Former Protea Jonty Rhodes names his favourite fielders

Jonty Rhodes, the former South African cricketer, was one of the greatest fielders of his generation. The veteran mostly patrolled the point region and he committed very flew blemishes. Batsmen didn’t have the courage to take on his arm. And when they did so, more of than not, they found themselves in a role. There were very few instances when the ball eluded him.

He used to throw himself in the outfield and take some superlative catches, which looked near-impossible. The stupendous pieces of work in the outfield earned him a lot of praises from the cricket fraternity. The retired Protea has plied his trade in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. Rhodes had worked with the Mumbai Indians (MI) for as many as nine seasons.

But in 2017, he parted way with the team, led by Rohit Sharma. However, he will be joining the Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming edition of the T20 league. Meanwhile, Rhodes had a tough time while interacting with a supporter on Twitter. The user on social media asked him about his favourite fielder. The fan took to Twitter and wrote, “@JontyRhodes8 sir Who is your favourite fielder ?”

Rhodes found himself in a lot of confusion. He ended up naming seven players overall.  He put forth Herschelle Gibbs, Ricky Ponting, AB de Villiers, Suresh Raina, Martin Guptill, Kieron Pollard and Ravindra Jadeja. He replied to the fan and wrote, “@hershybru @RickyPonting @ABdeVilliers17 @ImRaina @Martyguptill @KieronPollard55 @imjadeja to name a few,”

Here is Herschelle Gibbs’ reply

@hershybru @RickyPonting @ABdeVilliers17 @ImRaina @Martyguptill @KieronPollard55 @imjadeja to name a few https://t.co/iohBY4na5W

— Jonty Rhodes (@JontyRhodes8) January 25, 2020

Rhodes’ incredible career

Parking aside his fielding skills, Gibbs was no mug with the bat either. He made his international debut way back in February 1992 in an ODI versus Australia at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground. Later in November, he forayed into Test cricket as well. From there on, he plied his trade at the highest level for 11 years and kept growing in stature with the passage of time.

He played his final Test in 200 against Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo. His final international came in the 2003 edition of the World Cup. In 52 Tests and 245 ODIs, Rhodes churned out 2532 and 5935 runs respectively. In his illustrious career, he amassed five centuries and 50 half-centuries.