Sports Commentary - The Wicket-Keepers in Test Cricket: A Review

 By Dale Brown

NEW YORK, NY. Tuesday, September 1, 2020 -- The role of the Test wicket-keeper has not changed over the years.

The wicket-keeper is a specialist fielder with defined responsibilities. He is expected to accept catches ranging from the straight forward to the most difficult ones.

He aids the spinners to dismiss the batsmen by effecting stumping chances, whether they are deemed to be easy or difficult.

He is expected to prevent the opposition from scoring on the team and the bowlers by intercepting wayward deliveries from turning into byes or leg byes.

The ‘keeper also plays a vital role in aiding the bowlers to “work out” the batsmen weaknesses. He helps to elevate the team’s morale by constantly encouraging the bowlers and the other fielders.

The Dilemma

The problem facing most team selection panels depends on the desired composition of the playing XI.

Some Test teams used to routinely select wicket-keepers who are master technicians but not good batsmen such as Godfrey Evans of England, Don Tallon of Australia or Jackie Hendriks of the West Indies.

Adam Gilchrist, Australia

Some have selected excellent batsmen like the explosive Adam Gilchrist of Australia, Les Ames of England and the oft-forgotten Andy Flower of Zimbabwe. 

Andy Flower, Zimbabwe

The ideal wicket-keeper should be a practitioner who is well balanced in the art of wicket-keeping and is able to consistently contribute to the team as a specialist batsman.

In assessing their career batting prowess, it is important to remember that in addition to the normal effects of ageing, the job of the wicket-keeper is perhaps the most physically demanding of all the cricketing disciplines.

The natural wear and tear on the hands and body plus the mental demands of the position has proven to have an adverse effect on their batting especially during the later years of their careers.

In this exercise, we will review the contributions of the wicket- keepers throughout history by examining some pertinent batting statistics as they relate to the individual Test playing countries.

Please remember the statistics are only relevant to the players when they played as the wicket-keepers for their respective countries.

NB- * denotes still active

Australia

Australia has used 33 wicket-keepers in their history.  Six (6) players have scored over 1,000 runs and of these, only the leading run getter, Adam Gilchrist with 5,570 runs @47.60, Brad Haddin 3,266 @ 32.98 and Tim Paine* with 1,330 @31.66, have career averages of over 30 runs per inning.

Adam Gilchrist accounts for 17 of the 31 centuries scored by the Australian wicket-keepers.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh used 6 wicket -keepers in their short history and 2 of them have scored over 1,000 runs.

Mushfiqur Rahim leads in all categories with 3,515 runs at an average of 37.0. He has also scored 6 of their 7 centuries.

England

Sixty (68) players have donned the gloves for England.  Les Ames (1929-39), was the first of their 11 ‘keepers to score over 1,000 runs. Here are the 7 players who also averaged over 30.

Les Ames 2,387 runs @43.40; Matt Prior 4,099 @40.18; Johnny Bairstow* 3,028 @37.85; Alex Stewart (runs leader) 4,540 @34.92; Alan Knott 4,389 @32.75; Jos Butler* 1,294 @32.35 and Jim Parks 1,876 @32.34.

England’s keepers have scored 44 centuries with Ames again topping the list with 8.

India

India has employed 36 gloved men with 6 scoring over 1,000 runs.

M.S Dhoni is the leading scorer with 4,876 @ 38.09 and 6 centuries. He leads in all categories.

Only Farouk Engineer with 2,611@ 31.08 and W.P Saha* 1,202 @ 30.82 have averaged over 30 runs. 

Dhoni leads the way with 6 of their 21 centuries.

New Zealand

New Zealand used 28 wicket-keepers in their history with 5 of them scoring over 1,000 runs in their careers.

B.J Watling* with 3,266 runs @40.32 and Brendon McCullum 2,803 @34.18, are the players who also averaged over 30 runs.

Watling* is the leading century maker with 7 of the team’s 18 centuries.

