England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes has said that Indian pitches are the hardest for wicketkeeping, calling the pitches of the 2021 tour “horrific”.
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England won the first Test of the five-match series against India in Hyderabad last week. On a turning surface, the visitors came from behind to snatch one of their most memorable Test wins ever.
Foakes, touring India for his second Test series, played a crucial role in the victory, both in front of and behind the stumps. With the bat, his 112-run sixth-wicket partnership with Ollie Pope in the second innings went a long way in taking England’s lead beyond 200.
Behind the stumps, Foakes conceded just nine byes across the two innings. To put it into perspective how reliable he was behind the stumps on a surface that was turning big, Indian wicketkeeper KS Bharat conceded 16 byes in the Test.
Speaking ahead of the second Test in Vizag, Foakes said that keeping on Indian pitches is the toughest challenge, but since it requires the wicketkeeper to be constantly in the game, he’s all for it.
“You’re in the game, so it’s nice as a keeper. It’s obviously a very hard place to keep, and you’re aware of that. You’re going to have some tough moments or a tough day. But you’d rather be in the game than watching the ball do nothing in front of you.
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“In conditions like this, it’s about trying to think on your feet and learn because it’s not natural conditions [for me]. I’ve obviously kept away a lot and kept to spinners, but I find that Indian pitches, with the variable bounce, are up there with the hardest.”
Foakes explained the shift in mindset in the England side from the one that toured India last time around in 2021 to the current one. “Going into that [the 2021 series], I was thinking, ‘These are horrific wickets, I just need to find a way to stay in’,” Foakes said. “All three were probably the worst pitches I’ve batted on”.
“I think now the group is more – if that’s the situation, you’ve got to be positive; got to put it [pressure] back on the bowler and put them under pressure.
“Before, there was more of a fear of getting out and that put us in our shells. Whereas now it’s not worrying that you are getting out and accepting that you probably are on those sort of surfaces. But how can you actually go and dominate at times as well?”
He also emphasised on the importance of being mentally strong in conditions as “extreme” as they often are in India. “The more extreme the conditions you know things are occasionally going to wrong so you just have to be mentally strong enough to put it out of your mind,” he said. “There is a good chance the next one (pitch) is going to be a tough one.”
The second Test starts in Vizag on February 2.
