CAFE
COM:PORT
CHAT JOCKEYS
EVENTS

The Jonty Rhodes Chat

The Panther : Cricket is no longer a gentleman's game. However, you can be sporting and competitive at the same time. There are no teams who we dont enjoy playing against, although the Australians are reputed to be tough to play against. We dont mind sledging as it makes us more determined to do well.

@Amit : It sure is. You can be physically fit but the mental strain can exhaust you. I find it difficult to sleep after a match as I keep playing over in my mind how I got out or what I could have done differently.

3d>> *grin* funny thing, I suspect Srinath and Prasad are doing a team number. Srinath all fire and aggression, then Prasad comes in and bowls off breaks and the batsmen, out of sheer relief at not having to cope with Srinath, give him the charge - and their wickets. *L*

hey Jonty, Now you are rated as the #1 fielder in the world by most of the pundits..now according to you, depending on todays world cricket situations who do you rate as your predecessor. This was a fast shot from me through the cover point jonty try to field it and throw your answer back to me...*grin*

Jonty: One last question before I go-go.... How do you like Mango Groove? Are they still big in SA? I have one of their albums which is an all-time favourite.

Hi Smarty! Are you still a bachelor?

Miss Piggy, this is no place for women. If you don't want to end up like pork, take your prattle elsewhere!

Man! I really can't believe that I am talking to jonty

YOU R JUST TOO GOOD.I'VE NOTHING ELSE TO SAY. MALIK SIGNING OFF.......

Ms Piggy>> From whatever I have heard, I reckon JOnty prefers to have cricket as his career, not that of physiotherapist/consultant for women trying to slim down their men! *grin* I got a tip for you though - buy a his and hers set of running togs, and entice 'him' out to jog with you. :-)

What do you do when some cheats or sledges? Do you take a Christian attitude? Or do you guys give it back?

Hi dear, you are sooooooo..... handsome!!!

Jonty: What in your view is the future of Sachins Captaincy and about the inconsistent Indian team.

Ms. Piggy : Do you mean the Indian Cricket team or Indian men in general? In South Africa, we are sports crazy just like you Indians, although I think South Africans are more sports active.

Krishna : Brett has just played his first match since he was injured and by all accounts he is still as fast and aggressive as always!! So we are looking forward to his return to the test team but I dont think he will be fit enough for the Indian Series.

Before we go ahead, let us all give a round of applause to a man who has give us so much pleasure: CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Mr Panther if you don't want to end up extinct LOG OUT!!

Prem: actually, that's a good point about Srinath/Prasad: in Srinath's first spell yesterday, I think he was bowling faster than I have ever seen him do. He was really putting his back and shoulder into each ball much more than usual. Did you notice that too?

Jonty>> What do u think was the crucial moment in the final yesterday?

JONTY, I guess I am treading on controversial ground. Is there widespread ball tampering in domestic SA cricket as there is in English cricket(thats what we are made to believe)?

Jonty>>do you guys have an off season? how many one days have you played since coming back to cricket? And how do you keep in shape besides practice?How often do you practice?

Jonty >> Once again..Is it true that you were in the probables for the Sth African Hockey team for the Atlanta Olympics ? What position do you play ?

Panthers aeat pigs, Miss Piggy, don't you know that?

krishna: u from canada right..well u know who this person is right. Well another person who sleeps on rediff

Jonty, I asked you about ball tampering. Is it prevalent in in SA domestic cricket?

Hi Jonty..*is he here* ????

Prem>>Seen today's newpapers...what are the headlines

Darling, One should not propose someone in public but I cannot help it. I admire and love you so much. I don't really know how and when I can meet you in person? Believe me you will not be disappointed after meeting me. I cannot say anything more about myself now. If you are interested, do respond to this question. If you are not then also respond. Hope you will understand my feelings.

3D : I enjoy listening to all kinds of music especially home grown musicians like Mango Groove. Glad you enjoy all kinds of music too.

John M. : Sachin will have to develop his own style of capataincy and that does not happen overnight. He is great cricketer with a great cricketing mind. So even though he is very young I think he will have a great future as Indian captain as he leads from the front. With regard to the apparent inconsistency of the Indian team it is always difficult to keep changing the side. I think injuries and selection problems have not made it easy on the players to get their confidence up. The South African cricket team has a core of 14 players and so the team does not change too much.

Jonty>>Do you like Indian food? What is your fav food

Jonty>> Eventhough India won the Titan Cup, I consider that SA are the real champions.

Go!! SA

3D>> Sure, we were talking about it in here. Actually, Srinath has more intelligence than a lot of people credit him with, on tracks where there is nothing in it he tends to keep length and line, yesterday the ball was bouncing around and doing things, so he kind of went for it flat out. Made sense.

Hey Jonty..do u play any other sport?

What do you do when some cheats or sledges? Do you take a Christian attitude? Or do you guys give it back?

amit>> Heck! The usual eulogies, dawn of a new era, that kind of stuff. You know how we are - if the team loses, the papers call for mass sacking, if it wins, they say we are the world champions. So what else is new?>

Tarika>>Give Jonty a break he is married.. I don't think he will respond to your proposal. I might be interested though..where are you from Send me email

JONTY< ONCE AGAIN, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE THE WHOLE RIGMAROLE OF "BALL TAMPERING"?

good luck, Jonty; see ya, Prem.

