5 best Australian silly point / short leg fielders of all time

If there is one cricketing nation that has produced gifted cricketers, on a consistent basis, for more than century, then it is Australia and they continue to do so.

They have produced excellent batsmen, outstanding bowlers and also, superb fielders.

Among those fielders, many turned out to be excellent at silly point and short-leg, the two key close-in fielding positions in Test cricket.

Their reflexes, their ability to stay calm in a position in which a fielder is in mortal danger and their ability to pull off stunning catches are some of the qualities that make them great.

Here is a look at 5 of the finest to have fielded at those positions for Australia.

#5 Joe Burns

The right-handed batsman might be out of favour in the Australian Test side at this point in time but if short-leg fielding had been an overwhelming factor in selection, then Joe Burns would probably have never been dropped.

Burns might have been made the short-leg fielder for being new to the side but in the 13 Test matches that he played for Australia, from 2014 to 2016, he displayed a natural affinity to the position.

Burns is agile, he can anticipate the direction of the ball and most importantly, he is fearless when he field at short-leg.

He has only taken 15 catches so far in 13 Tests but there is no doubt that as far as his prowess at short-leg is concerned, Australia have a potential great on their hands. 

​