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    STUMP VISION                                                             JUNE 12, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 47

                                  A case for the invisible

                 assist — Why Cricket Needs an

                                                ‘Assist’ Column

             Cricket doesn’t lack appreciation for fielding; it lacks the language to preserve it. An assist

              column would honour the invisible hand that shapes the game’s most defining moments

            NILESH D. MEHTA

               n  sport,  memory  lives  in  numbers  and  often
               dominates discussions across eras. Scorecards
            Ieventually  become  history,  though  for  many
            fans, they are much more.
                Ardent baseball fans treat scorecards as pre-
            cious  collectibles,  while  cricket  enthusiasts  can
            swear by a legendary “ton” or a definitive “five-
            fer” in a specific Test match. Yet, truth often slips
            through the gaps, much like a cover drive imperi-
            ously threaded between point and mid-off.
                Baseball offers a clinical verdict: a batter is re-
            tired, and the scorecard records the outcome with
            total indifference. It matters little whether a fielder
            hauls in the ball at full stretch in right field or if it
            settles comfortably into a waiting glove in centre.
            The act is completed, the moment fades, and the
            numbers move on—offering no room for the art-
            istry of the effort.
                A LESSON FROM THE HARDWOOD               Shreyas Iyer did not really take the catch of Hardik Pandya, but he played the most significant role in the dismissal | Photo Credit: PTI
                Basketball  has  always  had  an  answer  to  this
            conundrum. For the Los Angeles Lakers, when-         THE WANKHEDE MIRACLE                            A CALL FOR CHANGE
            ever Earvin “Magic” Johnson threaded a pass to   A  recent  night  at  the  Wankhede  Stadium   The typical line on a scorecard reads: “c Field-
            Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the finish was only half the   during  the  2026  Indian  Premier  League  (IPL)   er b Bowler.” Even if a substitute or an “Impact
            act. The assist carried weight, etched into the re-  season provided a jarring reminder of this over-  Player” takes the catch, their name is recognised.
            cord books as a vital statistic.             sight.                                        But in a relay situation, the player who does the
                In basketball, the creator and the completer share
                                                             In the 24th match between the Punjab Kings
            the spotlight, ensuring that fans and history books   and  Mumbai  Indians,  the  ball  sailed  toward  the   heavy  lifting—the  “creator”—is  erased  from  the
                                                                                                       official narrative.
            alike acknowledge the setup as much as the score.  boundary in the 18th over. Shreyas Iyer produced   Cricket has evolved in almost every other di-
                Brothers of destruction: Magic Johnson and
            Kareem Abdul-Jabbar formed one of the deadliest   a moment of pure theatre.                mension. Technology provides mountains of data
                                                             Stationed at long-on, he sprinted to his left,
                                                                                                       for batters, bowlers, and coaches, yet we lack the
            combinations in NBA, leading the attack for Los   launched himself into the air, and plucked the ball   statistical language to preserve teamwork in mo-
            Angeles Lakers.                              from the sky. Mid-flight, as gravity pulled him to-  tion. The boundary relay catch is the purest exam-
                  THE EVOLUTION OF THE GAME              ward the rope, instinct took over. He flicked the   ple of a collaborative effort; without the first play-
                Statisticians in cricket seemingly had a differ-  ball back into play just as he crossed the boundary,   er, the second does not exist.
            ent idea. Perhaps pioneers like Bill Frindall, B.B.   where Xavier Bartlett completed the relay. Har-  Imagine a child twenty years from now speak-
            Mama, Anandji Dossa, and Sudhir Vaidya never   dik Pandya was sent on his way, and the stadium   ing about their father’s legendary catch. They pull
            anticipated the acrobatic artistry of a Suryakumar   erupted.                              up the scorecard to prove it, only to find a name
            Yadav at the Kensington Oval in 2024 or a Shreyas   Ask  anyone  who  “took”  that  catch,  and  the   that isn’t his. What do they point to? The video
            Iyer in 2026.                                name they say will be Iyer. Yet, look at the score-  might  survive  in  fragments,  but  the  numbers—
                Cricket commentary celebrates the late swing   card, and Iyer’s name is nowhere to be found. In   sport’s  most  trusted  storytellers—will  remain  si-
            and the diving stop; it applauds fielding brilliance   the history books, he doesn’t even receive an as-  lent.
            with roars and endless replays. Yet, when the dust   terisk for this breathtaking fusion of athleticism,   Cricket  doesn’t  lack  appreciation  for  field-
            settles, the record often ignores this evolving di-  awareness, and timing.                ing; it lacks the language to preserve it. An assist
            mension  of  the  game.  During  a  telecast,  we  are   Similarly, when a catch bursts from the grasp   column wouldn’t just change a statistic; it would
            now  accustomed  to  wagon  wheels,  Manhattan   of a diving first-slip fielder and is safely completed   honour the invisible hand that shapes the game’s
            charts, and “the worm”—visual aids that add spice   by a teammate at second slip, the scorecard credits   most defining moments. In a sport that prides it-
            to  an  already  well-made  biryani—but  the  score-  only the finisher, leaving the initial effort, often the   self on detail, this is one detail that has waited long
            card remains stubbornly static.              defining act, without even a mention.         enough to be seen. (Courtesy: Sportsstar)

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