Jonty Rhodes: The greatest fielders of all the time

 

Jonty Rhodes: A greatest fielders of all the time. Photo: BDCrictime

In cricket, a player is known for his extraordinary batting or bowling. But legendary players through fielding? Jonty Rhodes has done this impossible.

Jonathan Neil Jonty Rhodes. South African legendary cricketer, who has gained wide recognition in the cricket world through his unimaginable fielding performances. He has won the hearts of cricket fans with his extraordinary dives and great fielding skills. He is called the hawk of cricket.

The legendary player was born on July 27, 1969 in the South African province of Natal. Originally he was a right-handed batsman. However, by impressing as a batsman, he has become known as the best fielder in the history of cricket.

He made his South African national team debut in the 1992 World Cup against Australia. Jonty Rhodes proved his mettle at the beginning of his debut. He changed the picture of the match by running out Inzamam-ul-Haq with an extraordinary throw against Pakistan.

Jonty Rhodes made a rare feat against the West Indies in 1993. He took five catches alone in the match. He holds the record for most catches in a single match in the history of cricket. He started this record by catching another legendary cricketer Brain Lara with a great drive. The next catches were more spectacular. He got the best player of the match award in that match for his extraordinary fielding performance. As the only cricketer in history, he has been the best player in the match based on just catching (Neil Manthorp).

Jonty Rhodes also took seven catches alone while fielding as a substitute player for a South African first-class cricket match. Rhodes became the first player in cricket history to perform as the twelfth player to win the Man of the Match award for just catching.

Rhodes was successful enough with a great fielding as well as a bat. The main reason for this success is his hard work. He worked harder to maintain his performance than any other cricketer in the team.

International Cricket Statistics of Jonty Rhodes:

• Test:

Matches: 52

Runs: 2532

Highest: 117

Average: 35.66

Chatches: 34

• ODI:

Matches: 245

Runs: 5935

Highest: 121

Average: 35.11

Chatches: 105

Jonty Rhodes was ruled out of the 2003 World Cup due to injury. The legendary cricketer then announced his retirement from international cricket. He also retired from Test cricket in 2001. In 1999, he was awarded Cricketer of the year by Wisden.

Jonty Rhodes is working as the head coach of the Swedish national cricket team currently.

Source: ESPN Cricinfo & Cricbuzz

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