Best Short-leg fielder I ever saw - Tony Greig

[Lurker]

Was listening to see Tony Greig's talk on Cricinfo and he mentioned Eknath Solkar as the best short leg fielder he ever saw. To an avid cricket fan this is obviously no new news. Simply speaking Solkar is the best close-in fielder in Test cricket. In 27 Tests he has 53 catches, that average(1.96 per Test) is the best by a fielder in the history of cricket. Please keep in mind that close-in catching is the toughest fielding job at hand. Not only do you have the least time to respond, you also have the perennial danger of being hit. The Indian spinners of 70s owed a lot to the unspoken heroes - Solkar, Abid Ali & Venkat in close in position. He was also a useful left arm medium pace bowler who is credited to have gotten under Geoff Boycott's skin by dismissing him a few times in a series. If I am not mistaken Boycott took a couple of years sabbatical to adress his technical problems. The catch up above(Alan Knott caught Solkar bowled Chandra) is considered one of the best ever taken in that position. More so since this led to India beating England and winning the series. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63078.html xxxx

[DesiChap]

He was an absolute jem of a close in catcher. The spin trio owes him a lot.

[Cricketics]

He seriouzly was a gem.. last year when he died.. i very clearly remember most of the old greats inti'view talkin about the greatness of his fielding..

[Gambit]

Among the ones I've seen, Azhar was fantastic. I still remember him taking an incredible bat pad catch off Keith Arthurton. Akash Chopra, in his brief international career, was awesome too. Can't forget him catching a full blooded pull(YES OFF A PULL SHOT) off Langer at short leg. Too bad it was a no ball.

[Sachinism]

^^ i was about to mention that about aakash chopra

[fineleg]

Was Azhar as good as close-in? Wow! I did not realize that. Always, thought he was super-fantastic at point region. Cheetah on prowl there.

[praveenj]

Azhar was a good fielder at many positions. I saw him take some really good catches at short mid-wicket, short extra-cover, slips... where not? and how about Dravid some years back. Kaif was good too.

[fineleg]

Dravid? Surely he was not "known" for fielding, although he was more than decent. Our Wasim Jaffer needs some lessons on forward-short-leg catching. Dropped a sitter of Misbah Ul Haq and lucky it did not cost us too much in Test-1.

[DesiChap]

Azhar is the best indian fielder I have seen.

[chanakya]

Dravid was an excellent catcher when he joined the team. He was awesome, even in slips to spinners.

[praveenj]

WV Raman was a good fielder as well at the short-leg position...