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Rhodes tipped as fielding coach

Jonty Rhodes is one of the favourites to become England's fielding coach as the new management team continues to expand the back room staff

Cricinfo staff
08-Jul-2007


Is Jonty Rhodes soon to be wearing the three lions? © Getty Images
Jonty Rhodes is one of the favourites to become England's fielding coach as the new management team continues to expand the back room staff. It is hoped the position will be filled by the time the one-day squad meets up again for the seven-match series against India in the second half of August.
England dropped three catches during the deciding one-dayer at Trent Bridge on Sunday - two in the outfield by Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, plus one by wicketkeeper Matt Prior - while the ground fielding was caught out by aggressive West Indies running. The boundary sweepers often struggled to collect the ball cleanly while those inside the circle rarely managed any direct hits.
"As with the rest of the support team we want the right person to do that job," said England coach Peter Moores. "When we've got the right bloke we can look to bring him in and see how he goes. We have seen that in other specialist positions for coaches.
"We are talking about people who could make a genuine difference to international performances - and they don't always grow on trees. If we get a fielding coach we want him to influence fielding in England not just at England level."
Rhodes, who was famous for his work at backward point in his career, has previously held a similar post with South Africa and Pakistan. His former team-mate Allan Donald is currently England's bowling coach until the end of the Twenty20 World Championships.