The best cricket fielding players in the world: the top 10 of all time

Playing can often make the difference between winning and losing a game. The world’s top cricket field players record a number of races, affect smart outings and take sparkling shots to overturn the games. Ben Stokes and Virat Kohli are two of the best athletes in modern cricket, having played in the field several times.

But, there have been some very good players on the field in the history of cricket, and in this article, we will explore the top 10 of all time.

So, who makes the list?

10. Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis has a safe pair of hands and is an extremely versatile defender, making him number 10 on our list of the “best players of the world cricket in fielding“. He mainly plays underpants in the Cricket Test Match but is also a field player inside the 30-rod circle in limited overtaking cricket. He took incredible captures in recent history, including one to send Joe Root back from bowling off Beuran Hendricks to Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg in 2020.

9. Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina is number nine on our list of the “best cricket field players in the world”. He is perhaps best known in modern times for his exploits in the Indian Premier League. His field prowess in the competition was simply excellent. With Faf du Plessis and Ravindra Jadeja, he has and continues to form a powerful outdoor field for the Chennai Super Kings. This, although all three are over 30 years old. It shows their fitness and athleticism.

8. Steve Smith

Steve Smith is a calm and calculated flyer who prefers not to be aggressive during shots because he feels that it affects his rhythm. Often standing adrift, he succeeds in superb one-handed shots to send back some of the best batters of the game. He can also stand in the field as he has a gun throwing arm that can both get the batsmen out and stop the races.

7. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja is currently the world’s top cricketer. His global skills are just great, and he can do almost anything on the ground. Jadeja has a ball-throwing arm, which is able to shoot down the stumps with ease, as he demonstrated against Pakistan at the 2017 Champions Trophy. It is also excellent on its own bowling, making sure that the simple rapids are not taken. Moreover, close to the border, Jadeja is both athletic and very fast, which allows him to cover ground to take superb catches.

6. Paul Collingwood

Paul Collingwood has been fantastic in the Lanyard for England and is ranked sixth on our list of “Top World Cricket Field Players”. Many experts from Sky Sports and around the world agreed with such a statement during his playing days. Standing on the second or third slide, he was an absolutely superb jumper for the British cricket team. He had massive hands, which helped him pick up the ball very easily. An underrated aspect of the Collingwood game was its ability to be proactive in the field.

5. Andrew Symonds

In the mid-2000s, Andrew Symonds was at the top of his powers in terms of versatile skills, which included his strength on the ground. Symonds could easily affect the run-outs because he had a very powerful throw that would beat most batsmen between the wickets. Like Collingwood, he had “bucket” hands, which meant that catches stuck more often than not.

4. Herschelle Gibbs

Herschelle Gibbs was a fabulous athlete inside and out of the 30-rod circle. He is ranked fourth on our list of the “best cricket field players in the world”. He had very good moves, and his diving skills were the best in the game, apart from Jonty Rhodes. Gibbs has been effective at recording a number of races and assigning direct hits, whether in testing or TDO.

However, his bad habit of throwing the ball in the air cost him dearly at the 1999 Cricket World Cup, where he had Steve Waugh caught but threw the ball and dropped it on the second attempt.

3. Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting is the best Australian fielder of all time. Like the other greats on this list, his anticipation, commitment, and technique were all very good. However, Ponting loved to play more than most. He often studied the movement of batsmen, especially when they ventured out into the field and were ready to jump when needed.

At the second slip, it was reliable, but it was inside the circle of 30 meters that he really made a name for himself. The point back was his privileged position, and he covered the area very well.

2. AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers has a unique set of skills in the field: its versatility. He is able to play all over the field – whether in the slips, inside the 30-point circle or at the limit. In 2018, he took a superb capture against Rohit Sharma during the home testing series in South Africa to help the hosts win. He did a best in the IPL that year, snatching an almost impossible catch against the Hyderabad Sunrisers to change the game in favour of RCB.

The fact that he has also kept windows in a fantastic way for a number of years and that he can still play the role at a high level is incredibly useful for the T20 franchises that he represents around the world. His reaction time, his speed on the field and his formidable anticipation make him the elite flyer he has been and continues to be.

1. Jonty Rhodes

Jonty Rhodes is ranked first on our list of the “best cricket field players in the world”. He was described by Ricky Ponting as “the best defensive defenseman of all time.” This probably had some truth, as he could stop the races inside the 30-meter circle, as no other field player could. Jonty had fantastic reaction speeds, an athletic dive and a pistol throw. The three combined meant that the drummers would hesitate before running if the ball was hit, thus saving points. His run-out from Inzamam-Ul-Haq to the 1992 Cricket World Cup, where Rhodes demolished the stumps, is probably the most famous run-out in the history of the game.