One-day cricket has taken level of fielding to a different plane
Geoff Boycott, the former England opener maintained that fielding is one area where anyone can improve at any point in one's career
Woorkheri Raman
09-Jul-2001
Geoff Boycott, the former England opener maintained that fielding is
one area where anyone can improve at any point in one's career. The
popularity and the frequency of one-day cricket require every
cricketer to contribute on the field. Gone are the days when
proficiency in one department was good enough to guarantee a place in
the side. Any keen follower of the game will agree that one-day
cricket has taken the level of fielding to a different plane
altogether. In order to be a top class fielder at international level
one basically needs to enjoy fielding besides fitness, athleticism and
anticipation. Some outstanding fielders tend to specialise after
analysing their own strengths and weaknesses. Let me explain by
picking three extremely brilliant fielders who specialised at various
positions.
Jonty Rhodes, the South African revolutionised the cricketing World
with his outstanding athleticism and anticipation fielding at cover
point. His superlative efforts on the field made everyone sit up and
notice to what extent a cricketer could excel as a fielder. He won a
few "man of the match" awards for his top-class fielding
performances. During the Indian tour to South Africa in 1992-93 there
was a lot of criticism about the Indian batsman failing to come to
terms with the South African pace attack. Let me point out that it was
Rhodes who made life miserable by stopping singles and fierce shots as
well. As a result the batsmen were unable to rotate strike which
enabled the bowlers to plan the dismissals. Rhodes was remarkably
quick off the blocks and his balance was something incredible. I have
not seen many regain their balance as quickly as Rhodes did after
flinging himself across the turf.
Kapil Dev was another superb fielder who once again was a natural
athlete. While Rhodes excelled just in one particular position, Kapil
Dev was an all-round fielder. He was deceptively quick in the outfield
and he was a superb close-in catcher to boot. For reasons known to
him, he opted to field out in the deep for most part of his career. In
fact Kapil Dev had a much better throw than most in the circuit during
his time. He would throw hard and flat from the line and that coupled
with the number of overs he bowled, it is amazing that Kapil Dev never
ever complained about any shoulder problem. It was not a surprise that
Kapil Dev insisted on every cricketer work very hard on his fielding
during his tenure as captain. The catch he took to dismiss Vivian
Richards in the 1983 World Cup final would give more than a fair
indication of Dev's fitness, co-ordination, athleticism and catching
technique.
Mark Waugh, the stylish Australian has excelled as a slip catcher in
recent years. There were times when his catching ability has saved him
from being dropped from the Australian side. He makes slip catching
look the easiest of jobs in the World. There is a lot to be learnt
from Waugh by watching him keenly. He is always relaxed and
comfortable which results in him being highly successful. The moment
even a bit of tension creeps in, there is every chance of grabbing the
ball rather than pouching it safely. Though Waugh does not crouch in
the slips as advised in the coaching manuals he ensures that he is
well balanced all through. That is the main reason why he has taken
catches on pitches with varying bounce across the world.