India vs England | Paul Farbrace condemns England's regular blunders on the field

India have put themselves in pole position to win the third Test, declaring their second innings at Trent Bridge at 352/7 to set England an improbable target of 521. England have now dropped six catches in this Test match and 15 in the series. Kohli was put down by Keaton Jennings on 93 during the third day at Trent Bridge and was also dropped en route to 149 at Edgbaston. Paul Farbrace, the England assistant coach, did not hesitate while expressing about his feelings about the fielders’ sloppiness, calling the mistakes “soul destroying”.

“We think we’ve caught some good catches but we can’t keep shelling chances the way that we are and that comes down to two things, that’s either concentration not being good enough, or in terms of confidence, when you start to miss chances, that starts to eat away,” said Farbrace after the third day’s play. 

However, Farbrace was really impressed by the anticipation that English bowlers have been showing in spite of the catches being dropped off their deliveries, and indicated that the management’s patience was growing thin after the repeated errors in the slip cordon.

“The one great thing about today is that our bowlers stuck at their jobs really well. It was a tough day yesterday, and I think our bowlers did well to stick to their jobs today. We kept plugging away and working very hard. When bowlers create opportunities and catches are being dropped, that must be soul-destroying,” Farbrace remarked.

Talking about the disappointment due to the fielding blunders, Farbrace added that such mistakes have no excuses and hidings and he expects the players to avoid them and put up a better show.

“Nobody means to drop chances, of course they don’t, but it is becoming too regular. (Catching) is like any other aspect of the game. When it comes under pressure in a game situation, that’s when you want the technique and hard work to stand out. There’s no excuses, there’s no hiding places. It simply hasn’t been good enough but we’ve been saying that for too long and we’ve changed people in there, but there’s only so many people you can put in there,” Farbrace concluded.