Best Short Leg fieldsmen in the modern era

Very few cricketers enjoy or are any good at fielding at short leg. Frankly it is a bloody dangerous position where injury can come from the next delivery that is swept or pulled. Australia has long used the position as some sort of hazing gag on the new rookie batsman. Most look sensibly terrified and few take sharp catches.

In my time as a fan, David Boon was one of the few who made the position his own. Handscomb - silly bugger - looks like he could be our next very capable short leg. Most short legs look like unhappy road blocks who cannot wait to field in the slips or the covers. Few like Boonie make the position a threatening one for the batsman.

A good short leg is a threat on most pitches, particularly bunsens. I am ashamed to admit that I cannot remember great short legs from other countries, yet I am certain every country can boast a few,

So for each country can people name great short legs?

Eknath Solkar

WideWally wrote:Eknath Solkar

good call...

Solkar from an Indian pov, James Taylor was stunning in his short stint there, and Kaushal Silva has been superb too.

Boonie became short leg almost by accident. He started at 1st slip but dropped a stack early in his career before making short leg his own.

Brian Close.

lardbucket wrote:Brian Close.

now there was a tough as teak bloke

And then there was the Strange Case of Alan Turner, the strictly mediocre left-handed opener through two home series just before WSC, who went on to be a very big banana indeed at Benson & Hedges and set a still-extant record for most mentions of a sponsor's name in a presentation speech (43 in five minutes at the MOTS after 94-95 Ashes).

Turner fielded at short-leg whenever one was needed through most of his career, but the only thing he ever caught was Thommo's shoulder with his noggin on day 1 at Adelaide just before Christmas 76.

All through this time, on the rare occasions he was released into the outfield he generally took one outstanding catch per stint, including a Classic Catch finalist in Sydney v the Windies, then three in an hour on the Saturday afternoon as the Wackies ground Oz into the dirt in Imran's coming-out game.

From an Australian p.o.v , has to be the keg with legs.
Handscomb, has shown promise early on and was one of the reasons Aus dominated the Indians in Pune.

tricycle wrote:Solkar from an Indian pov, James Taylor was stunning in his short stint there, and Kaushal Silva has been superb too.

My bold

Someone had to say it. In a thread about shortest leg fielders.

Akash Chopra was really good at the position, for the few tests that he played for us.

horace wrote:

WideWally wrote:Eknath Solkar

good call...

It would have been his birthday today ... ABC commentary team were reminiscing over some of his better catches today.

J

doremi wrote:Akash Chopra was really good at the position, for the few tests that he played for us.

Didn't he take a crazy catch off a no ball in Australia?