The date was 8 March 1992. Pakistan were playing South Africa in match 22 of the Bensen and Hedges World Cup in Brisbane. South Africa had scored 211 for 7 batting first and Pakistan’s target was reduced to 194 from 36 overs courtesy the controversial rain-rule that was used in the tournament.
It was the 31st over of the innings and Pakistan needed nearly 60 more runs to win with 8 wickets in hand. Skipper Imran Khan and young batting sensation Inzamam were at the crease and the match looked set for a tense finish. What happened next changed the way ODI cricket would be played, forever.
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(Video Courtesy: haiderkaka YouTube Channel)
Inzamam tried to hit medium pacer Brian McMillan’s delivery to the leg side but the ball hit his pad and deflected towards backward point, where a certain youngster by the name of Jonty Rhodes was lurking. He picked up the ball and with Inzamam half way down the pitch, decided to do something that had never been seen before. He ran towards the stumps at the striker’s end and then flung himself towards them with the ball in his hand to run Inzamam out!
This act of brilliance changed the course of the game and South Africa won the match by 20 runs.
Limited overs cricket hasn’t been the same since, but have you ever wondered what would have happened if this incident never took place? What if Jonty Rhodes never ran Inzamam out in such spectacular fashion? Let’s see:
#5 Stealing singles from the circle would have been easier
Tapping the ball towards point or cover and setting off for a run was routine for batsmen before this run-out, since the only chance a fielder had of running the batsman out was with a direct hit.
A fielder who usually fields at backward point would tell you that the possibility of scoring a direct hit from there is lesser than that from mid-off or mid-on as a player doesn’t get a clear view of all three stumps. All that fielder sees is one stump and hence the batsmen are happy to take their chances in limited overs matches to steal a run from there.
This brilliant run out though, changed this perception as batsmen now know that a fielder doesn’t only have to rely on scoring a direct hit but can also outrun them to the stumps and then effect a run out without having to release the ball towards the stumps.
Life of batsmen intending to steal quick singles wouldn’t have become tougher had this magical run out never happened.
#4 South Africa wouldn’t have become a fielding super-power
In cricket, and indeed in any sport, kids look for heroes to get inspired from. In India, it’s the batsmen who have been inspiring generations with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli being the flag-bearers. For Pakistan, there have been legendary fast bowlers like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, who young players look up to and want to emulate.
When South Africa re-entered international cricket after their exile, there was no batsman or bowler in particular who the kids could look up to and think: “I want to be like him!” They were looking for heroes who could inspire the next generation to take up the sport, and it was this incident which gave them one. Rather than a batsman or a bowler, it was a fielder who ignited the love for the game in the hearts of young kids.
More and more youngsters would have wanted to field like Rhodes after seeing that run-out. They would have practised his flying run-out countless times in their garden and on cricket fields. Hence, this is no surprise that since the 1992 World Cup, the standard of South African fielding has never come down.
After Rhodes, they have produced outstanding fielders like Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs and more recently, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis to name prominently, and in general, their fielding unit has always been considered the best in the world.
Fielding would not have been considered as important an aspect of the game as batting and bowling are, had that run-out never taken place!
#3 Inzamam wouldn’t have become (in)famous for his running between the wickets
It’s no secret that if there is a poll among cricketers, or even fans, about who has been the worst runner between the wickets of all time, Inzamam would be the winner, hands down! He has been the butt of all jokes throughout his career for his running between the wickets and has been (in)famous for running himself as well as his partners out.
But was he always this bad?
No, he wasn’t. He was just starting his international career when the 1992 World Cup happened and also, wasn’t as “heavy” an athlete as he later became. This run-out probably would have been more disheartening for him than most others since this wasn’t a direct hit or even a ball given to the fielder/keeper to run him out; this was a fielder out-running him to the stumps from backward point and running him out with the ball still in his hand!
Imagine what such a thing would do to the psyche if you were the batsman?
Inzamam wasn’t the fittest guy around, but yet this incredible and hitherto unseen type of run-out would have dented his confidence in his running between the wickets so permanently that he could never have recovered from it throughout his career. He became “renowned” for being a prime candidate for a run-out whenever he was at the crease.
This might not necessarily have been the case had it not been for Jonty’s brilliance that night!
#2 Teams from the sub-continent would still have been poor fielding sides
India had been an average fielding side until the early 90s in limited overs cricket. There were some great fielders like Azharuddin, Maninder Singh and Sivaramakrishnan but overall, as a unit, they were far from being among the best in the world, weren’t they? Same was the case with Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but this changed in a big way after this run-out by Jonty Rhodes.
It was alongside Rhode’s run-out in the 1992 World Cup that India saw the emergence of one of its finest fielders, Ajay Jadeja. By the mid to the end 90s, the emergence of better fielders who weren’t afraid to throw themselves around on the ground to stop extra runs, like Robin Singh, and later around the turn of the century, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif.
Taking catches in the inner circle, courtesy acrobatic dives was something Indian fans were not used to seeing from their fielders.
We’ve seen Mohammad Kaif and even Suresh Raina running batsmen out in exactly the same way as the South African had done to Inzamam, by flinging themselves towards the stumps instead of throwing the ball and risking missing them.
This huge change in the mindset towards fielding of the youngsters from the sub-continent would never have happened if Rhodes hadn’t run Inzamam out that night.
#1 We would never have heard a term called “Best fielder in the world”
The best batsman in the world. The best bowler in the world. These are terms that we have been hearing ever since we have been following the game of cricket. Among batsmen, the title perhaps started with Sir Bradman and since then, has reached Virat Kohli after being associated with many greats, and among bowlers, it started with the ”Demon” Fred Spoffoth and is with Dale Steyn now.
We’ve always had the best batsman and the best bowler, but before this brilliant run-out, there was never a title called “The best fielder in the world” as fielding was never given as much importance as batting and bowling were. Hence, no need was felt to rate a fielder as the best at this art, but one run-out changed everything.
One show of supreme athleticism in the field and the entire cricketing world took notice. This run-out made Jonty Rhodes the undisputed “best fielder in the world”; a title that has since moved on to the likes of Gibbs, Ponting and Symonds.
Had that run-out of Inzamam never happened, perhaps we cricket lovers would never have thought of bestowing a cricketer with such a title.
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