Cricket: Awesome three a batsman's nightmare

The one-day tri-series not only features three of the world's best teams, but by popular opinion, the three best fieldsmen. RICHARD BOOCK reports.

They are the money men when it comes to the shorter game, the lightning rods who spark their respective sides with phenomenal feats in the field - and it has never been more noticeable than in the present tri-series in Australia.

Inevitably stationed at backward point - the off-side position which attracts some of the most ferocious shots against the new ball - they have already lit up the first half of the tournament with some stunning work, be it ground-fielding, catching or throwing down the stumps.

The difficulty is deciding who is the most dangerous - Australian dynamo Ricky Ponting, New Zealand star Chris Harris or the enduring skills of Jonty Rhodes, the long-serving South African batsman.

All three have been in breathtaking form this month.

They pose a significant threat to batsmen when the pacemen are operating, especially now that the rules encourage a shorter-pitched attack.

Though Ponting, Harris and Rhodes have earned a deserved reputation as three of the best in the business, they each have their stronger points, and in that respect are quite different.

RICKY PONTING: The livewire Tasmanian who made his state debut aged 17 and test debut at 20 has a reputation for knocking over the wickets more often than anyone else on the planet.

His catching and ground-fielding are out of the top drawer, but his biggest claim to fame is a near-miraculous ability to throw down the stumps and create a dismissal out of nothing.

Worth his place for his batting alone, at which he averages 42.24 after 127 ODIs, the man they call Punter has already taken 41 catches.

He was in the thick of the action at Sydney last week when he accepted a slashing cut from Lou Vincent at point-blank range.

Ponting, 27, was also in sublime form during the test series against South Africa, inspiring the hosts to a superb fielding effort which underpinned their 3-0 winning margin.

Interestingly, when Australian confidence hit rock-bottom last week, he was one of the fieldsmen to suffer most.

He looked a shade anxious in his execution and at one stage threw the ball wide of wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist for overthrows.

CHRIS HARRIS: Balding and aged 33, he looks the most unlikely of assassins until he springs into action around the backward point-gully area, ending the innings of the unsuspecting with the most dependable hands in the business.

If Ponting is the run-out specialist, then Harris rates as the best catcher of the three, reinforcing his ability at Sydney when he held an astonishing diving catch to send Steve Waugh on his way.

The dismissal was the talk of Sydney the next day.

Even Rodger Waugh, father of besieged skipper Steve, got involved, phoning a sports radio station to complain about the criticism levelled against his son.

"It probably took the best catch of the season to get him out," he contended.

Harris' ground-fielding is possibly not as sharp as Ponting or Rhodes.

But if the ball is airborne and anywhere in his vicinity, Harris has an almost gravity-defying ability to make the catch.

An infuriatingly slow bowler, he has made a name for himself as something of a caught-and-bowled specialist, tearing off 28 of his 178 dismissals in this fashion, several to astonishing feats of athleticism.

JONTY RHODES: A virtual unknown outside his home province of Natal at the start of the 90s, Rhodes announced his arrival on the world stage on March 8, 1992, at the Gabba.

There, he dived head-first into the stumps to run out Inzamam-ul-Haq and halt Pakistan's march towards victory.

Captured by photographers, the moment was relayed around the world and within 24 hours, Rhodes' life was changed forever.

His brilliance in the field reflects his side's determination and commitment.

It will be as a fielder that Rhodes will live on in cricket folklore, as he manages to boost the discipline to a new level, inspiring young players around the world to start diving about in the outfield, staining their whites, scraping their elbows and generally making life far more difficult for opposition batsmen.

A rare, allround talent in younger days, he was no slug as a junior footballer and his ability at hockey was such that had South Africa qualified for Barcelona in 1992, he might have played at a cricket World Cup and an Olympics in the same year.

Now one of South Africa's most experienced players, Rhodes' work has hardly lost any of its sharpness.

He possibly rates as a more athletic and co-ordinated fieldsman than Ponting or Harris - and certainly the best shot-blocker.