Former England cricketer blames crowd for multiple catch drops at Headingley: 'Crowd have different coloured coats on'

One thing has been common between India and England during the ongoing first Test at Headingley, Leeds, and that is poor catching. Both teams have dropped multiple catches at crucial stages of the game. And now former England cricketer Stuart Broad, who has played many Test matches at Headingley, has blamed the crowd for the catches dropped.

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Indian fielders, especially Yashasvi Jaiswal, had a tough time during England’s first innings as they dropped at least five catches, including that of centurion Ollie Pope and Harry Brook, who smashed 99.

England fielders have been equally kind as Harry Brook dropped Rahul on 58, who went on to score 137 as India set England a target of 371.

Stuart Broad blames crowd for catch drops at Headingley 

Analysing the high number of dropped catches in the first Test between England and India, former fast bowler Broad said that the Headingley venue has always been a difficult place to grab catches due to the way stands are built, the usual clouds and also the way the crowd dresses up.

“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 gets 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.

“And also, when the sun’s not out, when the clouds are in, it can just be a little bit darker in certain parts of the ground.”

England ended Day 4 on 21/0 and need 350 more to win after India suffered another lower-order collapse.