Birth of the Fielding All-Rounder

South Africa vs Pakistan, World Cup 1992. Inzamam-ul-Haq pushes the ball towards backward point. Jonty Rhodes attacks the ball, picks up and with lightning speed sprints, dives headfirst obliterates the stumps with man and ball. What would take a batsman a century, Rhodes did in the flash of an eye, announcing himself on the world stage.  

This had never been seen before on a cricket field. Why did Rhodes dive? “There was a 50% chance that I’d hit the stumps if I threw, and a 100% chance of hitting the stumps with ball in hand”, was his rationale.

“I was initially chosen in the team for the 1992 World Cup just for my fielding.” Rhodes admits. The spectacular nature of the runout had never been performed in practice but resulted from hours of practice diving around. “Fielding is a skill that I developed playing combination of sports football, hockey and tennis.”

Rhodes graciously acknowledged the photographer who, with the snap of his shutter, pinned the image of a flying Jonty to bars and bedroom walls around the world. Umpire Steve Bucknor giving Inzamam out was also crucial because there was no television review system and the benefit of the doubt generally went to the batsman. It was a moment where everything fell into place and the concept of the fielding all-rounder was born.

Rhodes was not single-handed in sparking a fielding revolution. Before the 1992 World Cup Proteas captain Keppler Wessels told this team, "Even if you can't make up for the lack of experience, there are two areas in which you can be better than any team - fitness and fielding." The South Africans were exceptional in their fielding and other sides started to put more focus on this aspect of the game.

What followed was all the major teams employed specialist fielding experts. "We never had a fielding coach at the Proteas when I was playing," said Rhodes.

There are certain techniques to catching and fielding a ball that can be taught. Fielding starts from the ground up so fielders need to get your feet in a good position. When taking a catch point your fingers in the right direction and try get your head behind the ball.

Good fielding is no more just the monopoly of countries like Australia or South Africa. It has become an integral part of most cricket teams. Cricket’s third dimension is seen as a way for all 11 fielders to become wicket-takers and entertain fans.

Rhodes knew how to win the crowd. Selectors couldn't drop him no matter how often he got out cheaply. “Fielding was an easy way for me to impress the fans - if I dived around and pulled off a couple of catches and scored 20-odd, the fans loved it.1”  

In the World Cup 2011 final India made a huge statement in the first five overs with their fielding. Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were relentless. India conceded just nine runs in the first five overs preventing Sri Lanka from getting off to a fast start. By contrast, the Sri Lankans had scored 29 in the first first five overs of their semi-final against New Zealand.

Good fielding became so normal that it was taken for granted. Poor fielders stood out like sore thumbs.  Morne Morkel awkwardly falling over the ball awkwardly from his dizzy height drew chuckles from his teammates. Monty Panesar throwing in from the boundary like he was using his weak arm delighted the English crowd. It was so bad they loved him Cameron Diaz doing Karaoke at My Best Friends Wedding.

Rhode's batting average was average. But his fielding was from another world. The generation of cricketers that followed carried traces of Jonty magic, like stardust from distant galaxies.