Wicket keepers roles have generally been to help the tail-enders finish off the innings so it is common for them to be taught to play aggressively from the start. We have seen the likes of Sangakkara really work on their batting skills and become more defensive. A wicket keeper is there to help out with the bat but really to perform a great job with the gloves. If the player focus's on batting rather than wicket keeping all the time it is likely that their wicket keeping skills will decrease and vice versa IMO. I think Gilchrist is one of those victims and of course Sangakkara was replaced with Jayawardena for a bit to let him focus on batting.
Yeah, the wicket-keeper in my team is a stone-waller and usually anchors our innings. In general I think keepers are expected to score quickly at international level and are generally smaller, athletic and naturally aggressive sort of players
Just a year ago Akmal would've featured in that post
I would have put Sangakarra in the former category. He's certainly not limited in his shot-play and scores his runs at a good speed. He's class
Unfortunately I haven't seen him bat enough to judge on how aggressive he is, I know he is a shot player who can be very aggressive but his current form doesn't really warrant judgement.Just a year ago Akmal would've featured in that post
My mistake, I wasn't meant to put Sangakarra in that category, he isn't as aggressive as Gilchrist, Dhoni, McCullum and Boucher but he is more classical and does have all the shots. In saying that, it's not fair comparing him to the other wicket-keepers because Jayawardene keeps in most of the Test's thesedays.
See above, my mistake.
Um Sangakarra is anything but limited in his shot play, his got every shot in the book. In general his a very aggressive batsmen, but due to the responsibility he has to his wicket he bats more defensive then he would like, cus of how important his wicket is.
I made a mistake and corrected that in my last post. I wouldn't classify him as "aggressive" but he is definately a shot player.
I find it hard to beleive that both are "aggressive" batsman at international level considering they have both been poor for their respective nations. I've seen both of them bat and they look pretty limited, and because of that they don't come across as aggressive.
I agree with that comment, teams are looking for the aggressive wicket keeper-batsman who adds balance to the lower order and makes the tail seem stronger due to the fact he could well put on century partnerships with those bowlers.
Just beacause someone is limited in their shot play or poor technique doesn't mean they are not aggressive batsmen. The biggest flaw in Jayawardene game, is that he trys to play too many shots to balls that aren't there to play those shots. I doubt you'll will ever see him come out and try and block the ball.
If they do not possess the technique or shot selection to show their aggression then I don't think they can really be considered aggressive batsman, because although they have an aggressive mindset they can't really show it on the international stage. Same could be said of Chris Martin (random example), he may have a very aggressive mind set when he comes into bat but because of his limitations he is unable to show that aggression and merely looks like an idiot.
I think you might be getting a bit too liberal with words like "moron" and "idiot" there Perm. I notice you've called Shane Watson a "moron" a few times in the Shane Watson thread...that's OK but Chris Martin's inability to bat doesn't make him an "idiot".
I know Chris Martin's inability to bat doesn't make him an idiot, but he still looks like a bit of an idiot when he is trying to bat against the pacers. He has a good technique against the slow bowlers but anyone who bowls seam-up he doesn't have any idea.
I feel that you can't be considered an aggressive batsman unless you actually show that with performances, because if you are unable to show that on the international stage then as far as I'm concerned you are only a batsman with an aggressive mindset which is completely different from an aggressive batsman.
Not if they can't show that aggression while they are batting.
