It's easy to forget that Jos Buttler is actually a wicket-keeper. Coming into Somerset's side after Craig Kieswetter had made the gloves his own, Buttler's had to settle for playing solely as a specialist batsman. Averaging over 68 in List A cricket, with an astonishing strike rate of 147 per 100 balls, Buttler is certainly an England player in waiting - indeed he is a current international having made his debut against India last Wednesday.
A modern cricketer sometimes needs a couple of strings to their bow in order to succeed, and Buttler's wicket-keeping could set him apart from the group of talented young limited over players all making their names in county cricket at the moment. However, Craig Kieswetter's seemingly permanent place behind the stumps at Taunton means that Buttler isn't able to show off his glovemanship, and that extra element to his game may be forgotten about.
Kieswetter's technique has led to question marks all the way through his international career, and it would only take a few low scores for the doubters to grow ever louder. England have a long list of potential wicket-keepers for the limited over formats (Matt Prior's position as test stumper being impregnable for the time being), with Steve Davies, Jonny Bairstow, Phil Mustard and even Middlesex's John Simpson (although I may be a little biased on that front) all putting forward excellent cases for their inclusion this season.
Kieswetter is currently away with the England ODI squad, which means that Buttler's been given the chance to don the gloves for Somerset's CB40 semi against Durham, and by all accounts Jos has performed tidily. Those in the know see Buttler's excellent technique as far superior to Kieswetter's shaky one, and it's fairly obvious that Buttler is the better long term prospect internationally. It's not uncommon for ODI teams to give the gloves to any old member of the team (de Villiers, Trescothick, Dravid anyone?) in order to shoehorn in the players that they want to, and while Davies, Mustard, Bairstow, Kieswetter and Simpson (don't forget him...) all keep wicket for their respective counties, we may see a situation where someone who fields at deep square leg for Somerset is given the gloves for England.
It's a tout, and an outlandish one considering the talent that is currently in front of him, but I'm expecting Jos Buttler to have ousted Craig Kieswetter as England's limited over keeper by next summer. Or at least taken over from him as Somerset's number one stumper...
Showing posts with label wicket-keeping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wicket-keeping. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Kiesy Keeping His Confidence Up
I've deliberately not written anything about Middlesex's T20 campaign on here this year, partly because we've been so awful and we've been trying to keep it on the down low, and also because I've been writing exclusively (and officially) about it here. However, this piece is going to reference it slightly, so be warned.
Today at Southgate, Middlesex took on Somerset. Turning out for Somerset was Craig Kieswetter. Having played a big part in winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka for England yesterday at Old Trafford, Craig hopped in the Kiesmobile (that picture there)
and got down to the picturesque outground for the T20.
I've seen Craig keep wicket on a few occasions, and the jury's often been out. Picked for England purely on the basis of him being a big hitting opener rather than for any fancy glovework, I'd always felt Kieswetter's keeping wasn't quite up to standard. And he probably felt it too. You can always tell immediately when a wicket-keeper is actually any good, because he exudes a confidence that radiates around the field. You just know that if the ball goes up, it's going to land safely in his gloves. If the batsman strays even momentarily from his ground, you know the keeper will have whipped off the bails before he regains his safety. At the level Kieswetter is playing, anyone given the gloves will be good enough, but every now and again you come across someone with that little something special.
My first sighting of Craig Kieswetter keeping wicket was last summer in an ODI against Australia. The highs of the World T20 were long forgotten as Craig's struggles at the top of the order in English conditions had taken hold, and the press were targetting him. He hadn't scored many all series, and the spectre of Steve Davies loomed large. And as such, while his keeping wasn't terrible, he clearly didn't command the field. A couple of spills were soon followed by a couple of drops, and suddenly he looked very miserable. His poor batting continued, and he was not long later dropped for Davies and forgotten.
