Cricketweb decides the best fielder ever

[Fuller Pilch]

Guptill is exceptional.

Williamson and Guptill are very very good but I think Santner is better.

 

[Daemon]

I can't find the thread where we were discussing the best piece of fielding but anyways, how good was Latham's catch off Faf today? Great anticipation.

 

[Daemon]

Again, can't find a thread for discussing fielders so this should do

Rahane v Stokes?

Former has been pulling off some really gun catches for a while now while the latter has bucket hands and just never seems to spill anything.

Who'd you rather have in the cordon? I'd probably go Stokes.

 

[cnerd123]

Rahane close to the bat and Stokes everywhere else

 

[TheJediBrah]

I don't think there's anyone around these days who are as good as Jonty Rhodes, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds were. Maybe some of the West Indians as outfielders on the boundary but that's about it.

 

[OverratedSanity]

I don't think there's anyone around these days who are as good as Jonty Rhodes, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds were. Maybe some of the West Indians as outfielders on the boundary but that's about it.

Not just the elite fielders but I reckon slip cordons in general have declined badly in quality recently. India, SA used to have very good to great slippers in the previous generation but the current ones seem very sloppy.

England and SL are pretty good but the rest... pretty mediocre.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Rahane close to the bat and Stokes everywhere else

Yup, this. Rahane's actually pretty good in the infield at point/midoff... Used to throw the stumps down very regularly. But he's at his best in the slips for sure.

Smith worth a shout? He drops a few but has also pulled off some ridiculously good ones.

 

[cnerd123]

Not just the elite fielders but I reckon slip cordons in general have declined badly in quality recently. India, SA used to have very good to great slippers in the previous generation but the current ones seem very sloppy.

England and SL are pretty good but the rest... pretty mediocre.

The issue with slip fielding, atleast in India, is that in domestic cricket that's just a position reserved for the old senior pros. The culture is that they just park themselves there and let the young'uns run around chasing the ball.

It's a big reason why we've got all these fantastic outfielders now but no one can really field at slip. We're relying on Ashwin - who, lets face it, probably has been at slip his whole life because he's a liability anywhere else - and Rahane - who has somehow defied the system and is a pretty neat slip fielder.

I don't know if a similar cultural issue exists in other nations but would not be surprised if it was prevalent in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It's such a desi cricket kind of thing. The old experienced uncle with the pot belly plants himself at slip while the youngsters are expected to do that hard yards at the boundary until they get older and slower, at which point they have earned the right to field inside the circle, and then eventually get to stand in the slips too.

 

[Daemon]

Smith shells too many imo. He's also really annoying and a cheat.

 

[Burgey]

Smith shells too many imo. He's also really annoying and just a bit too good.

Ftfy

 

[cnerd123]

Smith shells too many imo. He's also really annoying and a cheat.

might as well disqualify all Aussies from the conversation then.


Maxwell, Warner, Shadab Khan, Guptil are some other gun fielders who come to mind

 

[Burgey]

Warner hasn't effected a DH in about three years. So frustrating. Great shot stopper though.

 

[91Jmay]

Stokes is an absolute gun as mentioned, Chris Jordan as well although doesn't DH much (if at all from what I can remember).

 

[Daemon]

Stokes is so good he almost caught the ball one handed while batting

 

[TheJediBrah]

Not just the elite fielders but I reckon slip cordons in general have declined badly in quality recently. India, SA used to have very good to great slippers in the previous generation but the current ones seem very sloppy.

England and SL are pretty good but the rest... pretty mediocre.

This is very true. There just don't seem to be that many specialist slippers these days, it's just the captain/senior players most of the time.

Just using Australia as an example they've had Michael Clarke and Steve Smith go into the slips for seemingly no specific reasons, they're better in the ring anyway. Back in the day they had guys like Mark Waugh (who is in his own class as a slipper) & Mark Taylor & Matt Hayden who were all brilliant. Even Shane Warne was decent, though I'm pretty sure he was a combination of *****'s theory that he earned a spot in the slips, and the classic "put the fat guy in the slips".

might as well disqualify all Aussies from the conversation then.


Maxwell, Warner, Shadab Khan, Guptil are some other gun fielders who come to mind

Commentators go on about how good these guys like Maxwell & Warner are but they are not even in the same league as Ponting & Rhodes were

 

[honestbharani]

Funny thing is Rhodes was not in Ponting's league as a close in fielder and Punter was not in Jonty's league as an outfielder. Honestly, I do think its very difficult to objectively compare fielders at this point. I am coming around to the reasoning that we tend to glorify what we saw when we were younger, esp. when it comes to fielding. I mean, just look at all the beyond the boundary catches we have seen in recent times when they catch it or palm it back into play and then dive back in and catch or tag team it for a catch. In general, while we may not have the stand out fielders like the earlier era, I think the overall standard of fielding has obviously improved and I wont be sure that it is not a case of rose tinted glasses that makes us feel the new guys are no match for the old greats.

 

[honestbharani]

Best way to put it probably is that ground fielding has improved leaps and bounds, but catching, and especially close in catching, has probably regressed.

 

[Burgey]

I wonder if there's something to the amount of LO cricket played and therefore a lot less time spent working on close catching techniques?

 

[cnerd123]

Maybe it's just the sheer amount of cricket played in general. Players probably don't have as much time to drill close in catching as they used to. It's probably also why International players can't seem to work out technical kinks while they're still in the team - there is just too much cricket to be played. Not enough time to step away and work on your game.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah that may well be right. I always thought it was pretty impressive the way Phil Hughes attempted to rebuild and rework his technique while still playing at international/ FC level. Takes a fair bit of moxie to give that a go.