parklinking
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Who is the best fielder of all time?
Master Fielder
- Thread starter parklinking
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I'm not sure there's an answer! There are probably a dozen guys that could be named - some for slips fielding, some for ability to hit the stumps, some for outfielding or shot stopping in close, some at short leg!
That's a bit of a cop-out though
I like Mark Waugh, about the only thing I never saw him do was rocket the ball in from the outfield. And he had some of the best hands ever, great catcher.
That's a bit of a cop-out though
I like Mark Waugh, about the only thing I never saw him do was rocket the ball in from the outfield. And he had some of the best hands ever, great catcher.qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
I agree with what's said above. You can easily name any number of different people as the best fielder based on what position you think is hardest to field in.
I can only speak about the modern game. As much as I'd like to think I know about the olden days...I really don't know THAT much.
Traditionally in Tests and ODIs, the best fielder in the team is usually somewhere in that space between backward point and cover. Jonty Rhodes, Herschell Gibbs, Paul Collingwood, AB de Villiers are who stand out most to me in those spots.
But then again, perhaps a close-in fielder should be mentioned. These days it's tradition (again...Test cricket is a funny thing with these traditions) for the newest member of the team to go right under the bat in the hopes of getting a catch. There have been very few specialist short (not in terms of height) catchers in modern times. Ricky Ponting would always be the guy in the helmet right next to the bat, and he had excellent technique. Not coming up too early, prepared to take a few bruises if it meant he had a chance of the catch, etc.
Slip fielding is a specialist thing in itself. But good slip fielders are pretty easy to find.
It's definitely not an easy question to answer at all. If you want to count wicketkeepers in the mix, then it makes things even harder. They ARE fielders, after all.
I will say that ODI and T20 cricket has improved fielding standards immensely. If you want to look at great fielders I think you'd have to look toward the shorter forms of the game to really make a decision. Even in Tests, you don't see guys escorting the ball to the rope like they used to. For the most part, anyway. Now they're expected to chase the ball as hard as they can, if they lose the race at least they tried. If they pull the ball back, great job.
The best fielding display by a single player I've personally seen in years happened back in the first IPL. KKR had Brendon McCullum and Tatenda Taibu, both as wicketkeeping options. But they played the two of them in one particular match (unfortunately I don't remember the opposition). McCullum took the gloves, but Taibu won the match for KKR in the field. Took a couple blinders and ran out a batsman with one stump to aim at, I think. The whole thing was brilliant.
I can only speak about the modern game. As much as I'd like to think I know about the olden days...I really don't know THAT much.
Traditionally in Tests and ODIs, the best fielder in the team is usually somewhere in that space between backward point and cover. Jonty Rhodes, Herschell Gibbs, Paul Collingwood, AB de Villiers are who stand out most to me in those spots.
But then again, perhaps a close-in fielder should be mentioned. These days it's tradition (again...Test cricket is a funny thing with these traditions) for the newest member of the team to go right under the bat in the hopes of getting a catch. There have been very few specialist short (not in terms of height) catchers in modern times. Ricky Ponting would always be the guy in the helmet right next to the bat, and he had excellent technique. Not coming up too early, prepared to take a few bruises if it meant he had a chance of the catch, etc.
Slip fielding is a specialist thing in itself. But good slip fielders are pretty easy to find.
It's definitely not an easy question to answer at all. If you want to count wicketkeepers in the mix, then it makes things even harder. They ARE fielders, after all.
I will say that ODI and T20 cricket has improved fielding standards immensely. If you want to look at great fielders I think you'd have to look toward the shorter forms of the game to really make a decision. Even in Tests, you don't see guys escorting the ball to the rope like they used to. For the most part, anyway. Now they're expected to chase the ball as hard as they can, if they lose the race at least they tried. If they pull the ball back, great job.
The best fielding display by a single player I've personally seen in years happened back in the first IPL. KKR had Brendon McCullum and Tatenda Taibu, both as wicketkeeping options. But they played the two of them in one particular match (unfortunately I don't remember the opposition). McCullum took the gloves, but Taibu won the match for KKR in the field. Took a couple blinders and ran out a batsman with one stump to aim at, I think. The whole thing was brilliant.
puddleduck
Chairman of Selectors
Let's give this thread a direction then.
The field is a fairly standard 6-3 test match field.
Which would be your best fielding side you think you could put out by position (ignoring batting/bowling skills).
