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Which team has the best fielding unit at the World Cup?

David Warner and James Faulkner helped Australia to victory in the ODI against NZ. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Roar Guru
2nd March, 2015
20

It took 20 matches at the World Cup for the Test-playing nations to produce a match that could be classified as a ‘thriller’.

But with the quarter finals on the horizon we can expect more close encounters in which fielding will play a big role.

With majority of the teams locking down their final XI, let’s look at each player’s fielding ability, and allocate each player either one, two or three points.

Three: above average fielder, expected to take all catches, including the odd blinder. They are extremely quick across the ground and are also expected to hit the stumps directly on over 50 per cent of occasions. They create hesitancy when batsmen are looking for a run.

Two: average fielder, but with the standard set so high, they are expected to take all straight-forward catches, produce the odd piece of good fielding, but they don’t intimidate the batsmen. They are safe, can save runs in the field, but are still below the top bracket. Even the best fast bowlers have been ranked in this category, as they simply cannot be compared with the elite.

One: below average. While not all of them are poor fielders, these players are a liability; some because an injury affects throwing or running, while others lack concentration. Fielders in this category needed to be hidden and batsmen target them for easy runs.

Note: All wicket keepers have been classified as ‘two’ unless they are a part-time keeper.

Australia
Warner 3
Finch 2
Watson 1
Clarke 3
Smith 3
Maxwell 3
Haddin 2
Faulkner 2
Johnson 2
Starc 2
Hazelwood 2
Total 25
Ab Avg 4
Bel Avg 1
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New Zealand
Guptill 3
McCullum 3
Williamson 3
Taylor 2
Elliot 2
Anderson 2
Ronchi 2
Vettori 1
Southee 2
Boult 2
Milne 2
Total 24
Ab Avg 3
Bel Avg 1
South Africa
De Kock 2
Amla 1
Du Plessis 3
AB De Villiers 3
Miller 3
Duminy 3
Beharadin 2
Steyn 2
Morkel 1
Tahir 1
Philander 2
Total 23
Ab Avg 4
Bel Avg 3

 

India
Dhawan 1
Rohit 2
Kohli 3
Rahane 3
Raina 3
Dhoni 2
Jadeja 3
Ashwin 1
Shami 1
Yadav 2
Mohit 2
Total 23
Ab Avg 4
Bel Avg 3
England
Ali 2
Bell 1
Ballance 1
Root 2
Morgan 3
Taylor 3
Butler 2
Woakes 2
Broad 2
Anderson 2
Finn 1
Total 21
Ab Avg 2
Bel Avg 3
Sri Lanka
Dilshan 3
Thirimane 2
Sangakarra 2
Jayawardena 2
Chandimal 2
Matthews 2
Karunaratne 2
Perrera 1
Herath 1
Malinga 2
Lakmal 1
Total 20
Ab Avg 1
Bel Avg 3

 

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West Indies
Gayle 2
Smith 2
Samuels 1
Carter 2
Ramdin 2
Simmons 2
Russell 2
Sammy 2
Holder 1
Benn 1
Taylor 2
Total 19
Ab Avg 0
Bel Avg 3
Pakistan
Jamshed 1
Shehzad 3
Harris Shoail 2
Misbah 2
Maqsood 2
Akmal 1
Afridi 2
Yasir Shah 2
Riaz 1
Shoail Khan 1
Irfan 1
Total 18
Ab Avg 1
Bel Avg 5

After ranking each player, it is clear Australia is still slightly ahead of the rest of the pack. It is probably safe to assume each point represents five runs in the field. Based on that, Australia is likely to save five more runs in the field that New Zealand, while there a difference of 35 runs between Australia and Pakistan (lowest ranked team).

Based on the fielding rankings it is likely to be Australia and New Zealand in the World Cup final.

Barring upsets it is likely the top two teams and potential semi-finalist will be Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. That should not come as a surprise given those are the top four teams in the tournament.

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