OTD| One of world’s finest fielder Jonty Rhodes was born in 1969

Jonty Rhodes, who was born on this day in 1969, has been one of the finest fielders that the game of cricket has ever seen over the years. He had lightning quick feet and wonderful reflexes that helped him change games for South Africa in the field in addition to his batting. Rhodes amazed all with his flying jump and breaking down the stumps to run-out Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Rhodes was a very methodical worker when it came to fielding practice. There are stories where Rhodes had delayed the departure of the team bus numerous times so that he could get more teams to participate in yet another round of reflex catches that would allow him to further polish and mold his fielding skills.

Rhodes was as good as a Cheetah at backward point and it was very difficult to steal any singles off him. Jonty also holds the record for taking 100 catches in ODI cricket. The right-hander was a member of the Knockout Trophy in 1998, which is the only World event that South Africa has won in its rich cricketing history.

Rhodes has also affected the ninth highest number of run outs post the 1999 World Cup. When it came to executing run-outs Rhodes had the third highest success rate. Rhodes was also a very dependable batter in the Proteas unit. He was also very famous for taking quick runs with his lightning-fast feet.

Rhodes played ODI’s from 1992 to 2003 for the Proteas, where he amassed 5935 runs at an average of 35.11 and at a strike rate of 80.90. The right-hander played a whopping 245 matches for South Africa. He scored 33 half-centuries and 2 centuries in the 50-over format.

Rhodes also has a long relationship with India. He has named his daughter India and is currently the fielding coach of the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League. The South African has also served as fielding coaches for other IPL sides as well. There was a video of him aired on Star Sports where he was surfing with Matthew Hayden in Chennai.