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The 'catches win matches' phrase often gets recited at the end of a game where a dropped or brilliant catch played a massive role in the outcome. Yet, a fielder's impact on a contest is rarely discussed to half the level of batters and bowlers and is often an afterthought among fans and expets.
While the other aspects of the sport are highly dependant on the conditions, especially the pitch, catching, ground fielding and direct hits almost solely rely on the player's fitness, anticipation, athleticism and focus, among other attritbutes. Jaw-dropping reflex catches, bulls-eye direct hits and the improbable sprints to complete high catches are often at the forefront of the cricket highlights reel over a batters' six or a bowler's magical delivery.
Ranking the best fielders is arguably the most subjective aspect of the sport, for those with simply the most catches may not be the most versatile and complete fielders. Hence, an eye-test of who can weave their magic at all areas on a cricketing field - be it throwing, fielding and catching must play a role in determining the greatest fielders.
And so before we get to the top 10, it is only fair we name several fielders who just missed the cut in out honorable mentions.
Honorable mentions:
Allan Border, Mahela Jayawardene, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ben Stokes, Glenn Phillips, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kieron Pollard, Suresh Raina, David Warner, and Steve Smith.
With that, here is a list of the top 10 greatest men's fielders of all-time:
#10 Martin Guptill - New Zealand
As much as total catches, catches per matches can be looked at and analyzed, versatility and memorable moments must be among the top factors for ranking a fielder. And who can ever forget former New Zealand opener Martin Guptill when it comes to producing memorable fielding brilliance that changed the outcome of World Cup knockout games?
Guptill famously ran South African legend AB de Villiers out in the 2011 ODI World Cup quarterfinal to completely turn around a comfortable Proteas run-chase to a stunning Kiwi victory. Fast forward to eight years later in 2019 when he hit the bulls-eye from the deep to catch former Indian captain MS Dhoni short of his ground to send India packing in the ODI World Cup semi-final.
Furthermore, Guptill also has excellent numbers with 222 catches in 405 international games at an average of 0.548 catches/innings.
#9 Andrew Symonds - Australia
The late Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds should definitely be included in the shortlist of the best fielders in front of the wicket in cricket history.
A dead eye from anywhere in the field from short cover to deep mid-wicket, Symonds' accuracy on direct hits and the release of the ball at bullet speed made batters running ever fearful of Queenslander.
The Aussie was also a safe pair of hands and one of the swiftest movers for a big man, making him quite the all-round package in the field. Perhaps his slip fielding was the only untested area of his fielding due to a lack of Test appearances (26), barring which Symonds could easily be considered a top-five fielder of all-time.
His stop, look and thrown of the stumps to run Indian batter Robin Uthappa at a crucial juncture in the 2007 T20 World Cup remains in the memories of cricket fans worldwide.
#8 Ravindra Jadeja - India
As Indian fans continue their tradition of debating the best batter between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli or the best spinner between Anil Kumble and Ravichandran Ashwin, the jury on the best fielder from the country is almost unanimous.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja might be the first name from India that even overseas players and commentators have willingly refereed to as the 'World's Best Fielder' at different times over the past few years. With the uncanny knack of striking the bulls-eye from any and everywhere on a cricketing field, taking on Jadeja's arm has almost been as terminal as banging the head against the wall.
While his throwing ability stands apart from the other world-class fielders, Jadeja is also equally adept at athletic stops in the inner circle and near the boundary line and boasts excellent catching skills around the cricketing field.
#7 Herschelle Gibbs - South Africa
Former South African batter Herschelle Gibbs was at the forefront of an incredible generation of fielders in the 1990s and 2000s that made the Proteas arguably the best fielding side in world cricket.
Gibbs' effortless movement to cover ground and pluck stunning catches out of nowhere, while making them look routine, made him the coolest fielder in the world. However, his best attribute was the diving stops at backward point that forced opposition batters to often take the ariel route and result in their downfall.
