in the third and it was just a matter of time. The guys were playing hard and

In a Test in Christchurch in January 1992, Derek Pringle chased a ball out towards the boundary rope, lumbering as fast as his ample 6ft 4in frame would allow. The rope loomed as the 33-year-old Pringle finally caught up with the ball and stuck out a cursory boot as the ball completed its inevitable journey over the boundary. Thats a bit of a feeble effort, one of the New Zealand commentators said.Fourteen years later, at one point in a one-day international on the same ground, West Indian batsman Dwayne Smith smashed New Zealand spinner Jeetan Patel into the crowd. Nathan Astle, 5ft 10in and 34 years old, was fielding on the boundary. As the ball dropped, it looked as if it would just about make it over Astle and the rope. Then Astle did something that back then was considered to be amazing.He jumped vertically, and while in the air, only a few centimetres from the boundary, he stretched out his right hand behind him, took the catch one-handed and then landed just inside the rope. Steadying himself for a split second, Astle then sprang off towards Patel and his team-mates to celebrate the wicket.During post-match interviews, New Zealand coach John Bracewell said that Astles catch probably secured the win. He called the catch sublime in judgement and skill.Ten years on, modern boundary fielding makes Astles effort look rather ordinary. The rise of T20 has seen many more batsmen trying to hit many more sixes on much smaller grounds.Back in the day, boundary fielders were usually either bowlers having a rest between overs or spells, or the less mobile members of the side, or both. If the ball went straight to one of these players, theyd usually stop it. If not, at least there was someone out there to get the ball back from the crowd. Today every run counts and teams send their best fielders out to the boundary, not just to save runs but also to take wickets.Over the past few years, the likes of Trent Boult, Kieron Pollard, Eoin Morgan, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers have all taken the kind of spectacular boundary-line catches that are increasingly common in the game.In 2014, in a T20I in Dominica, West Indies had 126 for 3 in 17 overs and were in need of quick runs to set New Zealand a decent target. Corey Anderson sent down a high-bouncing half-tracker to Pollard, who got into a bit of a tangle while pulling it, but that massive bat of his still sent the ball out towards the midwicket boundary. Boult was out there a few metres in from the rope. He took a few steps backwards and flung out his right hand, his weaker hand, and caught the ball over his shoulder.Great catch, but it didnt finish there. Boult realised that his momentum was taking him over the boundary rope. In a flash he threw the ball up in the air, stumbled over the rope, but rather than falling flat on his face, Boult sprang back over the rope, back onto the field, dived to his left and caught the ball two-handed before either he or the ball had touched the ground. Cue standing ovations, roars from the crowd, on-field celebrations, and a barrage of superlatives from the commentary box.Pollard himself has taken a few boundary-line screamers. Playing for Mumbai Indians in the 2014 IPL, he did to Rajasthan Royals Kevon Cooper what Boult did to him, except, Pollard threw the ball a bit too far infield and so had to complete the catch with a full-length forward dive.Former Surrey and England allrounder Adam Hollioake, who played the first two years of domestic T20 in England before he retired, believes that boundary fielding standards have improved in recent years out of necessity.If someone did anything like that back when T20 started, it would be seen as a one-in-a-million effort, Hollioake says. Now cricketers take catches like this as a matter of course because thats what the modern game demands.Former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams, who played in the 1990s and has coached Kent since 2012, says that theres a practical reason why boundary catching has improved in recent years. When we played, the boundary rope was tight against the wall or the fence. There was no room to do this sort of thing. Now the rope is four or five yards in.As a result, fielders no longer give up on the ball when they are near the boundary. Thirty-five years ago, someone like Derek Randall used to throw himself around a lot, but he was considered unusually athletic, says Julien Fountain, a specialist fielding coach who has worked with Pakistan, West Indies and England. Now you see cricketers all over the world throwing themselves around.To the casual observer, these catches might look like an instinctive blur of arms and legs, something only a super-fit fielder might try. However, like any other cricketing skill, they can be performed by a cricketer who has the right combination of technique, natural ability and fitness.Look at any of the slow-motion replays and youll see the same thing. The catcher tracks the ball from the bat, through the air, towards him and then into his hand. As soon as the catch is safely taken, or parried up, he looks to the ground, checks to see whether hes on or off the field, then steadies himself and moves into the position needed to complete the catch. All this within a second or two.Thats the same skills you need to field in the slips, at backward point, anywhere on the field, Fountain says. Combine those with ground fielding and catching skills and you have the ideal fielder for modern-day cricket.During a 2014 T20 Blast game between Yorkshire and Lancashire, Lancashire batsman Tom Smith skied a shot straight back over the bowlers head. Adam Lyth, rushing to his left from long-off, leapt into the air and clawed the ball back from over the boundary edge before it landed. His team-mate Aaron Finch, who had run across from long-on, then took a simple catch. A few weeks later, the two combined again against Leicestershire.Yorkshire players have been doubling up around the boundary rope for a while now. Their coach Rich Pyrah confirmed that his players practise boundary catching regularly in twos. One fielder stands at long-off, the other at long-on or at deep square and deep midwicket. Pyrah, standing as close as he can to the stumps out in the middle, hits the ball hard with two hands into the gap between the two fielders. Depending on where the ball ends up, players have to decide whether to catch the ball by themselves or with their team-mate.During these practice sessions, Pyrah is keen to replicate the speed of the ball from the bat that a player would get in a match. The trajectory is different if youre fielding deep-backward square than if youre at long-on and long-off. It comes harder and flatter and faster. Straight down the ground, the ball comes in more of an arc. The players then have to read the length of the ball, get into an early position on the boundary rope, then adjust to wherever the ball is going to land.Fountain says that to take boundary catches, players will need to track the ball, reposition themselves, and if necessary, reposition