Is Jonty Rhodes the best fielder International Cricket has seen ?

[Fuller Pilch]

Jonty who was a brilliant fielder was on the same level as Harris, Ponting, and Symonds. I think GP might've now surpassed him.

 

[SeamUp]

Can add Gibbs and I would say those were your 90s dream inner-ring fielders.

 

[Socerer 01]

Jonty who was a brilliant fielder was on the same level as Harris, Ponting, and Symonds. I think GP might've now surpassed him.

Ponting was so ****ing good in the field; he tends to go under the radar because he was also really ****ing good as a batsman

 

[Jumno]

Rhodes, Ponting, Symonds, Gibbs, Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, Collingwood

Yuvraj in that 2011 WC final first 10 overs, stuff of legends

 

[honestbharani]

Jonty was definitely in his own league though compared to those others. I suppose Ponting esp. was a better catcher and thus a more all-format and probably all-round fielder (and there maybe few more like that), but in terms of sheer LO fielding, there has not been anyone who stood out from the pack like Jonty in my time of watching cricket.

 

[number11]

Jonty's probably the only guy better known for his fielding than other attributes of Cricket.

But Fielding ability is more subjective than batting or bowling ability.You have stats measuring the number of catches and runouts you've achieved, but you can't measure the number of runs you have saved in the field completely accurately.

I'm sure that for everyone who started watching cricket in the 1990s, Jonty was the prime example of world class fielding. But Cricket goes back a long way before the 1990s and the possibility of better fielders being around before him can't be discarded. Also, the game has become faster since Jonty's time with the rise of T20s and more ODI cricket, giving way to higher standards of fielding than ever before.

So,is he really the best the International game saw? Or is his ability on the field overhyped because he was the first 'fielding superstar' after TV made Cricket bigger than before?

PS. There might have been better cricket in First Class cricket who never made it to the International Scene, but for the sake of this thread, let's keep the discussion limited to fielders who played International cricket.

Ponting, Roger Harper were his equals.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Jonty was definitely in his own league though compared to those others. I suppose Ponting esp. was a better catcher and thus a more all-format and probably all-round fielder (and there maybe few more like that), but in terms of sheer LO fielding, there has not been anyone who stood out from the pack like Jonty in my time of watching cricket.

Jonty was better at stopping the ball, but Harris and Ponting were better at actually hitting the stumps.

 

[Prince EWS]

Jonty was better at stopping the ball, but Harris and Ponting were better at actually hitting the stumps.

Stop trying to make Harris a thing.

 

[Socerer 01]

Jonty was definitely in his own league though compared to those others. I suppose Ponting esp. was a better catcher and thus a more all-format and probably all-round fielder (and there maybe few more like that), but in terms of sheer LO fielding, there has not been anyone who stood out from the pack like Jonty in my time of watching cricket.

Ponting being an atg batsman may hurt the perception of him as a fielder imho

 

[Coronis]

Jonty was better at stopping the ball, but Harris and Ponting were better at actually hitting the stumps.

I never saw Ponting demolish the stumps like Rhodes.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Jonty is an interesting study on the importance of fielding in the game.
I’ve seen his feats of brilliance especially in the white ball format. They stood out. He was on the edge of the circle.

Looking at what the outfielders do these days in the white ball game, can see how much Jonty’s impacted them.

It’s almost as important the way in which leg-spin had a revival due to Warne’s presence.

 

[jcas0167]

The commentators in the 90's like Benaud and Greig likened Rhodes to Colin Brand who played for South Africa in the 60's and seems generally revered as one of the greatest.

 

[Northerner]

Can not believe no one has mentioned Derek Randall, he was like a panther ready to pounce,

 

[Arachnodouche]

Can not believe no one has mentioned Derek Randall, he was like a panther ready to pounce,

I had a panther like that too. She's now my ex

 

[Bolo.]

Jonty was better at stopping the ball, but Harris and Ponting were better at actually hitting the stumps.

Ponting hit the stumps quite a lot more often. Probably was better at it. Jonty was throwing at essentially 1 stump from the edge of the ring at backward point to point most of the time. And very little time to release the ball unless it's going directly to him. Ponting would miss a lot more from there too

 

[ankitj]

Stop trying to make Harris a thing.

Seriously. I might as well start nominating Robin Singh as the best fielder ever. Had just as much of a career as Harris.

 

[ankitj]

This is ridiculous revisionism to suggest Jonty wasn't the best fielder ever. Saffer of 90s being underrated again.

 

[Line and Length]

This is ridiculous revisionism to suggest Jonty wasn't the best fielder ever. Saffer of 90s being underrated again.

The only one I've seen who matches Jonty was Colin Bland.

 

[Arachnodouche]

Noone's rivaled Jonty's explosiveness from a low center of gravity. Noone's sprung up faster from a dead sprawl on the ground to release a ball either.

 

[ankitj]

The only one I've seen who matches Jonty was Colin Bland.

Never saw him so can't say.