It helps to be `Jaunty' Rhodes

The uncertainties of the game not withstanding, it was a strange sight at the Wanderers on Friday to see the South African side being shoddy on the field. They are generally a fantastic fielding unit what with the likes of Rhodes, Gibbs, Kallis ever present to stifle the batsmen with their superb fielding.

If Sachin Tendulkar caught the imagination of the World with his batting talent in the early nineties, one Jonty Rhodes made the entire World sit up and take notice with his acrobatic fielding.

It is only natural that Rhodes is as revered in South Africa as Sachin Tendulkar is in India. Both are almost of the same age and are considered role models for youngsters at least in their respective countries if not the whole world.

Rhodes made his presence felt in a telling manner in the first World Cup, South Africa played on their return to official international cricket. Seeing him on television was one thing but taking him on the field was another thing altogether.

The Indians toured South Africa in 1992 and it was at that time everyone watched Rhodes with unabashed surprise and admiration. We were all aware that Rhodes was athletic, agile and could knock down the stumps more often than not with a direct hit.

He exhibited his speed in one incident which left all of us shaking our heads in disbelief. He was fielding at his customary position at cover point. I can't remember who the batsman was, but the ball was played along the ground on the on-side. What happened next was to be seen to be believed. There was Rhodes sprinting from cover point down to long on and he beat Andrew Hudson who chased from short leg by a few yards and stopped the ball inches from the ropes! It was only appropriate then that Rhodes was involved in the first decision to be made by the third umpire in international cricket.

It is impossible for Rhodes to be still and he is always on the move and his energy levels are incredible. But it has to be said that Rhodes is brilliant on the field due to his hard work over the years.

He reckons that Colin Bland was the one who inspired him the most and yet today he has left a lot of people wondering if it is possible for anyone to be as good as him on the field. Such is his modesty though that he does not rate himself as the best fielder in World cricket as a result of his inability to field close-in. Thank God for that! He is troublesome enough at cover point for batsmen round the World and I am sure no batsman would want him to specialize in close-in catching.

His fielding is a major attraction for the spectators. But I assure you most definitely not for the batsmen! The pressure that he builds up on the men in the middle is enormous. There is hardly any opportunity for the batsmen to rotate strike as he is up in a flash preventing singles. His work on the field is of tremendous help to the quicker bowlers as they get to bowl at a particular batsman for a reasonable amount of time. Over the years he has had to combat with quite a few problems but it is a reflection on the man that he has overcome every obstacle and has played for his country.

At this point of his career, he has decided to just play in the shorter version of the game and quite obviously the South Africans are glad to have him back on the field. There was some talk in South Africa that Herschelle Gibbs might one day be talked more about than Jonty Rhodes. All I can say is that even though Gibbs has proved himself to be an outstanding fielder in his own right, there can only be one Jonty Rhodes.