When you think of fielding, you think of the legendary South African Jonty Rhodes. Back in the 1990s, most teams still had a lackadaisical attitude to fielding. But Rhodes was unarguably the man who changed that.
Diving away to his left to stop a ball or complete a catch and flying forward to complete a run out, Rhodes made fielding attractive for a whole bunch of youngsters who started playing the game during that time. He set high standards which everyone tried to emulate and automatically ended up being better fieldsmen. He understood and worked hard on fielding to the extent that he turned it into an art.
Some of his efforts in the field over the years were electrifying and magical. On his birthday, here’s re-living some of his moments of brilliance in the field.
THE FLYING RUN-OUT
It was a spectacular piece of work in the field which first made Rhodes’ fielding prowess known to cricket lovers around the world. During the 1992 World Cup, in the match between South Africa and Pakistan, the ball went off Inzamam-ul-Haq’s pads towards the point region where Rhodes was fielding.
Inzamam took a few strides down the pitch and tried to make it back but it was too late. Rhodes was on to the ball in a flash and dashing forward, he put in a full length dive and shattered the stumps. The leap has remained iconic and the headline of a newspaper the next day is still fondly remembered: “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Jonty!”
WINNING THE MAN OF THE MATCH FOR FIELDING
During a Hero Cup match between South Africa and the West Indies at the Brabourne Stadium in 1993, Rhodes made a huge difference with his fielding skills. He covered every blade of glass, flew through the air and dived to magically complete one catch after another.
Brain Lara, Phil Simmons and Anderson Cummins were dismissed courtesy of some screamers in the field completed by Rhodes. The crowd went berserk chanting his name. For his five catches and numerous brilliant stops, he won the Man of the Match for his fielding that day.
A MASTER OF RUN-OUTS
During a match between South Africa and the West Indies at Cape Town in 1993, it was his brilliant run-out of Desmond Haynes with an underarm throw that decisively swung the match in the favour of the Proteas.
Rhodes went on to make the point region is very own, waiting for a hawk for the ball to be played out to the region. He would then pounce on it in no time and aim at the stumps with enviable perfection. He has swung matches decisively in the favour of his team with crucial run-outs on countless occasions.
SAFEST PAIR OF HANDS
Rhodes elevated the fielding standards and set an example to be followed. During the 90s, the South African team following his example became a remarkable fielding outfit. But it was Rhodes patrolling the point region that brought the enthusiasm into the team.
He had possibly the safest pair of hands at that time and caught anything that flew into that region. Over the years, he pulled off some blinders which are memorable to this day.
His ground fielding was as effective as he would tirelessly dive to save every single in the field. On his day, having Rhodes in your team meant chasing 20-30 runs less because of his exploits. Some of the stops he pulled off in that point region are truly a joy to behold.
