Biography of Jonty Rhodes: – Cricket has never seen an athlete similar to Jonty Rhodes; the standards Jonty sets for fielding in the years to come are still unreachable.
His fitness level was tremendous, he dived, flies, and literally fell onto the stumps never giving up for a single run. Jonathon Neil Rhodes was born on 27 July 1969 in Natal Province of South Africa.
Throughout his career, Jonty Rhodes contested in cricket and hockey teams at International level. He was selected as a member of South African hockey squad for Olympics 1992 and 1996. Unfortunately, South Africa never qualified for the main round.
Biography of Jonty Rhodes
- Born: 27 July 1969, South Africa
- Full Name: Jonathan Neil Rhodes
- Nationality: South African
- Profession: Cricketer
- Siblings: Clinton Rhodes
- Spouse: Kate McCarthy
- Children: Daniella Rhodes, Ross Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes is a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium bowler, none of his skills earned him a place he has in International cricket. Jonty was first admired worldwide for his crucial run-out of Inzimam Ul Haq against the eventual World Champions Pakistan.
Later on, Jonty Rhodes was a symbol and legend in fielding department in International cricket, he fought hard and set standards for not giving away singles and utilizing half chances.
The blinders by Jonty Rhodes and the accurate run-outs got him enough fame for his lifetime. Rhodes said that it wasn’t God gifted, I worked for hours every day to make it perfect.
Jonty had an extra time for fielding his way in the practice sessions, he often delayed his bus for an additional round of high-flying fielding practice. Jonty Rhodes was an always-fit person, the only injuries he had in his career were the finger injuries while diving and flying to the ball.
Along with tremendous fielding, Jonty Rhodes was the quickest runner on his team, probably the fastest at that time in International cricket, his fitness earned him an unofficial status of the most electrifying fielder ever in Cricket. The biography of Jonty Rhodes starts from that unbelievablerunout in 1992 World Cup.
Jonty Rhodes Stats and Records:
Rhodes started his first-class career playing for the University of Natal in 1988. He later joined Natal Cricket Team as a prominent all-rounder in the same year.
In 52 test matches, Jonty Rhodes scored 2532 runs with a batting average of 35.66, his 3 centuries and 17 half-centuries were often match-winning. Jonty Rhodes inclined towards ODI format after 1997 and left the test cricket to concentrate more on the quicker format.
In 245 games, Jonty Rhodes scored 5935 runs with a striking batting average of 35.11 and the highest score of 121 with 2 centuries and 33 fifties. Jonty Rhodes took a total of 105 catches in ODIs.
In 164 First-class matches overall, Jonty Rhodes scored nearly 10,000 runs with the highest score of 172 averaging 41.41, 22 centuries and 52 half-centuries. Rhodes was wicketless throughout his International career.
In 1999, Jonty Rhodes had his best form, he was also shortlisted for Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1999. His career was eclipsed by a finger injury he received while catching a high-flying delivery.
Early Career:
After playing for the University of Natal and Natal Province, Jonty Rhodes was selected in the 15-man squad for the World Cup 1992 after a lengthy ban imposed on Cricket South Africa.
Rhodes was included in the first match against Australia at SCG. Rhodes started his International career with a run-out in the field dismissing Craig McDermott.
Later in the tournament, Rhodes became famous for his significant runout. When Pakistan was chasing the target, Inzimam was playing on 48 and was sent back by Imran Khan when he attempted to run for a single for his shot to backward point.
While Inzamam was returning back to the crease, Jonty Rhodes was moving from backward point, and Inzamam had no idea what will happen next until Rhodes dived into the stumps before Inzamam could make it to the crease and shattered all of the stumps to run out the batsman.
It was a turning moment, and South Africa got a breakthrough they needed to win the match in the end.
Jonty Rhodes was selected for his spectacular fielding and supporting role as a batsman against India. He made his Test debut on home ground and scored 41 and 26 in both the innings respectively.
In the next season, Rhodes played a full series against Sri Lanka and made his first-ever century in the format. Later in 1993 against the West Indies, Jonty Rhodes set a world record of taking five catches in an inning.
After a respectable career, Rhodes retired from Test cricket in 2001 and gave more attention to the limited overs format. Unfortunately, his finger injury made his career short by a year when he got injured during World Cup 2003.
Career after Retirement:
Jonty Rhodes was hired by Standard Bank, one of the major sponsors of cricket in South Africa as an account executive. Jonty Rhodes handled all the contracts and endorsements of Standard banks related to sponsorships and cricket tournaments.
Jonty Rhodes also served as a fielding coach for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and South African Cricket Team. Jonty Rhodes was invited by Kenya Cricket Board as an assistant coach for Cricket World Cup 2011.
Rhodes remained the brand ambassador of South Africa, South African Tourism Board hired Jonty Rhodes for the year 2013 as representative.
Rhodes is an occasional commentator and a sports analyst, PTV Sports hired Rhode’s services for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and ICC T20 World Cup 2016.
Jonty Rhodes Family and Personal Life:
Jonty was born to Digby Rhodes, his father and Tish Rhodes, his mother, in the province of Natal. Jonty married his first wife Kate McCarthy in April 1994 in KwaZulu-Natal Province.
The couple divorced after 15 years of marriage in 2013. The former couple had two kids together, a daughter Daniella a son, Ross. Jonty Rhodes married his girlfriend, Melanie Wolf in 2014.
Rhodes and Melanie have a daughter together named India Jeanne Rhodes who was born in Mumbai in 2015. India was named after the country India for its cultural diversity. Jonty Rhodes’s brother, Clinton Rhodes played 12 first-class matches.
