Top 10 facts on Jonty Rhodes
South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes revolutionized the fielding art in modern cricket history. He is regarded as the greatest fielder of all time by many. Jonty was born on July 27, 1969 in Pietermaritzburg in Natal Province of South Africa. He shot to cricketing fame when he ran out Inzamam-ul-Haq diving in from backward point which made for a spectacular TV viewing.
Rhodes represented South Africa in 52 Tests and 245 ODI matches. He scored 2532 test runs at an average of 35.66 with 3 centuries and 17 half centuries to his name. The Proteas cricketer scored 5935 ODI runs at an average of 35.11 powered by a strike rate of 80.90 – He scored 2 centuries and 33 half centuries in the shorter format. He picked 34 catches in Test cricket and 106 catches in ODI cricket.
He made his international debut in a ODI match against Australia at Sydney in February 1992. His test debut came against India at Durban in November 1992.
Here are some facts about Jonty Rhodes:
1. Almost an Olympian twice:
Jonty Rhodes was selected for his country’s hockey squad for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and Atlanta Olympics in 1996. In 1992 his team failed to qualify while in 1996 he was rueld out due to a hamstring injury.
2. Wisden Cricketer of the Year:
Jonty Rhodes won the Wisden Cricketer Award for the year 1999.
3. First Marriage:
Rhodes was married to former South African cricketer Cuan McCarthy’s niece – Kate McCarthy in 1994. However, the couple split up later. He has two kids from the first marriage – Daniella and Ross. He was married to Melanie Wolf later in 2014.
4. First Cricketer to take paternity leave:
Jonty Rhodes is probably the first cricketer to take paternity leave for the birth of his first daughter ‘Daniella’ – which was instrumental in his semi-retirement.
5. Tribute to India
Jonty Rhodes named his second daughter ‘India’ in April 2015. India was born in Mumbai during the 8th season of Indian Premier League, while he was the fielding coach of Mumbai Indians. Rhodes depicted his love for the country and its rich culture as the couple decided to name their daughter ‘India’.
6. One of the Great South Africans
In 2004, Rhodes was placed 29th among the Top 100 Great South Africans. Great South Africans was a South Africa television series that aired on SABC3 and hosted by Noeleen Maholwana Sanggu and Dennis Beckett. No surprises who the No.1 was – Nelson Mandela indeed!
7. An Accountant:
Post retirement from International Cricket in 2003, Jonty worked as an accountant executive for Standard Bank. Rhodes has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Natal.
8. Most catches in a ODI match:
Jonty Rhodes holds the distinction of recording the most number of catches in a ODI innings. In 1993, during a C.A.B Jubilee Tournament aka Hero Cup match at Brabourne in Mumbai, he caught 5 West Indian batsmen to achieve this feat, which won him the Man of the Match Award. It is still a ODI world record.
The batsmen he caught in that innings were Brian Lara, Desmond Haynes, Phil Simmons, Jimmy Adams and Anderson Cummins.
9. A Published Writer:
Among many other skills, Rhodes put his writer’s cap on as he penned a travel guide on South Africa named ‘Lonely Planet’.
10. Brand Ambassador of South African Tourism:
In 2013, South African Tourism appointed Jonty Rhodes as their brand ambassador for India – a country who he has great respect for.