Fast forward to today's T20. Kieswetter's keeping had been impressive through the ODI series against Sri Lanka - the first time he'd been in the side since being dropped 12 months ago. But at Southgate, everything went through him. Whatever was happening in the field, everyone was looking at him. While it wasn't a faultless display he exuded a confidence that suggested he wasn't going to spill any chances or muff up any run outs. And he took a couple of excellent catches which ultimately swung the momentum back towards his side. He didn't score many runs but he still seemed the main attraction.
It just goes to show what a bit of confidence can do. Doing well in one of his disciplines has given a boost to the other, and as such is in fine form. Being told by Andy Flower that he is to be the first choice ODI keeper gave Kieswetter the freedom and confidence to excel in the ODI series, and the high score has given him far more confidence in the field. Which will then rub off on his batting. Which will then give him more of an aura whilst keeping. It's a continuous cycle of self-belief that can only benefit Craig and England going forward.
The difference between Kieswetter against Australia last year and Sri Lanka this is huge. Last year he struggled immensely against the moving ball and the requirements of a 50 over opener compared to a twenty20 one. This year (albeit against a weaker Sri Lankan attack) he's looked composed, assured, and has scored a weight of runs that suggests he's going to be around for a long time. This may have started as a post about Middlesex's hard-earned point (from a tie, nonetheless) against Somerset, but it's mostly been about Craig Kieswetter. Something that England's ODI cricket might be all about for quite a while to come...
Today at Southgate, Middlesex took on Somerset. Turning out for Somerset was Craig Kieswetter. Having played a big part in winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka for England yesterday at Old Trafford, Craig hopped in the Kiesmobile (that picture there)
and got down to the picturesque outground for the T20.
I've seen Craig keep wicket on a few occasions, and the jury's often been out. Picked for England purely on the basis of him being a big hitting opener rather than for any fancy glovework, I'd always felt Kieswetter's keeping wasn't quite up to standard. And he probably felt it too. You can always tell immediately when a wicket-keeper is actually any good, because he exudes a confidence that radiates around the field. You just know that if the ball goes up, it's going to land safely in his gloves. If the batsman strays even momentarily from his ground, you know the keeper will have whipped off the bails before he regains his safety. At the level Kieswetter is playing, anyone given the gloves will be good enough, but every now and again you come across someone with that little something special.
My first sighting of Craig Kieswetter keeping wicket was last summer in an ODI against Australia. The highs of the World T20 were long forgotten as Craig's struggles at the top of the order in English conditions had taken hold, and the press were targetting him. He hadn't scored many all series, and the spectre of Steve Davies loomed large. And as such, while his keeping wasn't terrible, he clearly didn't command the field. A couple of spills were soon followed by a couple of drops, and suddenly he looked very miserable. His poor batting continued, and he was not long later dropped for Davies and forgotten.
Fast forward to today's T20. Kieswetter's keeping had been impressive through the ODI series against Sri Lanka - the first time he'd been in the side since being dropped 12 months ago. But at Southgate, everything went through him. Whatever was happening in the field, everyone was looking at him. While it wasn't a faultless display he exuded a confidence that suggested he wasn't going to spill any chances or muff up any run outs. And he took a couple of excellent catches which ultimately swung the momentum back towards his side. He didn't score many runs but he still seemed the main attraction.
It just goes to show what a bit of confidence can do. Doing well in one of his disciplines has given a boost to the other, and as such is in fine form. Being told by Andy Flower that he is to be the first choice ODI keeper gave Kieswetter the freedom and confidence to excel in the ODI series, and the high score has given him far more confidence in the field. Which will then rub off on his batting. Which will then give him more of an aura whilst keeping. It's a continuous cycle of self-belief that can only benefit Craig and England going forward.
The difference between Kieswetter against Australia last year and Sri Lanka this is huge. Last year he struggled immensely against the moving ball and the requirements of a 50 over opener compared to a twenty20 one. This year (albeit against a weaker Sri Lankan attack) he's looked composed, assured, and has scored a weight of runs that suggests he's going to be around for a long time. This may have started as a post about Middlesex's hard-earned point (from a tie, nonetheless) against Somerset, but it's mostly been about Craig Kieswetter. Something that England's ODI cricket might be all about for quite a while to come...
