One-day cricket has taken level of fielding to a different plane

Geoff Boycott, the former England opener maintained that fielding is one area where anyone can improve at any point in one's career. The popularity and the frequency of one-day cricket require every cricketer to contribute on the field. Gone are the days when proficiency in one department was good enough to guarantee a place in the side. Any keen follower of the game will agree that one-day cricket has taken the level of fielding to a different plane altogether. In order to be a top class fielder at international level one basically needs to enjoy fielding besides fitness, athleticism and anticipation. Some outstanding fielders tend to specialise after analysing their own strengths and weaknesses. Let me explain by picking three extremely brilliant fielders who specialised at various positions.

Jonty Rhodes, the South African revolutionised the cricketing World with his outstanding athleticism and anticipation fielding at cover point. His superlative efforts on the field made everyone sit up and notice to what extent a cricketer could excel as a fielder. He won a few "man of the match" awards for his top-class fielding performances. During the Indian tour to South Africa in 1992-93 there was a lot of criticism about the Indian batsman failing to come to terms with the South African pace attack. Let me point out that it was Rhodes who made life miserable by stopping singles and fierce shots as well. As a result the batsmen were unable to rotate strike which enabled the bowlers to plan the dismissals. Rhodes was remarkably quick off the blocks and his balance was something incredible. I have not seen many regain their balance as quickly as Rhodes did after flinging himself across the turf.

Kapil Dev was another superb fielder who once again was a natural athlete. While Rhodes excelled just in one particular position, Kapil Dev was an all-round fielder. He was deceptively quick in the outfield and he was a superb close-in catcher to boot. For reasons known to him, he opted to field out in the deep for most part of his career. In fact Kapil Dev had a much better throw than most in the circuit during his time. He would throw hard and flat from the line and that coupled with the number of overs he bowled, it is amazing that Kapil Dev never ever complained about any shoulder problem. It was not a surprise that Kapil Dev insisted on every cricketer work very hard on his fielding during his tenure as captain. The catch he took to dismiss Vivian Richards in the 1983 World Cup final would give more than a fair indication of Dev's fitness, co-ordination, athleticism and catching technique.

Mark Waugh, the stylish Australian has excelled as a slip catcher in recent years. There were times when his catching ability has saved him from being dropped from the Australian side. He makes slip catching look the easiest of jobs in the World. There is a lot to be learnt from Waugh by watching him keenly. He is always relaxed and comfortable which results in him being highly successful. The moment even a bit of tension creeps in, there is every chance of grabbing the ball rather than pouching it safely. Though Waugh does not crouch in the slips as advised in the coaching manuals he ensures that he is well balanced all through. That is the main reason why he has taken catches on pitches with varying bounce across the world.