This looks suspiciously like a "lets all beat up on Dhoni" thread.
There is nothing suspicious or underhand about it :o) My views on Dhoni's keeping are well kown. Today in particular and in this match in general he hit a bottom even he had not touched before. Two of the slip catches taken by India were his catches. One hiy his fingers, went down to hit the pad above the knee and bounced upwards to the slip fielder. He had not moved his hands an inch in the direction in which the ball was travelling.
The other catch did not even hit his gloves since not only did he have his hands at the height the ball was when nicked, he had stood up and the ball hit the pads to again deviate to second slip for an easy catch.
Yesterday, I think, he had an easy legside catch (as easy as leg side snicks are expected to be and much easier than the one he held today and he grassed it.
Yes I think he is the worst wicket keeper to play for a country for so long without any challenge to his position as a keeper and this is disgraceful.
All arguments that are offered giving his batting as an excuse for his place being assured in the side are ridiculous for they demean the role of a wicket keeper completely.
Yes Dhoni is a batsman of some class inspite of his very unorthodox and unschooled methods but I am a great admirer of that as I am of what he brings to the table as India's skipper. But that does not mean he has to keep wickets as well.
He should be playing for india as a batsman and lead the side. I think even with his overall modest record at Test level his batting plus his great value as captain justifies his place in this Indian side and even the one that he was leading three years ago.
What I dio not appreciate is the complete running down of the place of a keeper in the scheme of things.
I can understand someone wanting to include Gilchrist in an all time great side for Gilchrist, though not the equal of the best ever was a very good wicket keeper indeed. Dhoni is unlikely to be amongst the best five wicket keepers in India.
The problem with wicket keepers is that you dont ever get to know how good they are at junior and even first class levels these days. You can look at someone's batting average of fifty plus in the Ranji trophy and say it is because the wickets are doped, bowling standards are poor and the top Indian players stay away from ranji trophy. Same can be said to a lesser extent for bowlers. But for wicket keepers the move from a junior to first class to international level does not mean you require better skills. The keeper, unlike the batsman and bowler, is not really engaged in a one-on-one battle within a team game. His job remains the same.
hence the appreciation of a wicket keeper's quality can only be done by those who understand the craft and sometimes by the bowlers who they keep to.
Unfortunately, today we are looking at the batting records of keepers to se if they are good enough to move to the next level. Thus so many good keepers have fallen by the way side in India.
It is true for other countries as well - this emphasis on batting, but the keepers in these countries are expected to be of a minimum level. If not they do not last.
The worst keeper in that list could have been Alec Stewart, but for Dhoni and the difference between Stewart's keeping and Dhoni is not small. You cant tell because you dont see any good keepers for long competing with Dhoni as they did with Stewart. They showed what is the difference between the two and then a call can be made. But at least the public was made aware of the difference between Stewart and those who were better keepers even if not better or even his equals as batsmen.
In India, no one mentions Dhoni's poor keeping. When those two snicks were delected by him to the slips it was never mentioned that these were really Dhoni's catches. Just imagine if Australia were not under the kind of pressure that they were and India did not have the close in fielders, these catches would never have been taken.
How come no one mentions this.
No this is not a surreptitious way of showing up the worst long term keeper a country has had in the history of the game but to show the over all lack of concern about it in the game.
Wade is no great keeper but Australia will replace him if they get a better keeper.
Someone mentioned Marsh's being called 'iron-gloves' for so stiff was he initially and dropped so much. But he improved beyond recognition. Dhoni has shown no improvement whatsoever. How can he when no one even mentions that his keeping needs to improve even if it is considered blasphemy to ask him to leave aside the gloves.
With so much work load that he has, instead of asking him to drop out from some games, why not ask him to play as a batsman - skipper. His workload will lighten, he will be more relaxed I am sure and we will not have the spectacle of a terrible keeper in a side that wishes to be number one in the world and this man is the captain.
When Imran found his bowling had declined he bowled less and less. Wilfred Rhodes stopped bowling altogether and played for England purely as a batsman. Whats the big deal.
The man is a credit to the game as a fighting batsman, a top notch leader of men, a strong and calm individual - why must we also know him as sucj a lousy wicket keeper.
This is why this thread and this is why the minimum eligibility is 75 Tests :o)
I do not hide behind suspicious acts :o)