So:
Keeper:
1st slip:
2nd slip:
Gully:
Point:
Cover:
Mid Off:
Mid On:
Mid Wicket/Short Leg:
Deep Square Leg.
The field is a fairly standard 6-3 test match field.
Which would be your best fielding side you think you could put out by position (ignoring batting/bowling skills).
So:
Keeper:
1st slip:
2nd slip:
Gully:
Point:
Cover:
Mid Off:
Mid On:
Mid Wicket/Short Leg:
Deep Square Leg.
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qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Excellent idea. I will edit this post with my answer when I think of it. Needs a lot of thinking. Mostly modern players, as I said...don't know too much about fielding skills of the older guys except from legends and folklore. 
EDITED - WITH MY FIELDING TEAM
Keeper - A tough spot. I mean, you got guys like Ian Healy, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakarra, MS Dhoni...even Rahul Dravid (note: not a keeper) did an excellent job behind the sutmps for india for years. But I would say that my keeper spot goes to Mark Boucher. You don't get 1000...and I'm giving him the thousand...international dismissals by being a slouch behind the stumps. While not the most graceful of keepers at times, he is one that few would doubt deserves this spot.
1st slip - It's actually very different from second slip. First slip is, I think, a bit tougher. You have to have an excellent relationship with your keeper on which balls he will go for and which you will go for. It's hard for a first slip to not dive for a chance, only to see the keeper grass it. But first slip stands ahead of the keeper, second slip usually stands in line with the keeper. If he dives, it puts a huge blind spot in front of the keeper. So if he dives, he had better take that catch. Plus, the unwritten rule is if the ball goes between first slip and the keeper, it's the keeper's catch. But cricket isn't that easy. If the ball goes between them and is dying...first slip has a better chance of catching it, doesn't he? That's where the understanding had to come into play. As I mentioned before, any number of men can easily slot into a slip fielding position and be called great. In my few minutes of research I've seen several who many have called "the best". But in keeping with the theme of guys I have actually seen, I would have to go with Stephen Fleming. A man with one of the best cricketing brains of all time, and an excellent fielder to boot. He would definitely have that communication with his keeper on which ones to go for and which ones to leave.
2nd slip - Oh, come on. Brian Lara. He had the safest pair of hands in the slip cordon I've seen in my time.
Gully - I would put Paul Collingwood at gully. More of a fine gully, quite backward of point if you want to call it that. But nothing would ever pass him for sure.
Point - No thinking here. Jonty Rhodes. Enough said.
Cover - AB de Villiers. As I mentioned before, the area between backward point and cover is usually filled with excellent fielders. For good reason, too. The cover drive is the epitome of an excellent shot for a batsman, and therefore cover and point (for the mistimed drive) must be well protected. The cut shot and square drive also hold very high regard, so you need an excellent backward point as well.
Mid off/mid on - It's almost the same position, with the one difference being that mid on is more likely to have a ball in their direction due to the off drive being very difficult to pull off properly and the prevalence of most batsmen to play to the on side these days. You never really see specialist mid off and mid on fielders in the modern game. In Tests it's usually a fast bowler in one of those spots, to offer advice to whoever is bowling. In the other spot it's usually a man who isn't particularly the best fielder (Daren Bravo, I'm looking at you) or the captain himself. But this is a topic about the BEST, so I'd want two guys with good, safe hands in both positions who are also accurate enough with their returns to possible effect a run out from a quick single. I'd give Mark Waugh mid on and Dwayne Bravo mid off. Both have excellent and safe hands, but since mid on would have more action, I'd give Waugh that spot as he would fire in a return to the MAN at the stumps rather than the stumps unless he has to. Bravo would immediately throw at the stumps rather than the man there. Sometimes he would hit, sometimes he won't. And when he doesn't, there will be overthrows more likely than not.
Short leg - Ricky Ponting. No doubt about that. I have never seen someone else in the modern game volunteer themselves for that spot, save for Ramnaresh Sarwan. Both men actually WANT to be right under the bat, and they're both very good at it. Why I would pick Ponting over Sarwan is that he stays down until the absolute last moment. The batsman is practically through his shot by the time Ponting decides to start coming up. Sarwan stays low for a long time himself, but he often takes evasive action too early. As I said before, Ponting isn't afraid of wearing a few bruises for his team.
