Good list you forgot the best of the lot though, Colin Bland

best forwardshortleg fielder is late eknath solker.

Most likely to score a direct hit: Ricky Ponting

remember phil sharp yorkshire and england 1st slip was picked for a test match for his catshing ability this was during the days when the main criterion to play for england were played for middlesex,surrey,eton,harrow in any particular order

Fantastic suggestions. The next step would be to devise an array of statistics to measure what we think we know. For example, using video and computer technology, show us which keeper has the greatest range (defined as, for argument's sake, the distance to his left and right at which he takes at least 50% of chances).

The glory of cricket isn't merely its statistical richness, nor is it the scope of debate it allows. Its the combinations: being able to marshal statistical evidence to demonstrate that Jonty Rhodes is a better fielder at his position than Andrew Symonds is at his position is a great way to spend an afternoon on the embankment watching a test match.

While David Boon was very good , Eknath Solkar deserves to be the best fielder of all time at short leg.In fact Tony Greig on one of his podcasts on cricinfo mentioned this as well. His Wisden obituary is at http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/34085.html

I am sure you could obtain some archive video tapes and watch him in action.

Hey Rob
You obviously didnt watch Colin Bland of what was then Rhodesia.
He could throw down the stumps from any angle ...ask ken Barrington and Jim Parks.I am afraid you have to drop Derrick Randall and include Bland who was miles ahead of him in the covers...by the way ask John reid what happened to him.
Stanley Perlman Tel Aviv

As regards baseball, not only do they have stats for every position, but the batters are picked *specifically* for thier fielding positions!. So while in cricket the selectors might say 'we need to find another opener' or 'we need someone that can bat in the lower order', in baseball its 'We need a better 3rd baseman', and, as long as they are technically good enough with the bat, their actual batting ability is secondary to thier ability in that specific position!

As for cricket stats, id like to see 'run out fielder' and 'run out wickets' be standardised and credited to the fielder in all scorecards, like 'caught' and 'stumped' are now. RoF is whoever fields the ball and throws it in, RoW is whoever stands at the wickets (usually the bowler or keeper), collects the throw and takes out the wickets. With a direct hit only RoF would be credited, with a throw to bowler/keeper RoF *and* RoW would be credited. Some scorers do this already, in the form 'Warne run out (Vaughan|Prior)'

Roger Harper as all-rounder is as good a selection as could be made although Clive Lloyd was probably equally as brilliant as an all-round fieldsman.

I always thought stats for fielders would be a good idea. You could use Basket Balls stat for assist, when it comes to run outs direct hit stat and assist stat. (most likely bowler or keeper) it would probably have to be per innings and it maybe useful info for batsmen esp. in the 20/20 format.

Why don't we start by keeping track of the number of runouts each player has effected!?

Why can't we do that?

I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE RICK DARLING AND KEITH ATERTURTON FOR FASTEST OUT FIELDER.

I would nominate Eknath Solkar for short-leg position.

Best catcher off his own bowling - Chris Harris

Jeff, the main reason baseball teams look for fielding positions is that in baseball, the lineup is more flexible (who is batting first in a given innings changes) while the field placings are relatively set; in cricket, the reverse is true, pinch-hitters and nightwatchmen notwithstanding.
And teams still frequently look for, say, someone who can bat leadoff or fourth, as long as they are good enough in the field.

I would definitely like to see more fielding stats, though - not just wickets, but overthrows and runs conceded through misfields would be interesting statistics to have, if you could compile them.

I'd have Azhar in there. He was a great catcher and all-round fields man.

One way in which ODIs and 20/20 may have actually led to deterioration in fielding stds- backups close-in don't exist. A Carmody field to a spinner on a turner or 4 slips, short leg, gully to a quick on a greentop. Earlier test teams had specialists, nowadays this would be makeshift.
You have few decent third slips (even 2nds) in tests and while you may find a good short-leg, you'll rarely find two.
Examples : slip cordon 1)Mark Waugh, 2)Mark Taylor, 3) Warne versus 1) IM Chappell, 2) GS Chappell 3)Stackpole or the Windies slips of the 1980s versus now. Fine first and second slips but third doesn't match up.
Similarly Solkar, Abid Ali backed the great Indian spinners (Venkat also did well at Backward SL if he was playing); I don't think the Lankan leg-traps to Murli compare.
So, Rob - your contention is not quite "incontrovertible" though of course, limited overs has led to immense all round improvement in fielding stds.

