Keeping and Catching Ability

[Chris_]

I've been wondering how closely the two are linked.

In fielding training there's the option for Catching/Keeping. If I remember right, when a player listed as a wicket keeper succeeds at this you get the message that they have improved in keeping and for a regular player it says catching. I always assumed they worked with different abilities behind the scenes based on the player type to avoid accidentally choosing the wrong one.

However, in a match the default fielding list is ordered by catching ability as far as I know. I could be wrong here, but I've always felt the game puts your strongest catchers in the slips and so on. If I play multiple wicket keepers in a match, whichever isn't the actual keeper usually ends up right at the top of this fielder list as first slip. It makes sense as he's paid to catch the ball! But I have a 3rd keeper who always seems to drop catches when he keeps. It got to the point where I started a match with all 3 keepers as regular fielders and while my primary 2 were at the top of the slips as 1 and 2, the 3rd keeper was assigned near the bottom of the list, below regular batsmen and half the bowlers.

Does that imply that his weakness at catching the ball when he plays as a keeper is because his Catching rating is low, and that's the same rating used both behind the wicket and as a fielder? And when a player is on Catching/Keeping training it's working on the same ability/rating even though the success message is the same? Or does this wicket keeper simply have terrible ratings for both keeping and field catching, making him twice as bad?

On a similar note I have 1 batsman who is still placed at #1 on the fielding list when he plays even if I'm playing 2 keepers, with the non-keeping-keeper assigned as #2 on the list. Does that mean he'd actually make a better wicket keeper than my actual keepers, or is it simply his fielding catching rating that is better and he'd be worse with the gloves on?

Thanks in advance if anyone has insight into this. Something I'm curious about

[Yorkie]

Fantastic question and one that’s got me really thinking. Can you list the CPM averages for the 3 keepers in question. Obviously this should show that your 3rd poor keeper has a bad CPM average..or does it??

[Chris_]

If I look at First Class career stats my top two are at 2.33 and 1.72 CpM while the 'poor' keeper is at 1.50 but that's misleading as I've often played both in the same match due to their batting performance, meaning one moves to the slips. The 3rd keeper has only ever played as an actual keeper, aside from that 1 match where I tested him as a regular fielder. If I add the two batsmen who appear in the slips (ie. top of the fielders list) I get this:

Keeper A: 2.33 (Almost always as a keeper)
Batsman X: 1.77 (from the slips)
Keeper B: 1.72 (Usually played as a batsman and fielding the slips)
Keeper C: 1.50 (the 'weak' one, all catches as a keeper)
Batsman Y: 0.86 (from the slips)



If I look at 2nd XI 3 day averages where I've had no effect it gives this:

Keeper A: 5.51
Keeper B: 5.47
Keeper C: 4.06
Batsman Y: 1.00
Batsman X: 0.83

There's no doubt that Keeper C is worse than the other 2 in that role, with A and B performing pretty similarly in terms of how often they drop catches or let byes past (rarely). The 2nd XI CpM averages support that gap. It's the difference in fielding positions/order that's really got me thinking how everything works with that.

For reference all 3 keepers are full keepers (though B is also an opener). None have the bat/glove symbol. The 2 batsmen listed are regular middle order batsmen, not part time keepers.

[cde]

I would be interested to find out if the AI sees a difference between keeping wicket and catching in the field. I have a wicketkeeper who is absolutely fine behind the wicket but is a disaster in the slips, dropping maybe 50% of the chances that come his way.

I have often wondered how the AI ranks the players in terms of catching ability because I have often found the default choice to be hopeless. If they have a higher CpM it is because they are getting more chances rather than because they are more likely to catch the ball!

I have never looked at the 2nd XI CpM, that should be a better guide than the first team stats and I will use that more to see if it makes a difference.

[cde]

I would love to set the field ranking of players so they can change position without having to change them about for each and every field setting depending on if they play or not. Less of an issue on desktop but can get frustrating on a mobile.