The effervescent Jonty Rhodes was such a great fielder it seemed difficult for him to persuade South African selectors his batting was as good as it was. True, he faltered at times, but he was in the best form of his life when he was left out to make way for a superfluous bowler during a 1999-2000 England series. His disappointment was followed by a decision to opt out of Test cricket and concentrate on ODIs. Rhodes had been a spectacular addition to cricket from the day South Africa returned to the international fold. Either he was diving into the stumps during the 1992 World Cup in Australia, or dancing in the outfield to the Port Elizabeth band. In some of his early Tests there is little doubt he got into the side as a fielder, the first man to be so selected since England picked Phil Sharpe to field at slip in 1969. He soon showed he was more than useful with the bat, starting off with 91 against India at Johannesburg in 1992-93, in only his second Test, and following up with 86 in Cape Town. He scored 76 not out in South Africa's narrow win over Australia at Sydney in 1993-94. In England in 1994 his best Test score was 46 and he was hit on the head by Devon Malcolm, and his star was slowly sinking before the 1998 tour to England, as young talents like Kallis and Gibbs emerged. However, an analysis of his technique transformed his batting on that tour. He scored 98 in the first Test at Edgbaston, 117 in the second at Lord's and 85 in the last match at Headingley. Jonty scored 63 in Auckland in a 1999 trip to New Zealand, and scored 50 and 57 not out against England at Port Elizabeth, but was dropped for the next match. (Bob Harragan)