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Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo looks at the importance of fielding in the modern game and who excels at it

There is no doubt that the introduction of limited over cricket has dramatically improved the standard of fielding all over the world. I still believe there is room for it to get a lot better! It is still the most overlooked part of international cricket and does not get the personal attention it deserves (The stats prove that good fielding can save 30 to 60 runs in the course of an ODI innings).

There was another reason for this improvement and his name was Jonathan Neil Rhodes from South Africa, known to most of us as Jonty. He gave this discipline the value and exposure it merited. He did have an act to follow in his countryman Colin 'The Bulawayo Bullet' Bland.

Before I saw Jonty in the field I would hold my breath watching Bland with his speed, power and accuracy. He was the first great fielder and 30 years ahead of his time! He would practice before the game in front of the crowd throwing at and hitting a single stump. Mesmeric stuff! I was privileged to watch him!

Some countries strive harder than others to improve their fielding and it is true to say the Asian countries seem less able to maintain standards, whilst the Australians and the South Africans are definitely the best! I struggle to name (past or present) a great Pakistani or Sri Lankan fielder, India have unearthed Yuvraj Singh but they are thin on the ground. For some reason these Asian teams lack the resolve and will to address it and that makes it that much harder for them to be the best.

There are countless examples where fielding mediocrity is still accepted if the player happens to be called Inzaman-ul-Haq or Mohammad Yousuf. In English cricket we have our own fielding duffers like Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar, though to be fair to Monty he is striving to improve this element of his game, unlike "shrug of the shoulders" Steve.

There is now a tier of cricketers in world cricket who could be called great fielders and I have included my top seven: Paul Collingwood (best English fielder ever and yes, better than Derek Randall), Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke of Australia. Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers of South Africa and Yuvraj Singh of India.

Will be interesting to see how much of a factor the fielding skills of the forementioned trio of Clarke, Ponting and Symonds will have on the outcome of the current ODI Series against India. Australia are 2-1 up and are currently trading at 1.32 to win the Series with three matches to go. I wouldn't be surprised to see if it was decided on the back of a stunning catch or run out...

To view fielding stats go to:

www.cricinfo.com

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