List is good..... But probably missing Shahid Afridi as an allround fieldsman.

Roshan Mahanama was pretty good and how about H. Gibbs?

Obviously, the writer never heard of or saw Joe Solomon or Clive Lloyd fielding in the covers

what about the fielding of AB de Villiers? he is like jonty rhodes all over again.

I thought I was the only one who found Prasanna Jayawardene a superb keeper. I have kept this opinion to myself lest someone accuse me of nationalism. The little guy is a huge bonus to SL cricket because he lets Sanga bat.

Back to the topic, all the ideas above are superb. People are already keeping track of who hits the stumps so why not have an award.

Instead of lazily writing columns (just kidding), Cricinfo should sponsor these kind of innovations (not kidding, how much can a hall of fame trophy room cost?).

How about First Man To Chance Anything, Ever, To: Kamran Akmal/ Monty Panesar :)

best man to make a simple catch look beautiful: Yuvraj singh

Its a pretty - very - biased list don't you thhink.

Kudos to Rob for broaching this interesting & important topic. Mark Taylor (Slip), Venkataraghavan (Gully), Yuvraj Singh (all round/backward point), Ricky Ponting (all round), Gus Logie (Cover), Viv Richards (all round), Shane Warne (Slip) are the other names that come to mind.

Some great fielders got the miss. Maybe the author of the article was not born then!I mean Colin Bland, Pataudi,Neil Harvey & Norm O'neill in the covers;Eknath Solkar & Tony Lock in short leg;Keith Miller, Bob Simpson & Greg Chappell in the slip; Alan Davidson & Ritchie Benaud in the gully;Viv Richards (all round fielder)have not been considered!Surely some of these were better than Garner & Boon!

When I was a youngster,my late Dad would take me to watch Colin Bland practising his fielding.Just a single stump,which he would aim at for hours
every day.Back in the late 1950's/early 1960's,he
set the standards for the future generations of
cricketers.Colin was also a superb batsman,as his
21 Test Match career indicates.

I think Yuvraj, Symonds,AB devilliars,TM dilshan, Bravo, Collingwood, Afridi, Lou Vincent, B.Taylor, Aftab are the best fielders for their respective countries now. In the past Azhar,M.Waugh,Rhodes,U.chandana,V.Richards, D.cower,I.Ahamed,Chris Harris,A.Campell,A.Islam were the best fielders for their respective countries.

Couldn't agree more.

Part of the reason why baseball has such high fielding standards is because of the record-keeping that is attached to it - standards and benchmarks are set and it allows others to aspire to and raise such benchmarks. John Buchanan recognized this. I believe it's time coaches the world over did as well. Perhaps the ICC can give some impetus by devising a statistical framework for judging fielders (instead of something as obvious as "Number of Catches").

To the topic at hand...

Slip: Mark Taylor
Gully: Matt Hayden
Leg-slip: I believe this position is a bit outdated with modern day fielding/bowling restrictions. At any rate, I can’t recall anyone who specializes in this position save for Sanath Jayasuriya
Short-leg: Hashan Thilakeratne
Cover: Roshan Mahanama
Backward Point: Jonty Rhodes
Midwicket: Ricky Ponting
Outfielder/All-rounder: Andrew Symonds

This is hard coming from an Aussie...Colin Bland of South Africa was without doubt the best ever!!!

I think there should be a special category for fast bowler fielders ? I would nominate England's James Anderson for the most enthusiastic fast bowling outfielder

What about the best outfielder arm - probably a fast bowler like Craig McDermott.

Roger Harper is undoubtedly the best allround fieldsman I have ever seen. The West Indies used to name him as 12th man just so he could sub field for a fast bowler.

Who in world cricket (excluding wicketkeepers) has the best catch/dropped catch ratio?

