Fielding is a very important part of modern day cricket. Gone are those days where players could retain their spots in the playing XI solely on their batting or bowling skills. Now you must be able to contribute in the field.
If you are slow, you might actually lose your spot to someone who is as good as you with bat or ball, but better in the field. The captains of almost all the teams at the international level prefer good fielders these days.
Here are 5 non wicket-keepers who have taken most catches in the last 10 years –
#1 Virat Kohli:
The Indian captain Virat Kohli sets an example in the field by himself. He not fields in the slip cordon which is the toughest position to field, he fields equally well in the outfield as well.
Kohli patrols the short extra cover and the short midwicket region when the spinners are bowling in the middle overs and patrols the long on or long off boundary in the death.
Kohli has taken a total of 244 catches across all formats in the last 10 years.
#2 Ross Taylor:
Ross Taylor fields in the slip for both the fast bowlers and the spinners, but once he is done fielding in the slips, he is generally sent to field in the deep after that. Since he is not the fastest mover in the New Zealand team, he is not kept in the 30-yard circle.
However, Taylor has got safe hands as he has taken a total of 223 catches in the last 10 years.
#3 Joe Root:
Joe Root plays a lot of Test matches in England where the red ball swings in the air quite a lot and there are always a lot of catching opportunities in the slip cordon.
The England Test captain has got 206 international catches to his name since his debut in 2012, a lot of which has come in Test cricket.
#4 Steve Smith:
Steve Smith is pretty much like Virat. He is not only sharp in the slip cordon; he is very, very sharp in the single saving positions as well.
Smith is also very athletic and some of the catches that he pulls off in the outfield are just magnificent. The former Australian skipper has taken 205 catches in international cricket over the last 10 years.
#5 Hashim Amla:
Hashim Amla, who has now hung his boots, used to field in the slip cordon on a regular basis for South Africa and given the fact that South Africa had one of the best pace attacks in the world in 2010s, Amla was always in play as a slip fielder.
Amla has got 170 international catches to his name since 2010.