Pakistan

Twenty-three (23) players have occupied this position for Pakistan with 7 scoring over 1,000 runs. Sarfraz Ahmed with 2,657 runs @36.39 leads in runs scored and averages. Kamran Akmal with 2,648 runs @ 30.79 and Imtiaz Ahmed with 2,010 runs @ 30.45, are the others who scored over 1,000 runs and averaged over 30.

South Africa

South Africa has utilized the services of 24 players in the role of wicket-keeper. A total of 7 players scored over 1,000 runs with Mark Boucher’s 5,498 runs leading the way.

The following 6 players led by A.B deVilliers 2,067 runs @57.41; Quinton de Kock* 2,884 @40.61; Denis Lindsay 1,000 @40.00; Mark Boucher 5,498 @ 30.54; John Waite 2,336 @30.33 and Horace Cameron 1,239 @ 30.21, averaged over 30.

Despite playing only 24 matches as the wicket-keeper, deVilliers is the leading century maker with 7 of South Africa’s 27 centuries.

 

West Indies

Thirty-two (32) players have kept wicket for the West Indies. Five (5) have scored over 1,000 runs.

Jeffrey Dujon, the leading scorer with 3,146 runs @ 31.46, is the only player with over 1,000 career runs who averaged over 30.

Dujon also scored 5 centuries to lead the team in that category.

Jeffrey Dujon, West Indies

 Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is also relatively new to Test cricket and have used 7 ‘keepers with 2 of them scoring over 1,000 runs. Andy Flower is the leading scorer with 4,404 runs @53.70 and he has also accounted for 12 of the team’s 14 centuries.

NB- The 5 players from Afghanistan and Ireland have not been included in this study.

The 5 highest aggregate of runs scored in a series by the designated wicket-keeper.

South Africa v Australia 1966/67

During the 5-Test series against the visiting Australians in 1966-67, Denis Lindsay of South Africa established the record for the highest aggregate of runs in a series by a wicket-keeper. He batted primarily at number 6 in the order and scored a team high 606 runs at an average of 86.57. South Africa won the series 3-1.

Lindsay also set the record for scoring the most centuries (3) in a series.

India v Zimbabwe 2000/01

Zimbabwe toured India in 2000/01 and lost the 2 Test series 1-0. Andy Flower batting at number 5, scored 540 runs at an average of 270.00.

Flower, scored 2 centuries including an undefeated 232 which is the highest score by a wicket-keeper and 183 not out.

India v England 1963/64

B.K Kunderan opened the batting and scored 525 runs in 5 Tests at 52.50 in the drawn 0-0 series against the touring English team. Kunderan helped himself to 2 centuries against the tourists

England v Australia 2013/14

Brad Haddin batting at number 7, helped Australia to defeat England 5-0 by scoring 493 runs with 1 century while averaging 61.62 runs.

Australia v West Indies 1960/61

Franz Alexander primarily batted at number 8, scored 484 runs with 1 century and averaged 60.50 during this exciting 5 match series which featured the first tied in Test cricket. Australia won the series 2-1.

Summary

There have been 276 wicket-keepers in the history of Test cricket (excluding 2 from Afghanistan and 3 from Ireland) with 56 (20.28%) of them making at least 1,000 runs in their careers.

Thirty (10.86%) of the 276 ‘keepers have scored over 1,000 runs and averaged over 30 runs per inning.                                                                   

Seventeen (17) of the 30 players who scored over 1,000 runs and averaged over 30 runs, began playing at the turn of the century while 4 others began their careers during the 1990’s.

The other 9 players range from pre- war Ames and Cameron; and post-war, Waite, Imtiaz Ahmed, Parks, Engineer, Lindsay, Knott and Dujon.

It is still a luxury for teams to have long serving wicket-keepers who are excellent batsmen although there has been a slight increase in productivity especially in the last 20 years.

--00—

Editor’s note. Dale Brown is a sports historian and host of SECOND BASE, the total sports program airing Tuesdays, 7 – 8 pm, on the Wee Radio Network at, www.weeradioonline.com.