Title: Intensity is the key says Jonty Rhodes

Desc:

Jonty Rhodes, the fielding coach of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL spoke on what he feels can lift a match.

“Complete focus in a player, which creates total intensity, is the key to success in Twenty20 cricket,” says Jonty.“You have to maintain a high intensity. There are only 120 balls, and you have to be focused every single ball, expecting every single ball to come to you whether you are fielding at third man, fine leg, or backward point. The way the guys play shots these days you have to expect the ball to come wherever you fielding,” Rhodes said.

“That is the key to good fielding - if you are expecting the ball, you can put up a good performance.” Rhodes said that while the basic skills of fielding remained the same in all forms of the game, it was the intensity that differed. “Even in the 50-overs game, I was expecting the ball to come to me and was quite disappointed if it did not come.

Pressure is a constant in the 20-over game with matches going right down to the wire, so you cannot afford to really make a mistake with bat, ball or in the field. Fielding is the same; it is just that you are doing it at a lot quicker pace.”

Jonty said that in a training camp held in Durban last month with the Mumbai players he stressed on throwing techniques and foot movement, two aspects that make a good fielder.

He named countryman and the Mumbai Indians star JP Duminy as one of the best fielders in the world today.“JP Duminy fields well in the inner ring in the first six overs. When the fielding restrictions are over, he is very good in the outfield because he is very quick to the ball and even if he may not have the biggest arm in the world, he has a good throw, his body position is good, and he catches a lot of balls.”

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