10 great cricketers who were terrible fielders

'Cricket has seen its fair share of decidedly below average to poor fielders in international cricket over the years.

Over the years, many of the most gifted cricketers in the world have been found wanting when it comes to the discipline of fielding. Had it not been for their considerable prowess in one or more disciplines of the game, they would not have been able to make it. Here is a look at 10 of them. (video added wherever available)

10 Sourav Ganguly

Former Indian captain and one of the world's leading one day opening batsman in his day, Sourav Ganguly, may have won many games for his team but as far as fielding was concerned he was a bit of a liability.

Ganguly wasn't that bad a catcher and in fact, grew to be a pretty safe catcher as time went by but he was an extremely slow mover in the field and cost the team runs in almost every game.

His diving was awkward and he did not attempt that too often, while his attempts to chase shots to the boundary were almost always unsuccessful.

He was a perilious catcher during the early years of his career as well, but he gradually improved.

9 Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga

If one is asked to name a few bowlers, who have redefined death bowling in limited overs cricket then Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga will figure somewhere near the top of such a list.

He has been instrumental in Sri Lanka's success over the past decade or so but when it comes to fielding, he has often been found to be an erratic and unpredictable fielder, much like his bowling.

Malinga is quite quick and he can dive as well when he so wishes but his catching often leaves a lot to be desired.

Obviously, he does not drop catches in every game but quite often his positioning or judgement of the trajectory of the ball is found wanting and had it not been for his immense abilities as a bowler, he would not have played international cricket for this long.

8 Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar

One of Pakistan's greatest modern bowlers and the fastest bowler in the world during his peak was not always much of an asset on the field.

Akhtar wasn't a bad athlete by any stretch of the imagination, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to fashion that legendary run up that generated all that pace.

However, on the field, he did not always seem to be up for it when it came to chasing down fours or running a lot to cut down runs. In the process, he became a liability for Pakistan, at a time when fielding standards all over the world were improving at a frightening pace.

7 Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath

For a period stretching over more than a decade, Javagal Srinath was one of the world's better fast bowlers and India's pace spearhead. There is no doubt that he is one of India's greatest fast bowlers and at the same time, probably one of the poorer fielders that the team had to accommodate in its recent history.

Srinath, like most fast bowlers, fielded at third man or long leg and while he was a safe catcher, it was his ability to cover ground that left a lot to be desired.

Following his shoulder injury, he had to alter his throwing technique and that made his throws from the deep a loopy one. Batsmen often ran twos when the ball went to him in the deep.

6 Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel

South Africans are generally known for being excellent fielders, however, their 6 feet 5 fast bowler Morne Morkel is a notable exception to the rule.

Over the years, he has been one of the best fast bowlers in the world but as a fielder, he has been a liability for the side for quite some time. Morkel is not a swift mover by any stretch and in addition to that, owing to his towering frame it is often tough for him to get down quickly.

That often leads to South Africa conceding unnecessary runs and last but not the least, he is not always a reliable catcher either. He often makes simple catches look difficult and that is often the attribute of a poor fielder.

5 Glenn McGrath

Glenn McGrath

With a tally of 563 Test wickets and 381 one day international wickets, Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath is one of the greatest to have ever played the game. However, in all other attributes of the game, he was a complete liability.

McGrath's batting was strictly that of a tailender while his fielding was another thorn in the flesh for the Australian team.

He was the worst fielder in the Australian side of his time, and one of his biggest failings was perhaps his inability to cover ground while fielding at the deep. Although he was a reliable catcher, there was not much else to be praised about his fielding.

4 Arjuna Ranatunga

Arjuna Ranatunga

Former Sri Lankan captain and without a doubt, one of their most influential players ever, took the cricket team to new heights and is still regarded as an iconic cricketer.

However, the portly Arjuna Ranatunga often found it difficult to excel on the field to the same degree that he did as a captain or batsman.

Ranatunga was not a particularly disastrous fielder and in fact, he was a pretty safe catcher but he was often found wanting when a piece of fielding was dependent on movement or running. In the same vein, Ranatunga was also a notable run out candidate throughout his cricket career.

3 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin

India's off-spinning ace is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest spinners to have ever represented the country and his prowess as a batsman had also seen him climb to the top of the ICC rankings for Test all-rounders.

Despite his obvious excellence as a cricketer, it is perhaps his fielding that weighs him down a bit and at a time when global fielding standards are higher than ever before, Ashwin's struggles as a fielder stand out.

Ashwin is quite slow when he is supposed to move quickly and chasing balls heading for the boundary is often a struggle for him. On the other hand, he might know how to dive but his diving technique is often found to be thoroughly ineffective. That said, he is a safe catcher and hardly ever drops anything.

2 Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Before his bowling action practically ended his career in international cricket, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was perhaps the best spinner in the world and on his way to becoming one of Pakistan's greats.

As a fielder though, he was often comically bad and had it not been for his superlative skills as a bowler, he would have found himself out of the team immediately.

Ajmal couldn't run fast, nor could he be relied upon to stop everything that came his way and last but not the least, most team-mates held their breath whenever he found himself underneath a catch. That said, his excellence as a bowler completely overshadowed his shortcomings as a fielder.

1 Inzamam-ul-Haq

Former Pakistan great Inzamam-ul-Haq will go down in history as one of his nation's finest batsmen and in fact, he was among the best in the world during his career.

However, when it came to anything remotely to do with athleticism or hard running, Inzamam was often found wanting and it was not only restricted to his running between the wickets.

As a fielder, he was never really in any mood to exert himself in any way and while he was a safe catcher, bowlers could never depend on him to make an extra effort to stop shots that went either side of him.

Had he not been such a high-class batsmen, it is unlikely that his comical fielding would have been tolerated.