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Ponting: Amongst the Top 5 Fielders?

Spark

Spark

Global Moderator
Sir Alex said:
Yesterday he had a go at the non strikers end off Ross Taylor, which missed the stumps by so much (atleast 1 metre) that the backing up fielder at mid on had no chance to reach that and went for 4 overthrows.
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:laugh:

In all seriousness though he is missing by just-this-much way too often nowadays.
 
Richard

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Uppercut said:
Clarke seems to miss loads lately. And by lately I mean for like, the past two years.
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Missed loads at the start of his career too, but people often would not accept that that made him a poor fielder because of his athleticism and tendency to hit the stumps with throws.

Anyway there's no way on Earth anyone can say there are a top five fielders - not least because fielding is such a diverse matter that you cannot hope to quantify it. All you can do is name outstanding fielders - many of whom have been named in this thread. In the longer game a close catcher is easily the most important fielder; in the shorter game an outfielder is the more important.

Also, the more important considerations with fielding, especially outfielding, are often less obvious. People sometimes tend to think of someone as a good outfielder if he hits the stumps a lot, when in reality hitting the stumps isn't terribly important because the number of occasions where it will make an impact are minimal - it's more important to get a powerful throw in at the wicketkeeper. The key thing is the ability to move to the ball to dissuade batsmen from attempting a single, which takes athleticism and anticipation.

And of course for a slipper the most important thing is good hands, but again athleticism and anticipation are important.
 
Spark

Spark

Global Moderator
Richard said:
Missed loads at the start of his career too, but people often would not accept that that made him a poor fielder because of his athleticism and tendency to hit the stumps with throws.
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If you mean 'miss' as in miss the stumps then this sentence is somewhat self-contradictory...
 
Athlai

Athlai

Not Terrible
Clarke has been woeful in his runout attempts lately, misses by miles. He was a joke in the T20s.
 
zaremba

zaremba

Cricketer Of The Year
Now THIS is how you hit the stumps.

Good call by LT for both Randall and Penney. Good call by u/cut for Collingwood being a little over-rated - still a fantastic fielder obviously but he does drop a surprising number of catches.

Gary Pratt aside, Jonty Rhodes was the most impressive fielder I've ever seen. ABdeV really isn't that far behind, but he didn't have the incredible presence and energy that Jonty did.
 
Sir Alex

Sir Alex

Banned
Son Of Coco said:
Tendulkar?
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Criminally underrated in the field. Agreed he's now slowed down now but still a very reliable and versatile fielder. He could field anywhere, slips, ring and outfield. Had a bullet throw from the deep recesses of the field and used to score direct hits as well.
 
vcs

vcs

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Sir Alex said:
Criminally underrated in the field. Agreed he's now slowed down now but still a very reliable and versatile fielder. He could field anywhere, slips, ring and outfield. Had a bullet throw from the deep recesses of the field and used to score direct hits as well.
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Never actually seen Tendulkar drop a catch. Not surprising TBH, for a guy who has such good hands and coordination.
 
Sir Alex

Sir Alex

Banned
Yes vcs, in my entire life of watching cricket, I recollect only 1 drop when he put down (after making a Jontyesque dive at point of all places).

Zaremba, that is my favorite catch of all time. No fancy diving stuff but judged it to perfection!
 
vcs

vcs

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Sir Alex said:
Yes vcs, in my entire life of watching cricket, I recollect only 1 drop when he put down (after making a Jontyesque dive at point of all places).

Zaremba, that is my favorite catch of all time. No fancy diving stuff but judged it to perfection!
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Come to think of it, I vaguely remember him dropping one at slip in the last tour of Australia. Not sure exactly which match it was.
 
Richard

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
zaremba said:
Jonty Rhodes was the most impressive fielder I've ever seen. ABdeV really isn't that far behind, but he didn't have the incredible presence and energy that Jonty did.
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I wonder if Rhodes had it at ABdeV's age.

First time I really became aware of Rhodes was in 1998, by which time he was ~30 (can't remember exactly), and I wonder how long he'd been the don't-take-a-single-to-Jonty merchant he was by then.
 
Richard

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
vcs said:
Come to think of it, I vaguely remember him dropping one at slip in the last tour of Australia. Not sure exactly which match it was.
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It was definately off Andrew Symonds, can't remember which game it was in.
 
zaremba

zaremba

Cricketer Of The Year
Richard said:
I wonder if Rhodes had it at ABdeV's age.

First time I really became aware of Rhodes was in 1998, by which time he was ~30 (can't remember exactly), and I wonder how long he'd been the don't-take-a-single-to-Jonty merchant he was by then.
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Jonty was absolutely outstanding from the start, and had that presence then - I remember him being seen as a phenomenon at the '92 world cup.
 
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