To cut out edges, Dhoni sweats

LEICESTER, August 5: Even as the Indian team was sweating it out under an unrelenting sun, wicket-keeper Mahender Singh Dhoni excused himself from the ground and hopped across for a learn-it-in-30 minutes session.
Dhoni is, of course, not exactly having a great summer behind the stumps here; he has struggled against the moving ball and although he hasn't floored any catches his collection has been as poor as a B-grade Bollywood film.A couple of early dismissals haven't helped his confidence either.
He has already had sessions with India's former gloveman Faroukh Engineer. In fact, he has been in constant touch with him, since he arrived here and discovered a new angle to his problems. The team's fielding coach, Robin Singh, in fact has already spoken to Alec Stewart and Andy Flower, among others, on his behalf.
His mentor for the day: Paul Nixon, England's 'keeper during the just-flopped World Cup in the West Indies. He was reinforced by the presence of Robin and trainer Gregory King. The duo watched in rapt attention as the teacher passed on his instructions at the speed of a machine gun.
"There is nothing wrong with his 'keeping," said Nixon, shortly after the stint. "I was just showing him a few drills.
I hope they help him in the Oval Test," he said modestly.
Full of energy and as agile as a cat, Nixon showed Dhoni how to crouch, how to stay light on his toes and how to move with the ball. He was particularly keen for Dhoni to collect the ball cleanly, and more importantly, be ready for a stumping possibility.
The almost 37-year-old Kent and Leicestershire custodian first had a long and animated chat with Dhoni. Then, he summoned a tennis ball and racquet and got Dhoni to sit behind the stumps and respond to his hits. He tried to get him to move just his arms, stressing on the urgency factor.
After almost 15 minutes of hitting and collection, however, he didn't look happy enough. He quickly asked for his own pair of gloves and demonstrated how he himself did it. As Robin took over the racquet and Dhoni he came up with a sterling show.
After another talk, he involved Greg and Robin too in the process. The purpose obviously was to ensure that the repair-work would continue even without him. In the end, he made Dhoni go through another interesting drill. He asked him to lie down on his side, with the hands stretched out.
He then tossed a few easy shots near his gloves. After a few hits, he improvised himself, showing Dhoni how he could go further. The plan: make him even more effective while diving. The legs were bent at the knee, as if he was ready to pounce.
For the first few minutes, Dhoni lay there, unable to contain his laughter. It wasn't easy but he eventually got down to doing it. This lesson lasted 10 minutes, and he almost covered a distance of 15 yards, inching forward with each jump. It was all wrapped up with a few parting tips.
It's unlikely that Dhoni will be able to remember all of them or translate even half of them on the field. But he is at least trying his best. In fact, within a few minutes he entered the match again and took over the wicket-keeping job from Dinesh Karthik.