I fear you have left of Gibbs of South Africa. Okay so he dropped Steve Waugh... but as for Symonds... I think I'd still pick Gibbs first. (for the record, I'd rather have symonds in my batting/bowling lineup)

Excellent ideas. It should have started in 1992 with Jontys diving run out of Inzy. It should not only include catches and run outs, but outstanding fielding in general.

I seem to recall in the 2003 world cup in SA, there were stats shown as to how many runs each fielder saved with a dramatic dive or some fancy footwork on the boundary rope. At the end of the day I think Jonty just pipped Ricky Ponting in number of runs saved.

What about changing man of the match to individual fielder, batsman and bowler. This would eliminate the pressure to always pick someone from the winning team.

Can't believe Collingwood doesn't get a mention. over the course of his career he has consistantly taken great catches at backward point and slip, stopped a load of runs and has lifted the team with his athletism

Somehow I feel Brian McMillian should come up somewhere in the list..

I was fortunate enough to see both Clive Lloyd and Colin Bland patrolling the covers. Derek Randall comes no better than third behind these two.

Ravi, you are a goose! Can't you accept the author's list on its' merits for what it is. He stated it was a list of players that he has seen play. Why do you have to claim racism? It wouldn't surprise me if you turned out to be one of the most racist people on the planet.

I am getting so sick of reading rubbish claims like yours when authors write of their own experiences, thoughts or feelings on a topic. How would you feel if you, given your personal experience and preference, provided a list of names belonging to sub-continent players, had someone with a caucasian name, claim your list was racist?

I would consider Mohammed Azharuddin a Better All-round fielder than Roger Harper. Come on, guys, second me on this.

Neil Johnson never put anything down at 1stslip.Shane Warne , Nasser Hussien,Mark Waugh gee there's a hugh list of guys here

ppl seem to have forgotten jonty rhodes, by whom fielding became a priority in one day games n teams later bucked up to do well in games

best ball stopper yuvraj singh

The list & concept is interesting. However, I see a limitation in the strategy, which probably is why powers that be in cricket have not seen fit to implement something like this in over 100 years - how would you realistically compare the fielding / wicket keeping abilities of say Kenyans Vs Australians OR even Pakistanis ? The Australian & Pakistani bowling attacks would create opportunities for the fielders that Kenyans probably would not.

For those questioning Boonie's credentials, take a look at the catch that completed Warne's hattrick in 93 (or 94)..for such a chubby guy that was fabulous...and this wasnt a one off.. he often pulled off stunners like these.

jayasuriya at 45...shane thomson's blinder against PAK in 1996 WC...adam bacher's running catch at boundary to sent sachin back...

Excellent suggestion Mr. Steen, now how do we see it through? Is there an online petition we can all sign? Fieldsmen are imperative towards the success of any team if the old adage 'cathes win matches' is to be believed, so why is'nt there a better recognition system in place for fieldsmen?

Though I never want cricket to become as stats obsessed as baseball, it's only fair that we encourage great plays on the field. I propose annual awards for the best catch, run out and save. I propose a point system for each run out and catch, culminating in an ICC Best Fieldsman Award. All in favour say Aye.

Abdul: Did you say 'D. Cower'? Wonderful! (or was that just a freudian slip?)

Well, nice list, yes; but I beg to differ with the best "all-round-fieldsman". Great fielders should be able to excel in all positions, or at least, thats what you'd expect; saying this, I'm sure you'd have watched M.Waugh field at short-mid in India. The blinder he took (off a full-blooded pull)in that final Chennai test in that epic 2000-01 series to dismiss, yes, none other than VVS, almost handed Aus the match (& the series). And in the outfield? I once saw Junior fielding in the deep in a Test due to an injured finger; and he took a steepling skier....one-handed!! effortlessly as ever! Mark Edward Waugh. Daylight. Then the rest

I agree with you Easwar
Junior is the best allround fielder ever

You are all daft!
Eddie Hemmings & Phil Tuffnel are the greatest fieldsmen ever.
Special to Dwayne Leverock of Barbados.
Another special mention to the WI fast bowler who got "sent off" by either Richards or Lloyd for repeated misfields, (I think it was Winston Davis).

