Jonty Rhodes turns 54: South Africa hockey player who became a cricket legend

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South Africa legend Jonty Rhodes is celebrating his 54th birthday on Thursday. The 'Superman of Cricket' was born on July 27, 1969 in Pietermaritzberg, Natal.

Many in the sport of cricket have made names for themselves by piling up heaps of runs or by stocking hoards of wickets. However, very few have made a name for themselves by their fielding skills primarily. A discussion on Rhodes has always been around his fielding. It's amazing how people don't talk about the runs he scored or the impressive strike rate he carried back in the day.

If Sachin Tendulkar is synonymous to batting in cricket and Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath to bowling, Rhodes is the undisputed 'Fielding God' of cricket.

Rhodes' career spanning from 1992 to 2003, saw him grab 139 catches across the Test and ODI formats. T20Is were not a thing back then. He is also second on the list of players who have affected most run outs in cricket. The 54-year-old ran out batters 68 times in his international career which saw him play 52 Tests and 245 ODIs. Ricky Ponting leads the chart with 86 run out dismissals.

Rhodes' run out of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup shot him to immense fame. The extremely athletic and agile player ran with the ball from point before diving and leaping in the air (like almost flying horizontally to the ground) to break the stumps. Rhodes was so fast that he reached the stumps from point faster than Inzamam who had stepped just a few metres away from the crease. He truly owned the point and backward point region.

Rhodes also recorded himself in the history by running out Sachin Tendulkar in the first-ever TV umpire decision. He made fielding look cool and till date remains the most sort after fielding coach across the globe. After spending a considerable time with Mumbai Indians (MI), Rhodes is now the fielding coach of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

The right-hand batter scored 5935 runs at an average of 35.11 and a strike rate of 80.90 in the ODI format. The middle-order batter also scored 2532 runs at an average of 35.66 in Test format. He hit two ODI and three Test hundreds.

Cricket was not the only forte of dynamic Jonty Rhodes. He represented South Africa in hockey and was picked in the 1992 Olympics team. Unfortunately, the team did not qualify. He was ruled out of trials ahead of the 1996 Olympics due to injury.

The South African legend was truly a master of all trades. Here's wishing him a very happy birthday to India Rhodes' father Jonty. Yes, he named his daughter India because of his love and attachment with the great nation.