Who is the best WICKETKEEPER in the world

[Richard]

I don't know much about this subject, but who does everyone here on CW think is the best wicketkeeper and batting ability counts for nothing.

Pat Steward.

Or someone else playing club cricket in Abahani...

 

[Goughy]

TBH, I find keepers hard to judge. Its really difficult to evaluate them without watching a great deal of cricket with the specific aim of analysing them. Many highly rated keepers are pretty ordinary, they are often judged on reputation rather than actual ability.

In truth, I could speculate with a name but I wouldnt be comfortable saying I knew which guy was best.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

...but how exactly is he horrible? He hasn't been dropping catches, he hasn't been missing easy takes, he hasn't been missing stumpings. He may not look as 'natural' as an Akmal for example, but he's been far better as a wicketkeeper in recent times.

Well, in the DLF Cup and CT it was mainly takes he wasn't even getting near that stood out. I remember a couple of occasions when he was caught totally out of position and missed a resulting opportunity. Not too sure about specific dropped chances as the games tend to blur together a bit, though I think there were a couple. Was more a general impression, anyway.

Don't remember his keeping quite so much in South Africa, which may be a positive thing, or just indicate that I wasn't watching as closely.

 

[adharcric]

Dhoni is far from horrible. He was woeful to spinners early on but that aspect has improved considerably. In recent times, his keeping has been safe but not spectacular. He's clearly not a natural - his "lateral aerial agility" is not too good - but he is athletic and quick on his feet behind the stumps. Karthik is definitely infinitely better though.

 

[FRAZ]

When I calculate their ability as being an allrounder and the value that they have in their respective teams , for me top three currently are
Kumar Sangakara
Gilchrist
Boucher

 

[PhoenixFire]

Read is quite easily the best glovesman for me.

 

[Ross Douglas]

Extremely overrated.

Not by me.

All I'm saying is that he is probably the best out of the current lot, which doesn't necessarily take much to achieve.

The likes of Boucher and Sangakarra are decent. Gilchrist is strange in that he can be consistently good for a while and just when you start to belive he is an excellent keeper in his own right he will produce the odd absolute nightmare match and have a load of shockers all at once.

 

[JASON]

Sangakkara considering his keeping is second to none despite the SL selectors choosing to play him as a batsman only in Tests ATM and his batting is exceptional not just for a keeper/batsman. (Test No.3 and ODI No3)

 

[Richard]

TBH, I find keepers hard to judge. Its really difficult to evaluate them without watching a great deal of cricket with the specific aim of analysing them. Many highly rated keepers are pretty ordinary, they are often judged on reputation rather than actual ability.

In truth, I could speculate with a name but I wouldnt be comfortable saying I knew which guy was best.

Very true.

Truth is, hardly anyone these days is a true conoisseur of wicketkeeping.

The best way to look at it IMO is "the less you notice a wicketkeeper, the better he's doing".

 

[cricketboy29]

Unless they take a spectacular catch or something...like the one Karthik took in the third Test

 

[Perm]

Extremely overrated.

Agreed, he has a big reputation as being better than Geraint Jones behind the stumps but I haven't seen much to prove it to be honest. I know Jones used to be absolutely horrible but he has improved out of sight, much like Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Kamran Akmal is probably the worst of the lot at the moment, whilst Sangakarra should not be considered because he doesn't keep for the Sri Lankan test side on a regular basis. It has often been said that Mark Boucher is pretty average against spinners, I've seen nothing to suggest he is. In last year's VB series he pulled off a very, very difficult leg-side stumping and against pacemen he is top quality. Brendon McCullum is under-rated on these forums, his wicket keeping is very tidy and he very rarely drops anything and often is called upon to take balls way down the leg-side or very high over his head which he does quite well. He would be the best athlete of the current crop.

Haven't seen much of Dinesh Ramdin or Khaled Mashud so it would be unfair for me to judge them and Adam Gilchrist's skills with the gloves often go un-noticed because of his phenominal acheivements with the bat. Very solid keeper.

All in all it's very hard to judge a wicket-keepers ability because it often gets clouded with how good they are with the bat and for wicket-keepers they usually only get publicity if their form is poor with the gloves.

1. Adam Gilchrist
2. Mark Boucher
3. Brendon McCullum
4. Chris Read
5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Didn't include Sangakarra because he doesn't do it often enough and I haven't seen enough of Ramdin and Mashud to make a decision. Akmal would be right down the bottom.

 

[Richard]

Unless they take a spectacular catch or something...like the one Karthik took in the third Test

Pah, showboating.

There is something in that, though, even if obviously not applicable to that case. Some wicketkeepers (Godfrey Evans and Alan Knott, for instance) were natural showmen but there were other less obtrusive wicketkeepers around who were as good if not better (Keith Andrew and Bob Taylor).

 

[PhoenixFire]

Perm, you do realise that it is a total joke having Gilchrist as the best Keeper in the world at the moment, don't you?

 

[Perm]

Perm, you do realise that it is a total joke having Gilchrist as the best Keeper in the world at the moment, don't you?

Well let's see, Sangakarra doesn't play often enough as a WK. Boucher is pretty good and is about even with Gilchrist, McCullum still has a bit to prove. Dhoni is still learning and is getting better while Gilchrist has been very good for a number of years, barring a few series. Who would you rate higher and why is it a total joke?

 

[PhoenixFire]

Well let's see, Sangakarra doesn't play often enough as a WK. Boucher is pretty good and is about even with Gilchrist, McCullum still has a bit to prove. Dhoni is still learning and is getting better while Gilchrist has been very good for a number of years, barring a few series. Who would you rate higher and why is it a total joke?

He has kept wicket 52 times in Tests, whats all that about??

 

[Perm]

He has kept wicket 52 times in Tests, whats all that about??

In recent times it has been Prasanna Jayawardene keeping for Sri Lanka in Test matches.

 

[PhoenixFire]

But surely you have seen enough of him to know that he is a better keeper (or not) than Gilchrist?

 

[Richard]

He has kept wicket 52 times in Tests, whats all that about??

But not recently and when he did all close to him commented on how exhausted he looked when he went out to bat at three (and when he returned to the pavilion soon after).

IMO it's not unfair to exclude Sangakkara from the wicketkeepers... at least at the moment, and surely poor old Pras can only get the position for so long, so unless they've got some next-Kalu coming-up...

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

But surely you have seen enough of him to know that he is a better keeper (or not) than Gilchrist?

And he's not, though he does keep far better to Murali than he used to. Definitely a big improver in the last few years.

Regardless, if he's not playing as a keeper you can hardly rate him as one, even if he's brilliant.

 

[Prince EWS]

It's quite likely that the best wicket keeper in the world isn't even playing international cricket - he could well be a hopeless batsman playing 5th grade somewhere batting #10, with his poor batting skills stopping further progress.

Of those currently being selected in international cricket, I'd have to go with Boucher. Karthick has impressed me the few times I have seen him, but admittedly that hasn't been a great deal.