Thanks Sunil, and I actually forgot to mention a point abt Jun: Remember that during Taylor's days, it was Taylor himself who stood at slip when Warne bowled. and so who was at silly mid-off? yup, Mark Waugh!! Thats a good 6-7 years of silly mid-offing!! and it just faded away from people's memory b'cos of Jun's exploits at slip; but I still vividly remember that amazing run-out of Sidhu (again at Chennai) in '98, incredible reflexes from Jun as Sidhu darted down the pitch, missed, ball rolled off his pad....and before you could blink, he was run-out!! For all those who thought Junior didnt field close-in in FRONT of the wicket. Cheers Sunil!!

Thank you for a sensible opinion, Andy G. But you missed Devon Malcolm. I remember him picking up for a throw from the deep and the ball slipping out of the back of his hand as he attempted the throw. He had to run back for it, then he dropped it again. He should have just chucked it over the boundary, that way he'd have saved a run.

It is shocking not to see Eknath Solkar in the list. He was/is/will be by far the greatest short leg fielder ever!
I guess Herschelle Gibbs, Chris Lewis, AB DeVilliers, Derek Crookes, Chris Harris all deserved to be in that list.

If these awards get set up there ought to be one for the comedy cock-up of the year.

After all, what use are awards if you can't have a good laugh?

I wonder if Chris Harris had played for a slightly more successful or glamorous side. Or even played the amount of tests his ability surely should have allowed whether he would be rightly rated with his contemporaries like Rhodes M waugh or Andrew Symonds today.

Surprised that Eknath Solkar and Graham Roope did not make it to the list. The latter, to the best of my knowledge, was one of the few cricketers who got in just because of their fielding. Haven't seen Clive Lloyd in his glory days or Colin Bland but Azhar would have given Arkles a good run for the money

You need some more fast bowlers to make up a balanced side. Can think of quite a few English ones who shone as fielders - Ian Botham, Mike Hendrick, Fred Trueman, Chris Lewis, Phil deFreitas. Other ideas?

Another stat kept in baseball is errors. This affects not only the fielder's stats, but also the pitcher at the time of the error. A bit technical, but errors may produce something called 'unearned runs'--pitchers are judged (among many other things) on their 'ERA' or 'earned run average'.

Agree with those praising MEW's fielding. The most important piece of fielding he ever did though is hardly mentioned. WC 99, he stopped a hard straight drive from Klusner and flicked it off the side of his hand to Fleming who rolled it to Gilchrist....and kept the dream alive.

I'm a bit young to remember Derek Randall but I always thought Border was a good cover fielder (or at midwicket) because he was ambidextrous. I remember him effecting runouts with some amazing right-handed direct hits. Keeping with the Australian theme, I'd give the award for best throw from the outfield to Craig McDermott, and best outfielding in one-day cricket (not Tests) to Dean Jones. Am I the only one who thinks Dean Jones was a great fieldsman, up there with Jonty, Junior and Roy?
William Elliott, if you want fast bowlers in your list what about Joel Garner? The number of catches he took at square leg, and if it had been anyone else standing there it would have been four runs.

One of my observations from watching Jhonty Rhodes and the rest is that, Jhonty collects the ball nine out of ten times where as the rest merely manage to stop it. And while doing this he aligns his body to take aim and throw the ball at the stumps, which made him more dangerous and effective fielder. His recovery time from a dive was the least in comparison to any list of players.

One last award - Most likely to make an exaggerated dive and then watch the ball roll by slowly in front of his outstretched fingers - Javagal Srinath.

Some of ur words in this blog is over imagination and some is bringing laugh, though it has some good points too. But whatever it is AUSSIES LOST THEIR CREDIT due to their activities in sydney. Aussies will be remembered for their UNFAIR ONLY MORE THAN THIER WIN IN SYDNEY.

I would like to suggest the name of Gus Logi at Gully of West Indies. He is the only cricketer of world cricket who has got Man of the Match for his fielding. In the match he didnt batted or bowled.