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The Jonty Rhodes Chat

After checking out a couple of South African newspapers on the Net, he was on his way, winning friends with every refresh, chuckling away at some of the questions that came his way. Before the Chat, Jonty said he would stay for an hour; in the event he stayed on for an hour-and-a-half.

He said he had a good time. So did we all Jonty. You are the best!

Prem Panicker (Thu Nov 7 10:10:20 1996 IST):

Good morning!

Hey, is Jonty here?

Cover point? *grin* Hey, what are you doing there? Jonty is here, but taking a few... he will be online at 10.30, sharp...

Yo Prem! How are things, and how's Jonty feeling after losing last night? I may just turn up there...

GOOD MORNING!

Hey, Dilip, good morning. I don't think Jonty's feeling the defeat, more a case of lack of sleep. :-)

Morning, MsPiggy - now there's a handle and a half... *Laughing*

Hi Jonty, you are a cool guy!!!!???

Hey Prem, what does Jonty look like?? Give a description for a die hard fan. PLeeeeeeeeeeeease. And do you think you can get his a.graph

Pamella>> *grin* You're a cool girl yourself! Listen, Jonty will be on line in just a few minutes, he just reached our office and is taking a breather before logging in... hang in there, huh?

And Prem, don't want you to feel left out. Why don't you describe yourself too???

Pamella>> There you go... one post says Jonty's a cool guy, next post you ask me what he looks like! *grin* Jonty looks like a swallow in flight - don't tell me you've never watched him field?

That runout of Robin Singh was spell-binding. In the sense that you could see Robin knew there wasn't even a hope of getting back to his crease! I think with any other fielder he might have made the effort to dive back.

And what about you, Prem????

Good morning all. Hope you enjoyed the game last night.

Nice to see you in good spirits Prem.

3d>> Funny thing is, I was thinking of a film clip I saw once - of how they hunt rabbits. Shine a bloody big torchlight in its eyes, they freeze, and the kill is easy. JOnty with the ball reminds me of that - the guy at the crease just freezes and takes what's coming to him. :-)

Pamella>> I look like nothing on earth! *g*

MsPiggy>> Don't tell me you have seen me otherwise! *L*

Great game, Jonty. Have you ever played tennis? Seems like you might have done well there, with your quick reflexes.

It is not always that we have a legend in our midst and we are delighted to have with us today, arguably the most popular cricketer in the world, the one and only JONTY RHODES!. Welcome, Jonty, and I hope you enjoy this experience.

It is not always that we have a legend in our midst and we are delighted to have with us today, arguably the most popular cricketer in the world, the one and only JONTY RHODES!. Welcome, Jonty, and I hope you enjoy this experience.

Dilip>> Jonty will be logging on in just a second, suggest you wait till he does or the question will disappear before he gets on. *grin*

Good morning, Jonty, welcome to Rediff and thanks, on behalf of thousands of your fans in INdia, for the sheer pleasure you have given them with your fielding.

3D : I play social tennis whenever I get the chance because I use to play competitively till the age of 14-15. Cricket takes up too much of my time.

Does that mean Jonty is here? Good morning, Jonty, greetings from an Indian in Tokyo! We get to see you only in videos, and my dream is to see you play, live, some day. And tough luck about the Titan final, what do you suppose went wrong?

Jonty, you are the greatest. There are few cricketers who inspire such devotion as you do. You are a role model for an entire generation of young people in India who don't want to bat as well as Sachin or bowl as well as waqar, but want to field as well as you. Thank you for taking time to be with us.

Hi Jonty Greetings from Hawaii !

Prem Panicker: Hi to all the cricket fans in India. Thanks for your wonderful support. I hope the test matches are just as exciting as the TITAN Cup.

JONTY HOW DO YOU LIKE INDIA, THE PITCHES ETC?

Prem: Hmm: Robin Singh, Rabbit Singh....

Jonty>> A question people keep asking each time you pull off one of your run outs is about your amazing sense of balance. Sprawled on the ground one minute, up and throwing a split second later. Is this inborn, or do you actually work at cultivating it?

He's never bland : Thank you. I am glad that you appreciate all my diving around. I would hate to think that my landing on the hard Indian grounds has gone unnoticed!!.

U are an inspiration to everyone around.. Could u tell us who inspired u into taking fielding as a main component of ur game ???

I heard you overcame epilepsy to become what you are. You are simply amazing! How have you guys become what you have? The best team in thbe world? Do you think you are better than Bacher and his boys?

3D>> Hey, Robin is no Rabbit... but then again... :-)

Jonty>> Curious about one thing - who would YOU rate as say the top five fielders in the world?

Hi Jonty! How do you like India? Tell us honestly what is the thing that perturbs you the most about coming to India as a country??