again after first contact with the ball. Fountain helps his players practise this by having the ball bounce off an object, maybe a handheld boxing pad, which creates a deviation off the object to a secondary fielder. Or by hitting the ball over a players shoulder, who then has to adapt on the move.Yorkshire also practise safe landings indoors during the close season. Coaches set up crash mats and throw a ball over the players head. A player has to be brave and land on the full length of their back, so it takes the impact, says Pyrah.Pyrah adds that players used to struggle with these catches because they wanted to land with their hands on the ground to cushion their fall. The trouble is, when a players hands are free and facing upwards, he can use them to throw the ball up. He wont have time if his hands are facing downwards, ready to brace to take his weight. Pyrah thinks that a player needs to feel secure that if he loses balance during one of these manoeuvres and falls but lands properly, he will be okay.Fountain is not a fan of using big crash mats during practice. He thinks there should be an element of realism in the training. A player will think differently and use their body differently if they know theres a mat under them, he says. On a hard surface, like a field, a player will have to brace themselves, and they need to get used to that during practice.Boundary fielders need to make decisions quickly - whether to catch, parry upwards, involve someone else, which requires communication; or whether to just block the ball from going for six. And they wont know exactly what to do until the ball is almost upon them. Pyrah gets the Yorkshire players to practise these catches under pressure. Well shout to them, distract them however we can.Its not all planning, though. Theres still a level of instinctive brilliance to the sort of catches that Lyth and Finch, Boult, Pollard and Maxwell have been taking.Adams explains that his Kent team practises a lot of high stuff in and around the rope area. Then, when the opportunity arises, there are players who have it in them to do special stuff, he says. Adams has no doubt that outfielding standards have definitely improved from when he played in the 1990s. Youve always had Jonty Rhodes, Ricky Ponting and Herschelle Gibbs, a few as good as that, but now most players are top fielders.Back then, international teams felt they could carry the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Devon Malcolm and Phil Tufnell in the field as long as the player was scoring runs or taking wickets. In 1989 when I started playing, people hardly even dived, says Hollioake. If you missed one, it was Well tried. By the end of my career, in 2007, if you didnt dive properly with the right technique, people were having a go at you.Fountain doesnt think that players today are necessarily more skilled or athletic than their predecessors. Its just that higher fielding standards are now expected, and this drives players towards ever greater things. Whatever is the standard of the day is where people aspire to be.Pyrah agrees that players train harder today. Players will throw themselves around in the field and not worry about the consequences. Its no surprise they can do things we couldnt in the past.However spectacular some of todays fielding might look, though, not everything about fielding has improved during the modern era, particularly in Test cricket. It has been a while since there has been an international wicketkeeper as good as Alan Knott or Ian Healy. Earlier this year, former Australia captain Ian Chappell complained about the decline of slip catching standardsDuring the Edgbaston Test this summer, when Mohammed Hafeez dropped Joe Root off Rahat Ali, it was the ninth time a Pakistan player had shelled a catch in the series. England had also dropped nine by that time. Thats 18 dropped catches in just three Tests.Inzamam and Cowdrey might not have been able to run out to the boundary rope, let alone dive once they got there, but they could safely catch the ball in the slips. And lets not forget that in a Test match, its behind the stumps, not on the boundary, that youre most likely to get the likes of Root, De Villiers and Kohli out.Kyle Hendricks Jersey . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Duane Underwood Jr. Jersey . 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"I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement.OTTAWA -- -- When the Ottawa Senators were looking for a new coach last spring, Bruce Boudreau was a leading candidate.But after he was interviewed, Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher swooped in and hired the 61-year old former bench boss of the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks. Senators GM Pierre Dorion almost immediately signed Guy Boucher, insisting he was always the teams first choice.At this point, both men are making a positive impact in their new surroundings.The Wild and Senators face off at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday for the first time this season, each with a winning record. The Senators have cleaned up defensively, which was their top priority. They are 9-5-0 and have won five of their last seven games, holding opponents to only eight goals over that span.The Wild dropped a 3-2 decision in Philadelphia on Saturday as their record slipped to 7-5-1, but have also allowed a league-low 27 goals. Minnesota is 1/3 in its last four games but prior to that stretch had three consecutive shutouts.The Wild got off to a good start against the Flyers when winger Nino Niederreiter scored 21 seconds into the game, but ultimately lost a 2-1 lead just past the midway mark of the second period and could never catch up.If you can score the first shift you are doing something right, said center Eric Staal, who assisted on the goal and has points in seven of his teams last eight games.ddddddddddddAfter that I dont think we did enough.The Wild chose to go with No. 1 goaltender Devan Dubnyk against the Flyers, which means Darcy Kuemper will start in goal against the Senators.After winning only six times in 21 games last season, Kuemper is 1-1 while giving up eight goals in 2016-2017.The Senators are coming off a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday that saw them rally with two goals in the last 3:54 of the third.Craig Anderson starts in goal for the Senators, who are averaging 2.29 goals per game against that is ranked 27th in the league.You just have to keep the faith, Anderson said when asked Friday about his lack of support. You just dont know when the offense will come. We started to get momentum in the third and it was just a matter of time. The guys were playing hard and were keeping things out of our end really well and giving ourselves opportunity.The Wild will be without top line winger Zach Parise (lower body), defenseman Marco Scandella (high ankle sprain) and winger Zac Dalpe (knee).Defenseman Chris Wideman skated with the Senators on Saturday but after missing six games with an injury will need a little more practice time before getting his spot back in the lineup. ' ' '