Fake-fielding rule is a bit harsh, feels Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes, who is widely regarded as the greatest fielder to grace the game, has opined that the fake fielding rule is a bit harsh on the fielders, stating that they, just like bowlers, should be allowed to deceive. He has stated that batsmen should be wise enough to know the ball's position.
In what has turned into one of the more controversial yet bizarre rules in modern-day cricket, the ‘fake fielding rule’ has divided opinions, with a fair few feeling that it’s necessary to preserve the spirit of the game, whilst the others arguing that it’s yet another rule that’s been devised to favour batsmen. The rule, which came into effect in 2017, all but states that should a fielder try to deceive the batsmen by a fake throw, then the fielding team shall be slapped with five penalty runs.
It has, however, bizarrely, not been taken too seriously, with the umpires letting fielders get away with the rule breach, with the most recent incident occurring in the second ODI between India and Australia. But South African legend Jonty Rhodes, who post his retirement has been working as a full-fledged fielding coach, feels that the rule is harsh on the fielders and opined that the blame must fall on the batsman if he gets deceived by the fielder.
“If a batsman is so unaware that he can’t decide if the fielder has the ball in his hand or not, then he should get run out. In that case, he should not go for the second run. I think that (fake field rule) is a bit harsh and as a fielding coach, obviously I’m biased towards the fielder (chuckles),” Rhodes answered a question posed by SportsCafe in a press conference at the Global Sports Injury Conclave in Bengaluru on Saturday.
“But I was a middle-order batsman too and running between the wickets was an important part of my game. I knew the fielders I wouldn’t take a chance to. If somebody pretends he doesn’t have the ball and I think he is a bad fielder, and he’s got to slide and pick the ball, I would take him on,” the South African legend added.
Rhodes further drew an interesting comparison, asserting that a batsman getting deceived by a fielder should be no different to him getting undone by a Lasith Malinga slower ball as in both cases, he’s been out-witted by his opponent.
“If you’re a batsman and you can’t decide if a fielder has the ball, then it’s a bit like facing Malinga. How many batsmen have you seen duck under that slower ball of his thinking it’s a beamer and get out LBW? So yeah, I think the rule is a bit harsh.”
When asked who his top three fielders in the modern game were, the 50-year-old, worked with Mumbai Indians as their fielding coach for 9 years, was quick to take the names of Kieron Pollard and Ben Stokes, but had an interesting choice for the third. The South African legend named India’s Suresh Raina as the third best fielder behind Pollard and Stokes, claiming that he was a ‘hardcore fan’ of the CSK man.
“The standard of fielding has risen so much these days. There are not many who play all three formats of the game but I think Ben Stokes, for me, stands out. In Test cricket, your primary focus is on your slip fielders. So I think he’s a great fielder because he fields in the slips in the Test matches and he’s a boundary-rider and is in the hot-spots in limited-overs matches.
“I’ve always loved Kieron Pollard. He saved many a match for us (Mumbai Indians) not just with the bat but in the field and even though Suresh Raina is not playing, I’m a hardcore fan of him. I always get ‘Oh Jaddu, he is much better, he is quicker’ but for me, it’s Raina. But make no mistake, Jadeja is deadly too.”
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