Top 5 Catches By Jonty Rhodes
Catches win matches – the universal term in cricket is redefined by the one man who was exceptional with his athletic brilliance in fielding. Yes, we are talking about Jonty Rhodes – the world’s fielding superstar and the arguably the greatest fielder we have ever seen in cricket history. His iconic run-out in 1992 World Cup is one of the most special moments in fielding and arguably, the best run-out in cricket history.
Rhodes was also selected as a center-forward for Barcelona Olympics, 1992, and also shortlisted for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In his international career, Jonty Rhodes grabbed 139 catches including some magnificent run-outs. Born on July 27, 1969, Rhodes revolutionized the fielding in cricket, and in modern cricket, cricket boards preferred to add fielding coaches in their coaching staff.
On his birthday, let’s revisit the finest catches and fielding moments of Jonty Rhodes:
#1 Catch of Rober Croft (1999 WC) vs England
Who can forget Jonty Rhodes’ stunner in the 1999 World Cup? South Africa was facing England and Proteas was on driver’s seat. England’s hopes were lying on Robert Croft. Rhodes was fielding in point and the English player hit the ball over Rhodes at the point.
Jonty showed his athletic brilliance and leaped in the air but the ball slipped in the first attempt. The ball was falling behind to him but Rhodes was so quick to complete this catch in the second attempt. His incredible catch becomes an important part of the video segment in Cricket games later in the year.
#2 Catches of Lara & 4 other players (1993) vs West Indies
South Africa was facing the West Indies at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium in 1993 in a Hero Cup contest. He surprised the viewers by giving a breathtaking fielding show. Rhodes dived forward to pick a skier to dismiss dangerous Brian Lara. In another catch, he got a stunner at midwicket with one hand to dismiss Phil Simmons. This catch was outstanding as he runs away to his left to get this catch.
Rhodes was unstoppable with athletic fielding. He was fielding in point and caught one-handed catch to get Anderson Cummins out. He set a high standard for himself as every catch was like a cakewalk for him. In this encounter, Jonty Rhodes picked 5 catches and was awarded the Man of the Match. It was the first occasion when a fielder got Man of the Match.
#3 Catch of Sachin Tendulkar (1997) vs India
India was on tour to South Africa in 1997 and Sachin Tendulkar was in his prime form. The Indian captain crashed a wide delivery to get four runs through the point but taking this risk becomes costly for him. South African pacers were trying to give Sachin some space to hit the ball outside the off stumps and they had Rhodes in the protection.
Jonty Rhodes was fielding at point position and he dived to his left to pick the ball with both ends to end his innings. India lost by 2-0 in the series and Sachin was stunned with this terrific piece of fielding.
#4 Catch of Matthew Hayden (2002) vs Australia
Jonty Rhodes had grabbed one hand catches in the start of his career and proved it in the 90s. In 2002, South Africa was playing against the World Cup champion Australia and Matthew Hayden was in top-form. He was sending the ball over the boundary line.
Hayden got a good start and Australia was moving towards a solid base for the big total. Hayden tried to hit a wide one from Jacques Kallis through point. Jonty Rhodes fly to his right and got it one-handed to tell Australian batsman that nobody can get boundary through point.
#5 Catch of Damien Martyn (2002) vs Australia
Damien Martyn was on his prime form and in the same series in 2002, Jonty Rhodes surprised Martin to give him a demo of his top-class fielding. During the ODI fixture, Martin was full set and putting the pressure on South African attack.
The Aussie batsman tried to hit the ball through point and Rhodes took a dive to his right and grabbed it. With this catch, Rhodes achieved the milestone of the 100th catch in ODIs.