Hi Jonty...Nice to talk to you... Unfortunately I have never seen you play either live or on TV but I have heard some much about you. Where would you rank yourself among the fielders in the world today?

Morning, Amit, welcome back! :-)

Prem : I think I am lucky in that I am quite short. It is easier for me to dive and get up again because I have a low centre of gravity. If I was a bit taller, I think I would battle too to get up and down so quickly.

Not notice you... We must be blind not to notice you. Hell, no one in the South African team inspires such awe as you do!Tell me, how do you react the way you do? What contributes to those lightning reflexes? How do you decide what you do? You must have a mind like mercury!

Amit: Jonty is the best. Number 1 to 10. There is no one like him in this universe, let me assure you.

Jonty>>How do you see the upcoming series vs India. Do you think the pitches will give Donald,DeVilliers help

Does the condition of the ground have any effect on ur decision to dive around at all!!?

JONTY you still haven't answered me, is it because I'm a woman? *g*

Is it true that Bob Woolmer keeps copious notes on each player you play against? There is a feeling that you guys are good, but barring you, all the other SAfricans are too robotic. No drama like the Windies. No pizzaazz like the Pakis. Would you agree?

Prem>>Thanks!good morning to you... I hope you got some sleep on the couch man :) I did some homework meanwhile not much

Hi Jonty! How do you like India? Tell us honestly what is the thing that perturbs you the most about coming to India as a country??

Amit>> *grin* 'Some' sleep is right, but it's been worth it. :-)

Pamella : The thing that is the most disturbing is the early morning flights out of city. Tomorrow we fly at 5:30 am!! We really enjoy touring India is that people are cricket mad and they treat us like royalty.

Amit : There are many really good fielders who are just as effective as me. I think I have more following because of all the diving around that I do. I never think that I am the best fielder in the world, I just play every game to the best of my ability and have lots of fun.

Jonty: what is the secret behind your great sharp feilding?

Jonty: Actually the question somebody asked is pretty interesting: how would you rate this SA team against the 1969-70 team that thrashed Aus 4-0? (After Aus thrashed us here in India 3-1, I might add!). We're really looking forward to the Tests, they will be really competitive.

St. Auburn : i would compare them with Pete Sampras They might lack the pizzazz but they are certainly the most professional side in the game today

Hanse Cronje on Star Television said it would take some time for the coloureds and the blacks to make an impact in the SA team. With their impoverished backgrounds, do you think that is possible in the next ten years, despite all the special cricket schools?

St Auburn : Yes. Bob does keep notes on our opponents in his laptop. No, I don't think we are too robotic. We are just a well disciplined team, that does not have big named stars like the West Indies or Pakistan.

How do you, McMillan and Cullinan, born of English ancestry, get along with the Afrikaners in the side? Is there the kind of divisions in your team that you see in the Indian cricket team?

Jonty>> Just curious - for a guy who does more dives than a paratrooper, you seem remarkably free of injuries, how come.

Have u ever been seriously injured because of the amount of diving u do ?

I hear you are a born again Christian. What career do you see for yourself after cricket? Is it going to be coaching or have you something more devout planned?

Jonty>>so tell us what you used to do before South Africa got back to international cricket? How do you keep your skills sharpened? Ofcourse you played domestic cricket but how was it different for you as a player not being able to play international cricket when you knew you were a world class player? I know it must have been frustrating.

Jonty: Whom do you rate as the best fielder in the world?

3D : Cricket has changed so it is difficult to make comparisons. I think they fielded very well and had some superstars in their team. I think the approach of the 2 teams is very similar. Both are very dedicated and discplined.

He's never...: For the last ten years, there has been a major effort to promote cricket in the black underpriviliged areas. So I think that in the next 5-10 years you will see young black children representing their country on the cricket field.

What were the apartheid years like for you? Was adjustment to a nation ruled by the ANC difficult for you? As someone who grew up in the apartheid era, it must have been difficult to get over your prejudices?

THePAnther>>what sort of division in the Indian cricket team?

Jonty >> Is it true that you were in the training squad for the South African Hockey team for the Atlanta Olympics

Jonty, Have you seen Colin Bland on film? How do you compare yourself with him? Now dont be modest. Give us an objective comparison.

Cecil>>excellent question !

Jonty: Your team played superb cricket through out the Titan cup league phase. what according to you went wrong in the finals yesterday?

Have you ever met Nelson M? Is he as enthusiastic about cricket as he is about rugby. You know something, the first thing he did when he met former Aussie PM Malcom Fraser in 1986 was to ask how the Don was!

Jonty>>Have you gotten the Delhi belly yet? I hope not. How do you like Indian food?

Photographs: Jewella Miranda