ICC should make every effort to keep cricket clean: Rhodes
Former South African cricketer and current Mumbai Indians fielding coach Jonty Rhodes on Tuesday said that the governing authorities of cricket should make all efforts to keep the game clean.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: October 11, 2011 06:39 PM IST
Former South African cricketer and current Mumbai Indians fielding coach Jonty Rhodes on Tuesday said that the governing authorities of cricket should make all efforts to keep the game clean.
Rhodes was a part of the national team that was led by late Hansie Cronje who was later found guilty of match-fixing and involvement with bookies.
"Hansie Cronje was my colleague and we had no idea he was doing something like that. The ICC has put the mechanism in place. I'm sure ICC is doing enough and should make every effort to keep this game clean," said Rhodes who was renowned for his brilliant fielding.
Rhodes's retort came in the wake of the fresh allegations that have surfaced during the spot-fixing trial which is on in London in which three Pakistan cricketers are the accused.
The former Test and ODI player, who has joined hands with Omtex Sports Academy to launch 'Jonty's Way' - an initiative aimed at improving young Indian cricketers' fielding standards - also praised Harbhajan Singh's inputs as captain and player in the triumphant run of Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded Champions T20 League.
"As a player, when you are left out either you can sulk or participate to fight on. Harbhajan Singh is a fighter. He has made a huge contribution (in MI's triumph) and he has put things behind," said Rhodes about the feisty off spinner who has been omitted from the Indian ODI team to take on the visiting English cricketers from October 14.
Looking ahead to the five-match ODI rubber between the reigning World Cup champions and England, Rhodes felt that the hosts would come back strongly.
"I don't know what happened in England but England are now in India and I'm sure India will bounce back," said Rhodes.
Rhodes emphasised on the importance of fielding in the modern game.
"I will give you the example of the World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka. Notwithstanding the great knock of Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India skipper), it was the first five overs that changed the game. Indian fielders did not allow anything to get past them. That made a major difference to the outcome," said Rhodes.
"I had no illusion when I was picked for the 1992 World Cup that it was because I was a pretty good fielder. Just see (West Indian and MI player) Kieron Pollard who takes catches on the boundary like a basketball player dunking the ball back in play," he said.
He also praised the young Mumbai Indians players for having contributed to the IPL franchise team's victory in CLT20.
"We lacked experience in the Champions League T20 but we had younger guys running and diving around. Nowadays, you cannot hide anyone on the field even at fine leg or third man with the scoops and reverse hits that are being played," he said.
"T20 cricket is not only about hitting fours and sixes but also about saving runs, field with dives and slides. One run saved can make a difference to the ultimate result as we have found. There's a technique to diving. That's what I want to focus on (at Jonty's Way)," he explained.