Deep square leg - The guy here needs to be able to be quick across the ground and also have an excellent arm to send the ball in from the deep. He must also have a decent catching ability in the case of a miscued hook or pull. Again, you don't see very many specialist deep fielders these days, and this would be a very weird choice, but I would put Tillakaratne Dilshan at deep square leg. He is an excellent run-stopping/short fielder in his own right, but in the deep he is just as effective and he would be excellent at this spot with his safe hands and strong arm.
Next question is who is going to bowl to this field? I'd say Malcolm Marshall, but he needs about 2 more slips, another gully, a short backward square, silly point, and a batsman with no fear.
EDITED - WITH MY FIELDING TEAM
Keeper - A tough spot. I mean, you got guys like Ian Healy, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakarra, MS Dhoni...even Rahul Dravid (note: not a keeper) did an excellent job behind the sutmps for india for years. But I would say that my keeper spot goes to Mark Boucher. You don't get 1000...and I'm giving him the thousand...international dismissals by being a slouch behind the stumps. While not the most graceful of keepers at times, he is one that few would doubt deserves this spot.
1st slip - It's actually very different from second slip. First slip is, I think, a bit tougher. You have to have an excellent relationship with your keeper on which balls he will go for and which you will go for. It's hard for a first slip to not dive for a chance, only to see the keeper grass it. But first slip stands ahead of the keeper, second slip usually stands in line with the keeper. If he dives, it puts a huge blind spot in front of the keeper. So if he dives, he had better take that catch. Plus, the unwritten rule is if the ball goes between first slip and the keeper, it's the keeper's catch. But cricket isn't that easy. If the ball goes between them and is dying...first slip has a better chance of catching it, doesn't he? That's where the understanding had to come into play. As I mentioned before, any number of men can easily slot into a slip fielding position and be called great. In my few minutes of research I've seen several who many have called "the best". But in keeping with the theme of guys I have actually seen, I would have to go with Stephen Fleming. A man with one of the best cricketing brains of all time, and an excellent fielder to boot. He would definitely have that communication with his keeper on which ones to go for and which ones to leave.
2nd slip - Oh, come on. Brian Lara. He had the safest pair of hands in the slip cordon I've seen in my time.
Gully - I would put Paul Collingwood at gully. More of a fine gully, quite backward of point if you want to call it that. But nothing would ever pass him for sure.
Point - No thinking here. Jonty Rhodes. Enough said.
Cover - AB de Villiers. As I mentioned before, the area between backward point and cover is usually filled with excellent fielders. For good reason, too. The cover drive is the epitome of an excellent shot for a batsman, and therefore cover and point (for the mistimed drive) must be well protected. The cut shot and square drive also hold very high regard, so you need an excellent backward point as well.
Mid off/mid on - It's almost the same position, with the one difference being that mid on is more likely to have a ball in their direction due to the off drive being very difficult to pull off properly and the prevalence of most batsmen to play to the on side these days. You never really see specialist mid off and mid on fielders in the modern game. In Tests it's usually a fast bowler in one of those spots, to offer advice to whoever is bowling. In the other spot it's usually a man who isn't particularly the best fielder (Daren Bravo, I'm looking at you) or the captain himself. But this is a topic about the BEST, so I'd want two guys with good, safe hands in both positions who are also accurate enough with their returns to possible effect a run out from a quick single. I'd give Mark Waugh mid on and Dwayne Bravo mid off. Both have excellent and safe hands, but since mid on would have more action, I'd give Waugh that spot as he would fire in a return to the MAN at the stumps rather than the stumps unless he has to. Bravo would immediately throw at the stumps rather than the man there. Sometimes he would hit, sometimes he won't. And when he doesn't, there will be overthrows more likely than not.
Short leg - Ricky Ponting. No doubt about that. I have never seen someone else in the modern game volunteer themselves for that spot, save for Ramnaresh Sarwan. Both men actually WANT to be right under the bat, and they're both very good at it. Why I would pick Ponting over Sarwan is that he stays down until the absolute last moment. The batsman is practically through his shot by the time Ponting decides to start coming up. Sarwan stays low for a long time himself, but he often takes evasive action too early. As I said before, Ponting isn't afraid of wearing a few bruises for his team.
Deep square leg - The guy here needs to be able to be quick across the ground and also have an excellent arm to send the ball in from the deep. He must also have a decent catching ability in the case of a miscued hook or pull. Again, you don't see very many specialist deep fielders these days, and this would be a very weird choice, but I would put Tillakaratne Dilshan at deep square leg. He is an excellent run-stopping/short fielder in his own right, but in the deep he is just as effective and he would be excellent at this spot with his safe hands and strong arm.
