Is Andrew Symonds the best fielder we've ever seen?

[honestbharani]

Take a breather

$0.01

 

[Prince EWS]

TJB saying "no I knew hb would post this all along" $0.25

lrn2odds

 

[honestbharani]

lrn2odds

whoosh

 

[trundler]

why

 

[Coronis]

whoosh

The irony.

 

[honestbharani]

The irony.

whoosh

 

[Migara]

Very difficult to judge these.

Agility, throwing arm and hitting stumps, Symonds is up there.

Fielding comprises of may facets like out fielding, catching, throwing down stumps, slip fielding and close in fielding. No one probably with exception of Mark Waugh has done it all with great success. More like we have specialized fielders for specialized positions.

Slips - Taylor, Kallis, B. McMillan, Jayawardana, Mark and Steve Waugh and Azhar are the ones spring to my ming.
Ring fielding - Ponting, Rhodes, Mahanama, Dilshan, Gibbs, Jadeja, Harper, Harris are some I have seen
Short fielding - Poeple say Eknath Solkar was the best, but haven't seen him. Sobers and Boon were good. Almost all short filders who stood up to spinners in India and Sri Lanka were pretty good. Tillekaratne was particularly good when it comes to grabbing short catches off the spinners.

Jonty and Ponting were the best hitting the stumps.

 

[honestbharani]

The one area where people like Symonds and Jadeja do get the edge is their out-fielding and especially their throwing arms. Any of the guys mentioned here, including Rhodes who covered ground like literally no other fielder has done in my time of watching cricket, had that kind of arm from the deep and were only patrolling the outfield during the slog overs coz they felt the runs they could save covering the ground was more important than the half run out chances they could get through their throws.

So, that is an aspect which gives an edge, especially in LO games to a Symonds or a Jadeja over a Rhodes, Ponting, Mark Waugh, Azhar etc.

 

[Red]

Symonds at slips


No fielder is in the same stratosphere as Jonty among the 90s and post batch.


And yes, Jadeja is > Symonds... More accurate and therefore better arm.

This isn't true. Yeh, Jonty was incredible. But a myth and aura grew around him that was probably a bit ott. Ponting and Symonds were every bit as good as Jonty. Probably guys from other nations that I didn't see much who were equally good.

 

[harsh.ag]

Jonty says it's Raina

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Slips - Taylor, Kallis, B. McMillan, Jayawardana, Mark and Steve Waugh and Azhar are the ones spring to my ming.

S Fleming imo - absolute bucket hands

 

[Migara]

This isn't true. Yeh, Jonty was incredible. But a myth and aura grew around him that was probably a bit ott. Ponting and Symonds were every bit as good as Jonty. Probably guys from other nations that I didn't see much who were equally good.

In 2000s people were amazed how good was Dilshan in the field. But in 90s we had a couple of fielders a league above him. Mahanama and Ruwan Kalpage were most notable. Upul Chandana, Jayasuriya, Muralitharan, Dharmasena all were top class in 90s.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

In 2000s people were amazed how good was Dilshan in the field. But in 90s we had a couple of fielders a league above him. Mahanama and Ruwan Kalpage were most notable. Upul Chandana, Jayasuriya, Muralitharan, Dharmasena all were top class in 90s.

In the 90s the teams were in 3 fielding tiers:
Aus, NZ, SA outstanding; SL, WI, Zim very good; Eng, Ind, Pak mediocre.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

This isn't true. Yeh, Jonty was incredible. But a myth and aura grew around him that was probably a bit ott. Ponting and Symonds were every bit as good as Jonty. Probably guys from other nations that I didn't see much who were equally good.

Harry

 

[honestbharani]

Probably guys from other nations that I didn't see much who were equally good.

I dont think you have seen enough of Jonty if you claim that. Like I said, he was at a different stratosphere compared to literally every other fielder in the world.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I dont think you have seen enough of Jonty if you claim that. Like I said, he was at a different stratosphere compared to literally every other fielder in the world.

Yeah you keep saying that. It's not the worst opinion, Jonty was incredible, but you're not going to convince dissenters by just repeating it ad nauseum

 

[stephen]

I dont think you have seen enough of Jonty if you claim that. Like I said, he was at a different stratosphere compared to literally every other fielder in the world.

Australia played SA more than anyone else in the 90s. Was terrific watching and in that era Jonte was supreme. Later, Ponting was better than Jonte had ever been though.

 

[Line and Length]

Australia played SA more than anyone else in the 90s. Was terrific watching and in that era Jonte was supreme. Later, Ponting was better than Jonte had ever been though.

A big call. I'd put them on a par.

 

[ankitj]

Jadeja is the benchmark for so many Aussie cricketers. Australia should hire him as coach once he retires.

 

[Red]

I dont think you have seen enough of Jonty if you claim that. Like I said, he was at a different stratosphere compared to literally every other fielder in the world.

No he wasn't. He certainly wasnt in a "different stratosphere to literally every other fielder in the world"

Even if he was marginally better than Ponting, Symonds or Collingwood (or Harper, Viv and a few others), which I don't think he was personally, it's ludicrous exaggeration to state he was in a "different stratosphere". That's ridiculous.