FIELDING

South African Jonty Rhodes makes fielding a joy to watch - and makes it look very easy! If you'd like to enjoy your time in the field just as much as Jonty and make more of an impact, then take a look his tips from the MCC Masterclass.

I am often complimented on my agility. This is something I owe to my parents because I have short legs, I am quite stocky, and as a result have a low centre of gravity. I find it more natural than many others to sprint in the covers and make swooping pick-ups. It is easier for me to make a fast pick-up or a diving stop than it is for someone who is six-foot tall.

So learn your fielding skills from the start. In fact, my advice to every young cricketer is to take all three departments of cricket seriously - batting, bowling and fielding - but remember this: scoring a century or taking six wickets in an innings is not such a major contribution to the team if you also drop an early catch off a batsman who goes on to make a century for the other side.

Watch the best fielders and follow their example. Remember that you are part of a team effort. What you do in the field affects 10 other players. Practise fielding, be fit and, in the match, concentrate on every ball.

Stopping the ball and the dive-stop

As the bowler bowls, move forward in order to get your body into a position where you can move quickly in any direction.

My Test cricket began in the 1990s and so I am aware that the main recent changes in the game's skills are in fielding. The one-day competitions in national and international cricket have highlighted the importance of catching, throwing and run-saving.

It is not much help to your side, however, if you dive badly and miss the ball or fumble it. Then you are on the ground taking more time to scramble into a throwing position than if you had simply stopped the ball with your boot.

As the word 'dive' suggests, the fielder throws himself head first to stop the ball. When the ball is travelling quickly over the ground it is essential that the fielder dives early. In effect you do this once you have decided you cannot reach the ball on your feet. You are diving into the line or as near to it as possible. Your hand may well be outstretched.

Throw yourself forward along the ground and make sure that you stop the ball. It does not matter that you cannot grasp it in the hand so long as you have scooped it away from the boundary.

Many fielders dive past the ball or over it. Many get down to ground level too late. So work out the line which the ball is travelling and launch yourself early. You will also have to work out your own physical possibilities, but concentrate on stopping the ball with one hand and getting to your feet into a throwing position as soon as possible.

It is dirty work for the white flannels but only constant practice will give you the perfect timing.

The sliding stop

The sliding stop is rather like a sliding tackle in football. It is excellent for stopping balls close to the boundary, for compared with the more traditional method of stopping the ball with the hand, running past it, turning, collecting it and throwing it in, it saves so much time.

As you approach the line of the ball throw your legs forward and to the right of the ball with the left leg bent underneath the right leg at about 90 degrees. The right leg, the leading leg, is straight.

You will be sliding towards the ball and facing it. You can either knock it back or pick it up. As soon as the handiwork is complete you should push up on the right foot. You are now ready to throw the ball.

If the ball is approaching on your left side then it is the right leg which doubles up under the outstretched left one. Be sure that you are facing the ball and be certain to stop it.

Basic pick-up and throw

Let us imagine that you are fielding away from the wicket. Ideally you have speed over the ground and a powerful and accurate throw.

You are standing exactly where the captain has positioned you. Nothing approximate will do. Mark the spot with your spikes on the outfield if you are uncertain. As the ball is bowled, move in so that, if you have to field the ball, you get a moving start, not a standing start.

How fast should you walk in? Colin Bland always wanted to be stationary as the batsman played his stroke so that he did not commit himself to move in a wrong direction. Also he wanted to push off - a firm base which made it easier to turn.

Derek Randall, one of the finest England fielders, used to move in at high speed with hops and skips and jumps: the live-wire approach.

Certainly it pays to have both feet on the ground at the moment the ball is played and, ideally, you are moving but not so quickly that you have to pull up and turn with difficulty when the ball goes behind you. I suggest that you move in, keeping your weight moving forward, legs slightly bent and hands forward ready to turn you into a sprinter or a stopper.

The ball should be approached so that it is slightly to the right side of the right-handed fielder and the reverse for the left-hander. As your head moves downwards towards the ball you lower your hands early, and open the palms, fingers down. The ball should roll or bounce into the hands which are kept together to form a cup.

Similarly with the one-handed pick-up which, naturally, has its risks at high speed, but in the interests of a run-out, the faster you can perform the pick-up and throw the better.
If you want simply to stop the ball, however, then fall back on what is known as 'The Long Barrier'. As soon as you have established the line of the ball, and before it reaches you, adopt a position with the left knee and lower left leg along the ground at right angles to the ball, with the right foot extending this defensive barrier by being placed next to the left knee.

Throwing

For run-outs from my favourite cover-point and point positions I often throw underarm at the stumps. The same is possible to all fielders who are positioned to save the singles.

I look for power from a cocked wrist and a fast forward swing of the arm. I aggressively release the ball towards the stumps with a straight arm, with the heel of the hand directed at the target, to keep the ball low, and plenty of follow-through.

From shorter distances, and for sheer speed, I throw from below the shoulder. I am looking for a run-out. I do not draw back the throwing arm too far but use plenty of strong wrist work.

For throws over longer distances, when I want to be accurate and to land the ball in the wicketkeeper's gloves without him having to chase around for it, I throw over the shoulder with a vertical arm.

Catching

The secret of catching is to get yourself into a good position. Footwork is the key to that and plays a vital part before the hands come into operation.

The hand position is one of personal preference, but my own is to position myself right beneath the ball wherever possible and reverse the hands to make a baseball style catch. The fingers still point upwards but the thumbs are touching.