Though fielding is an integral part of cricket, diving and acrobatics were not really seen until the 1980s. But that doesn’t mean that the game of Willow and Red Cherry didn’t see some excellent fielders before.
I have seen video clips of India’s trip to Australia in 1977-78, when protruding bellied Indian cricketers were huffing and puffing after the ball, fighting a losing battle to stop it, as it slowly runs into the fence. Only player conspicuously seen diving was the wicket keeper Syed Kirmani.
In 1979, Dave Whatmore of the Australian side touring India wasn’t exactly a fast chaser of the ball. Yet, non of these were much noticed, as batting and bowling took precedence over the fielding department.
That doesn’t mean cricket lacked wonderful fielders in the 1970s. Eknath Solkar used to effortlessly pluck balls standing on forward shortleg and pluck catches like low hanging fruit. In combination with the bowling of the great spin quartet of the era, he was responsible for some of India’s memorable victories.
Derek Randal of England was a young, energetic fielder whom the BBC commentators often eulogised for his athletic fielding and throwing in the outfields. A lesser known outstanding fielder was Yajuvendra Singh from India, who equalled a world record by taking five catches in an innings and seven in a match on his debut Test match against England in 1977.
However Yajuvendra’s cricket career was shortlived, he ended up only playing four Test matches.
A nondescript player from Mumbai (then Bombay), Ghulam Parker impressed as a brilliant filelder stonewalling the covers during India’s tour to England in the summer of 1982. His international career didn’t last long either. Another fielder of 1980s who impressed with his fielding at cover was West Indian Gus Logie.
In 1983 World Cup marked the arrival of the new in the block, Zimbabwe. The rookie team from Southern Africa started with a win over the fancied Australian side and almost defeating India, the eventual winner of the tournament. But they carved a niche by their impressive fielding, the BBC commentators describing the Zimbabweans as the Gymnasts of the World Cup.
The Zimbabwe team, not a Test-playing nation yet, again impressed in the 1987 version of the Cup, diving and taking brilliant catches, stopping boundaries on dry, brown outfields in India and earning, deservingly so, the accolades and the Award of the best fielding side of the tournament.
1992 was the first World Cup for South Africa after the stepped into the international cricket scene a few months earler. It also marked the arrival of Jonty Rhodes, who saved tons of runs and caused multiple run outs – the picture of his classic airborn running out of Inzamam Ul Haq went viral, still etched in the memories of many.
Since then, the quality of fielding has progressed leaps and bound. Previously, the outfields in England, Australia and New Zealand were conducive towards diving. But post 1990s, the improved outfields conditions on grounds of Indian subcontinent and increasing popularity of limited overs cricket, saw a worldwide rise in quality of fielding.
The hiatus between a good and better fielder has diminished. Considered as vital as batting and bowling, fielding now is an art, gets more creative and innovative as the game evolves over time.
Left Wing
Guest
Well put.
JimmyB
Guest
Gary Pratt. ;)
Bfc
Guest
Few batsmen took on a Roger Harper....bowled darts and didn't make too many runs, but his fielding was outstanding. Roy was also a gun...
qwetzen
Guest
"maybe he [Rhodes] would have been ordinary at slip but he never fielded there as far as I remember." That's why I rate Punter as the best of my time. He was brilliant *anywhere* and had a rocket arm.
qwetzen
Guest
Thanks.
davSA
Guest
spoken like true Aussies qwetzen and lancey5times.
davSA
Guest
Actually subsequent to your post Left Wing and my reply , I decided to dig around a bit on Colin Bland. ..Brian Johnston the respected BBC commentator said this on Colin Bland ..." For the first time I heard of people going to cricket to watch a fielder". He is also only one of two players ever to be honoured as Wisden Cricketer of the year in the fielding category .The other being interestingly enough Stuart Surridge. Finally when ex SA Captain and ICC match referee Peter van der Merwe was asked in 1999 by Wisden to name the 5 outstanding cricketers of the 20th Century , he named Colin Bland and again I quote ..." He revolutionised the attitude to fielding and set a standard not yet equalled." So I guess based on this he was a trend setter in the fielding aspect of cricket and deserves to named amongst the all time greats.
davSA
Guest
I'm with you on this Left Wing . I have watched both of them play. Rhodes was more athletic and busy, but Bland would hit the stumps with unerring accuracy and a gun shot speed throw. Another name that comes to mind but mostly South Africans would only be aware due to him playing most of his cricket during the sport isolation period was Peter Kirsten. He was pretty sensational in the covers.
qwetzen
Guest
Forgot someone who shares top spot. Clive Lloyd. He was breath-taking in the covers before he did his back in.
qwetzen
Guest
Indeedy. But he still had the braking prowess and turning circle of your average aircraft carrier.
DMC
Guest
Chris Harris. A thousand clotheslines and other objects in backyard cricket in NZ bear his name to this day, meaning if the ball hits it, your gooneeee...
Targa
Guest
Roger Harper, Jonty, Ponting and Chris Harris were guns.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Harper and Roy are probably my favourite fielders of all-time. They could both do extraordinary things.
BrainsTrust
Guest
I don't know how you call Gower and Waugh specialists. Gower did develop an arm problem and couldn't throw but before that he was great in the covers. Waugh was great everywhere mystified what position you though he was pedestrian in. Jonty I can remember taking many flying catches in the infield, I though he was always kept in the infield, maybe he didn't have a great arm for the outfield, maybe he would have been ordinary at slip but he never fielded there as far as I remember.
spruce moose
Guest
I think you might need to have a look at 1992 inzimam. He was a lot more svelte back then.
josh
Roar Rookie
+1
Rob
Guest
I would confidently say the really great teams had multiple quality fieldsman. The West Indies in the 80's, the Australians the 90's were fantastic in the field. It's a hughly undervalued part of the game like wicket keeping is. The standard has dropped a bit of late IMO. Player throw the ball on the bounce thinking about reverse swing nowdays. Unfortunately players have forgoten the art of putting the return over the bails. To much overthinking the basic IMO. S. Smith is a fantastic fielder. Symonds and Ponting would have been very hard to take on for anything remotely in their positions of the field.
DLKN
Guest
There have been plenty of brilliant specialists - but the best fielders I've seen, who could be placed anywhere and still be brilliant, were Roger Harper and Andrew Symonds. Roy in particular had a cannon arm from the boundary, something he was rarely called on to use. Harper and Symonds were so good that they intimidated batsmen into not running, through their sheer presence and proximity. I can't actually recall a fielding error from either of them. I think some of the great specialists like Gower, M Waugh and Jonty, as good as they were in their preferred spot, were shown to be fairly pedestrian when asked to field in unfamiliar positions.
Rob JM
Guest
No mention of the keg on legs!
Ouch
Guest
Roger Harper and Jonty Rhodes are the best i've seen.