Hi Jonty..do u play any other game?...i mean..how did u learn to jump like that???

Jonty:But sachin should develop into a good leader and he should lead the team in all departments of teh game..you havent told me who will be your predecessor in fielding as of todays world cricket standards.

Amit>> Darn it, how many times have I told you, *said with proper fatherly attitude* concentrate on your studies, you got time for girls afterwards! *LOL*

Manish : I was invited to attend the Olympic trials which took place after the Sharjah tournament. However, in the last match in Sharjah I strained my hamstring, so I was unable to take part in the trials. Too bad !!.

@Amit : This year we had four months off, so I had a chance to have a holiday. This was my first holiday in 3 years as we have been playing non-stop since 1993.

Sekhar : No, that doesnt really happen in South Africa as the wickets generally favour the fast bowlers, so they do not have to resort to ball tampering.

Hello Jonty, pity SA lost tho, what do you think of the coming test series ?

3D>> Yeah, pal, see you around... :-)

Prem>>new era that is really premature.. I will say a new era only if we win against the South Africans and West Indies abroad. Do you agree?

Jonty..what do u think of the upcoming series in SA?. I mean what are India's chances...?

Mr Rhodes, someone asked you this before: Who provided the inspiration for your cricket career? To whom do you turn to for inspiration when the chips are down?

Prem>> would it be possible to post some pictures of the interview along with the transcript? thanx

And what about your batting? When are we going to see some sparks?

Prem>>are you joking..man i am in my final year of undergrad.. Can one not do both? :)

Jonty, thx for the update on Brett. On another note, do you find it a bit annoying at times, that people refer to your fielding prowess more than your batting abilities because you've got SA through on more than the odd sticky situation....

Anil : I find it difficult to sit still for too long. So I'll be soon out of here!! Only joking. I enjoy all ball sports and play golf and tennis with my wife whenever I get the chance which is not too often!!

St Auburn : Everyone has a diffenrent approaches to the way they play the game. I try and be a Christian in what I do and what I say. So if I say anything I try and make it humourous rather than harmful.

amit>> I wouldn't equate everything with results. The point of building a young side would be to give it time, a year or so, to settle into its groove before we even begin to think of results. Like the Sri Lankans, for instance - the selectors and fans stuck with the side even when it lost continuously - if it had been India, Ranatunga, Gurusinghe, Jayasuriya and maybe even D'Silva (on the grounds of irresponsibility) would no longer be in the national team, even.

Jonty???..what other sport do u play?...ur views on the upcoming series???.. pleez!

Jonty, Do the relatively rougher Indian grounds make you think twice before going for a dive. You surely must miss the lush green grass of your own grounds.

Jonty>>thanks for a wonderful session.. Take some rest today..btw where is your next flight to? Enjoy the country and best of luck in the Test Matches :)

Wanna JOnty>> Transcripts of all Rediff chats are always available, pal, just go to the chat home page and you will find them. With pix, of course. :-)

Thanx for ur reply Jonty!..but one more question..how did u learn to JUMP like THAT???? :-)

Jonty>> What is Alan Donald gonna do with the golden ear studs he got for the Man of the series?

John M: Cricket is becoming a young man's game because of the physical demands so I think that the next generation of cricket playres will all thro themselves around the field to save runs. We have a young man in our side Hershelle Gibbs who is a really good fielder and I am sure in the years to come you'll get a lot of p[leasure from watching him field.

Hey Jonty..any Indian fielders u like??? :-)

Prem>>ok but don't you think we need to win some matches abroad in the upcoming tours in order for us to have completed that building stage and really be into that 'new era' Like win atleast one test match in WI and South Africa. Sorry to talk about this here Jonty

Who are the five international cricketers whom your team fears the most?

I am very keen to hearb your personal encounters with President Mandela and Graeme pollock?

@Amit : Thanks for your support. Isnt the technology amazing! The things you can do these days. Our flight ttomorrow is to cochin where we play a three day game in preparation for the Test Series.

Sekhar : Being quite short I dont land too heavily so it doesnt make too much difference on which continent I am diving!!

Jonty>>Do you enjoy talking to people here? Are people mostly friendly? Have you gooten a sense of what an ordinary poor man's life in India is like?

Amit>> Sure. But don't you think we need to let the boys get on with it, without constantly going up down with each win and loss? I remember yesterday, when we were doing the live thing, a lot of people left the chat site when India slipped between overs 35 and 40. And when 220 was the final score, more people left, though I kept pointing out that it would all depend on the first 15 overs of the SA chase. Same difference - let's wait for this team to tour, see how it plays. Forget winning, I'll settle for good, solid performances against SA and the Windies.

How come the Afrikaners have taken to cricket in a big way? The team of the 70s was dominated by players born of English stock. The Afrikaners were more keen on rugby, so how come your team is dominated by Afrikaners? When did that change happen?

Photograph: Jewella Miranda