short wicketkeepers

[Hit4Six]

has anyone else noticed there are loads of really short wicket keepers?
kamran akmal, parthiv patel , geraint jones, carlton baugh? none of them look that tall?

 

[nookie_lk]

Romesh Kaluwitharana (shortest ever), Rashid Latif, Adam parore, Moin khan, allthose dudes are short too.... i guess when ur short it makes u more flexible and a better keeper..donno thats what i think

 

[Pratters]

David Williams of the Windies was the shortest keeper I have seen.

 

[Neil Pickup]

And arguably the best keeper in the world at present - Tatenda Taibu - who's about four foot three...

 

[Swervy]

And arguably the best keeper in the world at present - Tatenda Taibu - who's about four foot three...

....in his high heels

 

[Langeveldt]

We had a really tall keeper at college.. Im surprised tall one's don't benifit from better reach, although its a lot harder to stay low on low wickets

 

[Arjun]

Taller keepers keep better against the seamers. Plus, they make better batsmen, since they can hit the ball a long way.

 

[luckyeddie]

Taller keepers keep better against the seamers. Plus, they make better batsmen, since they can hit the ball a long way.

er.... no.

I am racking my brains to come up with any top-class wicketkeeper EVER who was six foot or more. There might be the odd one, but they seem to be (the great ones anyway) well under that height.

The very nature of keeping is that it is physically suited to the player of shorter stature.

Really tall batsmen are an aberration too - look at all the top players in world cricket history - the 'big' guys are the all-rounders and bowlers. I appreciate that there exceptions, but that's just how the game seems to be.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

How tall is Gilchrist?

 

[FRAZ]

er.... no.

I am racking my brains to come up with any top-class wicketkeeper EVER who was six foot or more. There might be the odd one, but they seem to be (the great ones anyway) well under that height.

The very nature of keeping is that it is physically suited to the player of shorter stature.

Really tall batsmen are an aberration too - look at all the top players in world cricket history - the 'big' guys are the all-rounders and bowlers. I appreciate that there exceptions, but that's just how the game seems to be.

Dujon (WIndies). A great keeper.

 

[Hit4Six]

Taller keepers keep better against the seamers. Plus, they make better batsmen, since they can hit the ball a long way.

short people can hit the ball a long ay too - sehwag doesnt look that tall and he gives it a good whack.

 

[Jnr.]

How tall is Gilchrist?

Gilchrist isn't a great wicketkeeper though.

 

[luckyeddie]

Gilchrist isn't a great wicketkeeper though.

Whereas Gilchrist is tall by wicketkeeping standards, he is still under 6 feet.

 

[luckyeddie]

Dujon (WIndies). A great keeper.

as was Deryck Murray and Jackie Hendriks.

Yes, the West Indies do tend to buck the trend and select big men to wear the gauntlets.

 

[Arjun]

short people can hit the ball a long ay too - sehwag doesnt look that tall and he gives it a good whack.

Sehwag slogs to hit hard and plays predetermined, manufactures shots. Gilchrist hits clean shots for big sixes.

How tall is Gilchrist?

Probably 6'1".

Gilchrist isn't a great wicketkeeper though.

Still, very efficient and can do the job well, unlike Dravid. He's also the most effective batsman in Tests and ODI's today.

 

[Richard]

Wicketkeepers are traditionally short people - all the best ones have been, and not many wicketkeepers anywhere, in any game, are ever that tall.
Robert Turner is about the only "tall" wicketkeeper who is playing in the English game ATM. Though there might be some who I haven't seen.
WRT to short batsmen, it just goes to show that you don't need height and strength and heavy bats to generate power. You can accomplish so much through a high backlift and fast bat-speed (Stephen Waugh and Lara being two of the best examples), and IMO it's much more aesthetically pleasing than a big, tall, four-pound bat-swinger.
Of course, there are those who can make heavy bats look good (Tendulkar) and those who can lift heavy bats without looking like they're built for it (Sehwag, Klusener).
And Arjun, I really must dispute this:

Still, very efficient and can do the job well, unlike Dravid. He's also the most effective batsman in Tests and ODI's today.

There are many, many better players, especially in ODIs.
Still, I'd dispute this more:

And arguably the best keeper in the world at present - Tatenda Taibu - who's about four foot three...

Very arguably indeed - I'd say there are several as good, and probably hundreds more that we don't know about because they're not good enough batsmen to come near international cricket.
I'd also dispute the four-foot-three part, but that's another story... birds-of-a-feather, and all that, as you should know, Neil...

 

[lord_of_darkness]

i think short keepers would do really well against spinners aswell..

 

[Arjun]

There are many, many better players, especially in ODIs.

Are there really any?

i think short keepers would do really well against spinners aswell..

Nayan Mongia was a little taller than some other wicketkeepers, yet he kept well to Kumble. It is not at all easy keepign to Kumble- ask him of his experiences with Deep Dasgupta, Parthiv Patel and Rahul Dravid.

 

[Arjun]

WRT to short batsmen, it just goes to show that you don't need height and strength and heavy bats to generate power. You can accomplish so much through a high backlift and fast bat-speed (Stephen Waugh and Lara being two of the best examples), and IMO it's much more aesthetically pleasing than a big, tall, four-pound bat-swinger.
Of course, there are those who can make heavy bats look good (Tendulkar) and those who can lift heavy bats without looking like they're built for it (Sehwag, Klusener).

Short batsmen have to put in a lot more effort to make the ball travel far. Sanath and Lara were short, but had hit the big shots from their arms. Gilchrist and Hayden just play normal, clean textbook shots and hit their sixes.

Six-hitting also requires a special technique, which the likes of Aravinda de Silva had, but a little extra muscle can help too.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Nayan Mongia was a little taller than some other wicketkeepers, yet he kept well to Kumble. It is not at all easy keepign to Kumble- ask him of his experiences with Deep Dasgupta, Parthiv Patel and Rahul Dravid

Certainly they do need talent to add to that too ofcourse.. but im just sayin in general conveniece wise i would think it would be easier for a shorter keeper to keep to a spin bowler../