a second and you get tense,” Broad said on Sky Sports.


“I think it can be quite a difficult place to catch, to be honest. Do you know what actually makes it harder? It’s the crowd. When it gets a bit colder, the crowd have different coloured coats on, and there’s a couple of empty seats in the stands as well, so the ball comes out a bit differently from the crowd,” he explained.

Ground Fielding One of the Best in Headingley Test

As mentioned above, the problem was mainly confined to the slip cordon. Overall, ground fielding has been outstanding. Ollie Pope is a prime example, taking a one-handed stunner at short cover to dismiss Karun Nair for a four-ball duck on his comeback.

During England’s batting, Ravindra Jadeja and Sai Sudharsan also combined for a brilliant effort on the field, executing a rare relay catch at the boundary rope.