'Absolutely no excuse for below par fielding performances', says Bari

Lahore, July 1(ANI): Former Pakistan wicketkeeper and Pakistan Cricket Board COO Wasim Bari has said that there should be absolutely no excuse for below par fielding performances, especially given the standard of the outfields in the modern game.

Dropped catches and poor ground fielding have become the norm for Pakistan teams over the years, and this was once again evident in Sunday's tour opener at Lords against the MCC XI.

"Fielding is something that you have to enjoy. If you don't enjoy fielding then you can never become a competent fielder. The best fielding teams that I have seen are the ones who field with smiles on their faces and whose fielders literally compete with one another," PakPassion.net quoted Bari, as saying.

Bari explained how he worked hard at the art of wicket-keeping, and how it helped him when he stood up to Abdul Qadir, Imran Khan and other bowlers.

"At first I wasn't sure whether wicket-keeping was something that I really wanted to do, but once I set my mind to it, I realized that it was such a specialized role and something that I wanted to do," he added.

He further said that modern day cricketers should set decent ground fielding standards, and it becomes more important when the team has a tough series against England and Australia.

"During the tour of England, Pakistan will need to take their half chances. Both Australia and England are high class fielding units and Pakistan need to step up their fielding if they are to challenge both teams in the coming months," Bari said.

"You can't give top class batsmen lifelines and expect to win, those batsmen will make you pay for those mistakes," he added. (ANI)