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Prior - The New Gilchrist?
Whenever a player stands out as being the best ever in his field, he is automatically used as a yardstick to judge others by. Any new half-decent spinner will be compared to Warne. A batsman who starts making a few runs will be touted as a successor to Bradman. And a wicketkeeper who starts scoring quickly will be called the new Gilchrist. Today Matt Prior completed his century - his second successive ton in a test shirt, and they've both come at a fair lick. So with the traditional hyperbole that so often follows English cricketers before coming disappointingly short, the press box went into overdrive, with Prior / Gilchrist comparisons hitting Twitter almost as often as Justin Bieber gets requests to post his phone number.
So what would being "the new Gilchrist" entail? Well, the 'Gilchrist', or the attacking wicket-keeper batsman role is all about scoring quickly. Coming in at number seven, the Gilchrist can either further cement the superiority of an innings by blazing a quickfire century, or turn around a failing innings by chipping in with handy quick runs after the top order failed. The Gilchrist always puts the team's needs above his personal average, sometimes giving his wicket away in the noble cause of forcing the pace. In terms of wicket-keeping, the Gilchrist is a more than capable keeper - not unprone to the odd howler but generally sound.
It's impossible to ignore that Prior ticks a lot of these boxes. He has a First Class strike rate of 67 (test SR of 64), so he knows where the boundary is. And with 5 test tons and an average of over 43 to his name, he is also prone to finding those boundaries fairly regularly. However, Gilchrist, who as I said earlier is the benchmark, made 17 test tons at 47, with a colossal strike rate of 82. While Prior is doing pretty damn well for himself, Gilchrist comparisons may be a touch premature.
There's no doubting that Matt Prior is a much improved keeper (although he has only made 4 stumpings in a four year test career, much of which he's spent keeping to 'the best attacking spinner in the world') and an excellent batsman down the order. Of the keepers currently plying their trade in test cricket, Prior is probably the most consistent batsman, and a massive reason why England have been so successful recently. It's probably fair to say that Matt Prior is the best wicket-keeper/batsman in the world. However, as with Warne, Bradman et al, Gilchrist was a one-off - the sort of cricketer that defines a role, rather than letting the role define him. While there is absolutely no shame at all in being currently the best in the world, perhaps those blowing the Matt Prior horn should reign in the notion that he's the best ever.
So what would being "the new Gilchrist" entail? Well, the 'Gilchrist', or the attacking wicket-keeper batsman role is all about scoring quickly. Coming in at number seven, the Gilchrist can either further cement the superiority of an innings by blazing a quickfire century, or turn around a failing innings by chipping in with handy quick runs after the top order failed. The Gilchrist always puts the team's needs above his personal average, sometimes giving his wicket away in the noble cause of forcing the pace. In terms of wicket-keeping, the Gilchrist is a more than capable keeper - not unprone to the odd howler but generally sound.
It's impossible to ignore that Prior ticks a lot of these boxes. He has a First Class strike rate of 67 (test SR of 64), so he knows where the boundary is. And with 5 test tons and an average of over 43 to his name, he is also prone to finding those boundaries fairly regularly. However, Gilchrist, who as I said earlier is the benchmark, made 17 test tons at 47, with a colossal strike rate of 82. While Prior is doing pretty damn well for himself, Gilchrist comparisons may be a touch premature.
There's no doubting that Matt Prior is a much improved keeper (although he has only made 4 stumpings in a four year test career, much of which he's spent keeping to 'the best attacking spinner in the world') and an excellent batsman down the order. Of the keepers currently plying their trade in test cricket, Prior is probably the most consistent batsman, and a massive reason why England have been so successful recently. It's probably fair to say that Matt Prior is the best wicket-keeper/batsman in the world. However, as with Warne, Bradman et al, Gilchrist was a one-off - the sort of cricketer that defines a role, rather than letting the role define him. While there is absolutely no shame at all in being currently the best in the world, perhaps those blowing the Matt Prior horn should reign in the notion that he's the best ever.
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