Jonty Rhodes: 10 memorable fielding moments

The leap remains one of the most iconic pictures in cricket. The star named Jonty Rhodes was born!

Jonty Rhodes, born on July 27, 1969, is arguably the greatest fielder the world has seen. Announcing himself with the horizontal leap that ran out Inzamam-ul-Haq during the 1992 World Cup, Rhodes went on to become an icon at point. In many ways, he revolutionised fielding in cricket and some of today’s brilliance is all credit to him. Nishad Pai Vaidya picks 10 instances of Rhodes’ brilliance at the highest. This is by no means an exhaustive list but puts together the different ways in which he showed his talent on the field of play.  [Jonty Rhodes the adventurer]

1.  The iconic flying leap

“Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Jonty!” was the headline of a newspaper after Rhodes announced himself to the world with this fantastic piece of fielding. It can be said that this was the turning point for fielding in cricket, which was almost considered a necessary chore rather than a third department. During the 1992 World Cup game between South Africa and Pakistan, the ball lobbed off Inzamam-ul-Haq’s pads and went towards point. The Pakistan batsman made a few strides forward to take a possible single, but Rhodes was onto it like a hare. Dashing in from point, he picked up the ball and sprinted towards the stumps. As Inzamam tried to make it back, Rhodes put in a full-length dive and shattered the woodwork. The leap remains one of the most iconic pictures in cricket. The star named Jonty Rhodes was born!

2.  The flying juggle (Read the complete article on Cric Life here )