The now-50-year-old finished his international career with 210 catches at an average of almost a catch every two innings.
#6 Paul Collingwood - England
England's greatest-ever fielder comes in at No.6 on the all-time list and he goes by the name of Paul Collingwood. Renowned for his ability to hang in the air and pull off some of the most imporbable catches ever seen, especially at backward point, Collingwood caused several batters pain by prematurely ending their vigils at the crease.
Don't let the defiance and lack of elegance in his batting and bowling fool you as Collingwood oozed grace and artistry as a fielder like very few did before him and have done since.
In his illastrious international career, Collingwood averaged an extraordinary 0.61 catches per innings with 218 total grabs.
#5 Mark Waugh - Australia
Former Australian batter Mark Waugh is undeniably the greatest slip fielder in cricket history with arguably the safest pair of hands. He made diving catches in the slip cordon a real fan-favorite.
The highlight of Waugh's catches were how rarely the ball could even be seen once pouched by him, a reflection on how safe a fielder he was. While most experts call Waugh the best slip fielder to grace the sport, his expertise was also seen at other part of the ground.
Remember his spell-binding catch at short mid-wicket to dismiss VVS Laxman at a critical time of the deciding Chennai Test in the famous 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy? And how effortless he made such a difficult catch look defined Mark Waugh the fielder in a nutshell.
Waugh finished his international career with 289 catches (11th all-time) at over a catch every two innings.
#4 Faf du Plessis - South Africa
Former South African captain Faf du Plessis continues to showcase his fielding prowess at age 40 in various T20 leagues around the globe. At his prime, while playing all three formats, Faf was among the rare fielders with the ability to pull off a blinder at the slip cordon and pluck a one-hander at long-on.
Faf averaged over a catch every two innings and finished his international career with 168 catches.
For someone in their 40s to still be a contender for the best catch of every tournament from the IPL, CPL and SA20, among others is a testiment to his incredible fitness levels and commitment.
#3 AB de Villiers - South Africa
The South African barrage of great fielders from the 1990s and 2000s paved away for possibly the most versatile fielder of the sport - AB de Villiers. While De Villiers' heroics with the willow changed the paradigm of modern batting, an argument could be made that the former South African captain was an even better fielder.
From magical slip catches to one-handed beauties at the deep to impenetrable hands anywhere in the inner circle, De Villiers was a sight to behold on the field.
With 248 catches at an average of over 0.64 catches per innings, his safe pair of hands combined with innumerable moments of genius made De Villiers a top-three fielder of the sport.
#2 Ricky Ponting - Australia
How often do we see the captain of the top side in world cricket and its best batter field with a helmet at short leg and silly point? Australian legend Ricky Ponting did that for a better part of his career with unmatched success.
Like De Villiers, Ponting was among the rare cricketers who could be fielding at backward point one day, be at the slip cordon or short leg on the following day and pluck a ball out of thin air at deep cover on the third day.
Ponting has the second most catches across formats in cricket history with 364 but beyond the numbers, his tendency to field everywhere on the field at such a high level that made him undoubtedly a highlight package waiting to happen on most days.
#1 Jonty Rhodes - South Africa
There are several sporting arguments that will perhaps never have a definitive answer and be divided among fans. However, the one thing almost everyone involved from experts, fans and naysayers agree on is the question of 'Who is the best fielder of all-time?'
Forget numbers, former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes is considered by most as the best-ever fielder by a wide margin, thanks to his acrobatic stops, majestic run-outs and mind-blowing catches.
That the backward point position has been named 'Jonty's corner' is the ultimate validation of Rhodes' unparalled fielding displays. His famous sprint to run Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup and the air-borne catch of Mark Ealham in the 1999 World Cup are just a select few examples of a magician who also played cricket than the other way around.
At 55, he is still as fit as ever and has been on high demand as fielding coach in several T20 leagues - an evidence of why he is rated as inarguably the best fielder the sport of cricket has ever seen.
