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Wednesday, Apr 15, 2009
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Putting ’keeping in the forefront

S. Dinakar

Is there a need to strike a greater balance in assessing the role of the ’keeper?

Chennai: During times when batsmen-keepers are in demand, are specialist wicket-keepers a dying breed? Is depth in batting a greater necessity than brilliance in glove-work?

A catch grassed or a stumping squandered that changes the course of a tight game could be worth more than a load of runs. Do we need to strike a greater balance while assessing the role of arguably the most influential man on the cricket field?

The ’keeper is the power-house in the arena. He interacts with the captain and the bowler on matters of strategy — few are better placed to assess the nature of the pitch or study the batsman — and lifts his team’s morale.

Demanding job

The very nature of the job requires extreme fitness, exemplary concentration levels, anticipation, reflexes and body balance.

Wicket-keeping is a fine blend of instinct, judgment and technique. A ’keeper has to adapt to the pace and bounce of the surface and these elements could vary as the contest progresses. The slip cordon, invariably, looks for indications from the ’keeper on where to stand.

Australian wicket-keeping great Ian Healy often put the baggy greens on the path to victory. “Keeping is a lot about powerful sideways movements,” he says. “The ’keeper has to move on the balls of his feet, not toe or heel alone,” he avers.

Actually, the role of a ’keeper travels beyond effecting dismissals. The quality of his gathering — allowing the ball to ease into his gloves — enhances the confidence of the attack. If the ’keeper is sound, the bowler is instilled with greater belief.

Essential aspect

While contributing usefully with the willow — legendary ’keepers such as Allan Knott and Rodney Marsh made runs in crunch situations — is an essential aspect of the package, a ’keeper’s primary role cannot be put in the back-burner.

Travelling farther back, England’s highly rated Leslie Ames made 2,434 runs at 40.56 from 47 Tests. Importantly, he was also a high-quality ’keeper (72 catches and 23 stumpings) in an era (1920 and 30s) when the pitches were unpredictable.

Moving to the modern era, Adam Gilchrist’s precious ability to swing matches with the willow changed the way the world looked at ’keepers. But then, he was also an extremely competent ’keeper who never neglected his job behind the stumps.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has evolved both as a batsman and as a ’keeper. He is not a natural with the gloves, though.

Dhoni has worked hard and possesses the physical and the mental strength for the job if not flair. The Indian captain’s 110 dismissals in 37 Tests (92 catches and 18 stumpings) is a fair record.

An important technical adjustment enabled Dhoni improve his ’keeping. The gap between his feet as he crouches is equal or just more than the width of his shoulder. This has led to greater stability in his movements.

Tougher job

The job of a wicket-keeper in the sub-continent is invariably tougher. He has to stand up to the stumps, keep wickets to spinners on wearing surfaces with variable bounce. He needs to read the spinner from the grip and action and follow the path of the ball in the air and off the pitch much like a batsman. A keeper has to rise with the ball, and collect with soft hands.

Someone like Bhagwat Chandrasekar, a freakish leg-spinner, posed searching questions to ’keepers. Farokh Engineer (66 catches and 16 stumpings in 46 Tests) — an aggressive batsman and a flashy ’keeper — says, “Nine out of ten times, Chandra did not realise which way the ball would spin. Chandra really gave it a rip. His wrist would almost turn around completely. “Keeping to him called for split second coordination. His quicker delivery was really quick. The one that darted through the leg-side could provide a stumping opportunity. You had to be quick and alert.”

India’s finest

Syed Kirmani (160 catches and 38 stumpings in 88 Tests) is arguably the finest ’keeper to represent India. He ’kept sensationally to Chandrasekar. “There were times when I had to collect deliveries in front of my chest,” says Kirmani.

His movements were easy and graceful and the gathering smooth.

Only Australia’s skilful Bert Oldfield (78 catches and 52 stumpings in 54 Tests) and England’s indomitable Godfrey Evans (173 catches and 46 stumpings in 91 Tests) were more prolific when it came to stumpings.

Among the contemporary keepers, Mark Boucher stands the tallest. The South African is the most successful keeper in the history of Test cricket — 453 catches and 22 stumpings in 126 Tests — and can defy gravity to snaffle catches in front of the slips or way down the leg-side. He is also a chirpy character and a battler with the willow.

Healy’s pick

According to Healy, Sri Lanka’s Prasanna Jayawardene, who keeps to off-spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and the beguiling Ajantha Mendis, is the best in the business. Jayawardene is an impressive ’keeper, with his technique, reflexes and energy.

The Lankan selectors have done well to take the big gloves away from Kumar Sangakkara (a capable ’keeper) in Tests to enable him focus on his technically sound batting.

Brendon McCullum of New Zealand has come down a notch in the area of consistency — he still displays flashes of inspiration — but West Indies’ Denesh Ramdin has interesting possibilities.

The dynamics of keeping have changed in the one-day and Twenty20 cricket.

The keeper stands up to the pacemen — this increases the chances of a stumping, prevents the batsman from taking stance outside the crease and puts the keeper in a better position to collect throws from inside the ring — and demands a fair measure of skill.

These are days when the number of quality ’keepers are no more than a handful.

There has been a dip in standards and this is a direct consequence of too much focus on batting.

Once a bastion of world-class ’keepers, England has been the worst offender.

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