Tags:
Journalism of Courage
What does one have to do to become a master fielder? There’s probably no better person to address this question to that former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes.
His answer, less spectacular than some of his gravity-defying dives, is: ‘‘It’s just that you have to love fielding. You must want the ball to come to you and not stand somewhere hoping no one hits the ball your way.’’ On a lighter note, Rhodes added, ‘‘Well, also, I suppose you should come to South Africa to train because I don’t think I would have been good if I had grown up on the hard Indian grounds.’’
In the capital to unveil the trophy to be awarded to the ICC Cricketer of the Year at a function in London on September 7, Rhodes also said ‘‘yes’’ to the chance of coaching the Indian fielders, if the offer was made to him. ‘‘It’ll be perfect,’’ he said, ‘‘because I love India and I love fielding. The trick will be to convert the non-athletes into athletes and I can bring in my wisdom.’’
Discussing the fielding philosophy that he grew up with, Rhodes said, ‘‘It was just that even a single run can make the difference between winning and losing a game. We were proved right in both the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, where we were eliminated by just one run. So the philosophy was simply to save as many runs as possible.’’
While on India and fielding, Rhodes also had a word for praise for youngsters Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif, who he said were ‘‘fantastic’’. ‘‘It’s great that Yuvraj and Kaif are such great fielders because they can then inspire youngsters coming into the game. Even Sachin (Tendulkar) is great in the outfield, and people like him can be real role models for youngsters.’’
