While big totals may be the first thing that comes to mind when one says the phrase ‘modern cricket’ another mutation the game has gone through in the past decade has been an elevation in fielding standards. The advent of sports science and parameters like the yo-yo test has made players leaner and fitter. Naturally there are more fielders capable of chasing down a ball racing away to the boundary and managing a direct hit from the ropes than arguably at any point in the history of the game.
Judging by the way bowlers have been hit to all corners ofthe park in recent ODI matches played in England, teams will need considerablehelp from the fielders come the World Cup that starts on May 30. IANS takes alook at the top five fielders who could turn out to be the difference for theirsides.
RAVINDRA JADEJA (INDIA)
If only your wrist spins were like Yuzvendra Chahal orKuldeep Yadav, must be what Indian captain Virat Kohli thinks every time Jadejadoes something extraordinary on the field. Jadeja may have lost his guaranteedplace in India’s limited overs line up to the spinners but there is really nomatch for him on the field. And that’s exactly what must have come in hisfavour when the selector’s picked him in India’s World Cup squad. Pulling offextraordinary diving catches, putting pressure on the batsmen by not allowinganything to go past him, effecting seemingly impossible run outs withgun-throws, ‘Sir Jadeja’ will be a player to keep an eye on.
DAVID WARNER (AUSTRALIA)
‘The Reverend’ showed in the Indian Premier League that heremains fitter than ever and it was confirmed by Australian coach JustinLanger. Australia has a proud tradition of great fielders and Warner isarguably the best of the current lot, despite the presence of the likes ofcaptain Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell. It only shows how dangerous thedefending champions will be when opposition tries to sneak in that extra run.
BEN STOKES (ENGLAND)
In the years since England’s disastrous 2015 World Cupcampaign, Ben Stokes has emerged as their best player. Although his form withthe bat has been on the wane, he is one of those rare pacers who are just ascompetent in the field. A cursory Youtube search would tell you that Stokes iscapable of pulling off the odd stunner and is viciously accurate with histhrows. That England have an explosive batting line-up is now generalknowledge. Add to it the fact that Stokes is only one of the many good fieldersthey have and it becomes hard to argue against the hosts being the outrightfavourites to win the tournament.
FAF DU PLESSIS (SOUTH AFRICA)
Jonty Rhodes and AB de Villiers are names that spring tomind when one thinks of great South African fielders. Faf du Plessis has flownunder the radar, but any Chennai Super Kings fan would tell you that when theball is running to where he is standing, it is advisable not to take a riskysingle. Dhoni has deployed the Proteas skipper on the ropes on many occasionsin the recently concluded Indian Premier League but in the World Cup, he willbe expected to be standing closer in so as to marshall his troops better.Batsmen will be weary of him diving and flying about.
ANDRE RUSSELL (WEST INDIES) If he picks up where he left off at the IPL, this could very well turn out to be the summer of ‘Dre Russ’. His big hits overshadow almost anything else that happens in a match and so one could be forgiven for not noticing that Russell is a very useful medium pacer and a gun fielder. He has pulled off some extraordinary efforts while playing for West Indies in big tournaments, the most recent being when he effected the run out of Hashim Amla in the 2016 World T20 with a nearly blind throw from covers that landed perfectly in the wicketkeeper’s gloves. IANS