Next question is who is going to bowl to this field? I'd say Malcolm Marshall, but he needs about 2 more slips, another gully, a short backward square, silly point, and a batsman with no fear.
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puddleduck
Chairman of Selectors
Yeah it's certainly not a definitive list of any kind. Could even stick Monty at deep square for comedy value
Picks could range from exposive ability right through to just having really safe hands.
In fact, maybe I'll change the midwicket fielder to a short-leg just to add another position that is a bit specialist.
Picks could range from exposive ability right through to just having really safe hands.
In fact, maybe I'll change the midwicket fielder to a short-leg just to add another position that is a bit specialist.
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Oh, you know Monty would be awesome ANYWHERE in the field! He's the only guy I know of who gets cheers from any crowd anywhere in the world no matter what he does. And you know us in the Caribbean, we love a spectacle. We enjoyed him playing here, even if he was ripping through our batting order. The real treat was whenever he was in the field or batting!
puddleduck
Chairman of Selectors
If you're the batting team, Monty is about the best fielder you could hope to see
puddleduck
Chairman of Selectors
I'd still rather Samit was under a catch than Monty if I was bowling.
Anyway. A good shout on Mark Waugh. Could definitely slip in at 2nd. Despite there having been a great array of superb fielders at point, Jonty Rhodes would be my frontrunner purely because as a young lad he really set a new standard in spectactular catches and awesome direct hits.
Who was fielding at short-leg for Sri Lanka against England? Paranitavana maybe? He was lightning quick to react to just about anything.
Anyway. A good shout on Mark Waugh. Could definitely slip in at 2nd. Despite there having been a great array of superb fielders at point, Jonty Rhodes would be my frontrunner purely because as a young lad he really set a new standard in spectactular catches and awesome direct hits.
Who was fielding at short-leg for Sri Lanka against England? Paranitavana maybe? He was lightning quick to react to just about anything.
StinkyBoHoon
National Board President
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Location
- Glasgow, Scotland
I'm in agreement with a lot of what qpeedore said.
I'd make a distinction between a slip fielder to pace and one to spin though. I really like kallis, stephen fleming and graeme hick as slip fielders.
to spin though i'd have to say jayawardena.
I'd make a distinction between a slip fielder to pace and one to spin though. I really like kallis, stephen fleming and graeme hick as slip fielders.
to spin though i'd have to say jayawardena.
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Agreed with that point. If a spinner is bowling I would want Jayawardena at slip. Apart from hands that seem like shovels sometimes, he also reacts superbly and he can read the bowler almost as well as the keeper.
EDIT - Off topic, but as I am forced to call Jayawardene Jayawardena, anyone remembers when they used to call the grounds Calcutta (Kolkata now) and Bombay (Mumbai) and Jayawardena was Jayawardene, Shakib was Saquibul Hasan, Muralitharan was Muralidaran, Mohammed Yousuf was Yousuf Youhana, etc? (I will not mention what we called former NZ player Nathan Astle in the Caribbean...but rest assured, it definitely rhymed with As...dot dot dot)...hle...
EDIT - Off topic, but as I am forced to call Jayawardene Jayawardena, anyone remembers when they used to call the grounds Calcutta (Kolkata now) and Bombay (Mumbai) and Jayawardena was Jayawardene, Shakib was Saquibul Hasan, Muralitharan was Muralidaran, Mohammed Yousuf was Yousuf Youhana, etc? (I will not mention what we called former NZ player Nathan Astle in the Caribbean...but rest assured, it definitely rhymed with As...dot dot dot)...hle...
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Robelinda
International Coach
Fenil
PC Cricket Leagues Legend
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
Rahul Dravid for a fantastic slip fielder in slips particularly when fielding with spinners on. So, is Mahela.
For short leg, I've a heard and read a lot about Eknath Solkar. As far as point and backward point area is concerned, I've never seen a better fielding that Jonty "Rubber Man" Rhodes of South Africa.
puddleduck
Chairman of Selectors
I would add some of the classic players in.
Maybe Botham in the slips as he used to field extremely close and had excellent hands.
Think it's fair to say Rhodes is pretty much a shoe-in.
Maybe Botham in the slips as he used to field extremely close and had excellent hands.
Think it's fair to say Rhodes is pretty much a shoe-in.
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