Former South Africa international and one of the best fielders the game has ever seen, Jonty Rhodes, in a recent interview to International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed his top five fielders in modern era cricket.
“In the modern era, there really have been some great fielders,” Rhodes said, following which he voted for former Australia cricketer Andrew Symonds saying the latter fielded well both within and outside the circle and had a very strong arm. He also spoke with a pinch of modesty saying he fielded only inside the circle in his playing days.
At No.4, Rhodes picked his former teammate Herschelle Gibbs. Calling the former Proteas opener an “incredible fielder”, Rhodes said it was great to field alongside Gibbs at backward point. The legend then took the name of former England skipper Paul Collingwood who was also a good fielder. He also drew a parallel between him and Collingwood said the latter fielded in a position similar to him.
Rhodes’ next favourite is another former South Africa captain AB de Villiers who only retired last year. He said when he worked as the Proteas’ fielding coach, he would get upset to see de Villiers donning the wicket-keeping gloves because he believes ABD was a good fielder.
At the No.1 position, Rhodes picked Indian cricketer Suresh Raina, saying he is a big fan of the latter. He stated the fact that Raina is never hesitant to dive even in rough Indian conditions and has fielded well at all positions.
“Raina plays in India all the time, and I know what the conditions of the fields are (in India). Every time he practices, every time he dives, it is going to be sore. He doesn’t even give a second hesitation – should I dive, should I not – he goes for the ball, which pretty much was my philosophy of ‘if you don’t go, you will never know’ and he has done that, taking great catches in the slips, in the outfield, in the circle.
I have loved watching Suresh Raina, he is my number one fielder,” Rhodes said in the video.
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Two from 🇿🇦Who makes it into @JontyRhodes8's top five fielders? pic.twitter.com/vZrbQUnexP
— ICC (@ICC) February 13, 2019
