What if Jonty Rhodes had not run out Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup?

#4 South Africa wouldn’t have become a fielding super-power

Herschelle Gibbs is regarded as one of the best fielders of all time

In cricket, and indeed in any sport, kids look for heroes to get inspired from. In India, it’s the batsmen who have been inspiring generations with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli being the flag-bearers. For Pakistan, there have been legendary fast bowlers like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, who young players look up to and want to emulate.

When South Africa re-entered international cricket after their exile, there was no batsman or bowler in particular who the kids could look up to and think: “I want to be like him!” They were looking for heroes who could inspire the next generation to take up the sport, and it was this incident which gave them one. Rather than a batsman or a bowler, it was a fielder who ignited the love for the game in the hearts of young kids.

More and more youngsters would have wanted to field like Rhodes after seeing that run-out. They would have practised his flying run-out countless times in their garden and on cricket fields. Hence, this is no surprise that since the 1992 World Cup, the standard of South African fielding has never come down.

After Rhodes, they have produced outstanding fielders like Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs and more recently, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis to name prominently, and in general, their fielding unit has always been considered the best in the world.

Fielding would not have been considered as important an aspect of the game as batting and bowling are, had that run-out never taken place!