I was watching Chennai Super Kings beat Pune on Monday and couldn't help admiring the way the men in yellow were constantly hurling themselves across the grass to cut off potential boundaries or take mid-air catches. Even the commentators stopped going on about DLF Maximums to remark upon the excellent standard of fielding which stifled the scoring rate of Yuvraj Singh et al.
I have written before on how Twenty20 can only harm the development of young batsmen and bowlers with regard to Test cricket. However, what this format, and one-day matches before it, have undoubtedly achieved is a much higher degree of enthusiasm and tenacity when it comes to stopping a firmly struck cover drive and in one motion flinging the ball back to the stumps. Gone are the days when the only run-outs were caused by mix-ups between the batsmen.
Back in the 1970s, there may have been some great players but fielding didn't seem as important as it does now. Few fast bowlers would bust a gut to prevent the ball reaching the ropes. They might stick out a hopeful size 12 boot but to actually stoop down, let alone dive...? Leave that to the little guys! Of course there have been brilliant fielders throughout history but they tended to stand out because they were part of a very small minority. In his heyday prior to becoming a big-shouldered lugubrious statesman in the slips, Clive Lloyd was a master in the covers and deserving of the epithet, 'The Cat'. I make no comparison with Phil Tufnell's identical nickname which was more because of his tendency to nod off than any superb reflexes!
In the same era, England boasted Derek Randall. His nickname was more equine than feline, being compared with the old racehorse Arkle. The Nottinghamshire batsman was famously eccentric and full of twitchy mannerisms both at the crease and in the field. It may have contributed to his less-than-world-class career average, but he did play 47 Tests and 49 ODIs between 1976 and 1985, including the 1979 World Cup Final and the Centenary Test, fondly remembered for Randall's 174 in the teeth of some hostile bowling from Dennis Lillee. Randall wasn't a great thrower but he could simply pick up the ball on the run and swoop at great speed to beat the batsman to the crease. His energy levels and fitness enabled him to play on in Minor Counties cricket to the age of 50!
Another man who routinely saved his side 20-30 runs purely because of his fielding was South African Jonty Rhodes. In the 1990s, he was worth the entrance fee alone for his supreme patrolling of the covers or backward point. Mind you, his team weren't full of exciting batsmen but they worked hard to re-establish themselves at the forefront of world cricket, and Rhodes epitomised that work ethic. He was a reasonable number five or six, too, averaging around 35 in both Tests and ODIs, albeit scoring few centuries. He became an excellent improviser in one-dayers, one of the first to use the reverse sweep to good effect. However, it's his salmon-like flying catches and impossible stops that made Rhodes such a great character in that decade. All-round nice guy, too.
As for Suresh Raina, he doesn't look like a Derby winner and the only cat he resembles may be a cuddly tabby. Nevertheless he has established a big reputation for his fielding around the 'circle' and effortless throws to hit the stumps, even with only one to aim at. He has a very good first-class record with the bat but has mainly been selected by India for ODIs and T20 internationals where he can also contribute a few economical overs of off-breaks, too. It's hard to remember that he is only 24 and hopefully has a long future ahead of him. His first ODI came as an 18 year-old in 2005 against Sri Lanka. Unfortunately Murali got him LBW first ball but he achieved his first run-out a few hours later, achieving a direct hit from near square leg to beat Marvin Atapattu to the crease. With his often thrilling batting down the order, useful bowling and brilliant fielding, Raina is a true all-rounder and an inspiration to young players, a true descendant of the likes of Randall and Rhodes. All he needs now is an appropriate animal to which he can suitably be compared!
