OTD | Former South Africa player and legendary fielder Jonty Rhodes was born in 1969

The South African team might have been unlucky when it comes to ICC tournaments, but that does not mean that they have not had some great players in their team at all. There is always one great batter or bowler who is regarded as a great cricketer, but we should not forget how fielding helps the team as well. Catches, runouts and stops also prove to be impactful during a cricket match and this time we will be discussing the master of all these skills in the game.

The player that we will be talking about is none other Jonty Rhodes, who no doubt was a great attacking middle order batter for South Africa with over 8000 runs and close to 300 international matches, but was mostly known for his incredible fielding in the deep. Rhodes could field at any position and was enough to stop the flow of runs with his great agility and unbelievable efforts in the field. This has officially made him a legend in the game of cricket.

First South African to take 100 ODI catches

There were instances where Jonty Rhodes was not as consistent with the bat at all, however, his efforts and resilience in the field was enough for the Proteas to back him throughout. Rhodes was capable of stopping the flow of runs and taking blinders out of nowhere. Doing this made him the first South African cricketer to get to a 100 catches in ODI cricket. This accomplishment currently puts him up as one of the greatest fielders to ever grace the field.

There are many one handed blinders he has taken and who can forget that run out where he literally threw himself to run out Inzamam ul Haq. This is what made him a legend in the game. Even after retirement Rhodes is still in limelight as he has been the first choice fielding coaches for various franchises and international teams as well. He is still regarded as one of the legendary cricketers from the rainbow nation and will always be a renowned figure in the game of cricket.