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Best keeper in the world today?

Dissector

International Debutant
Who is the best man behind the stumps (ignoring the batting side of the equation)?
I don't have much of an idea about this. Gilchrist has a fantastic dismissal rate but that isn't necessarily decisive. I suppose Boucher and Sangakarra are two other candidates.
Does anyone who follows this aspect of the game care to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the various keepers? How do they compare as keepers against the greats of the past?
 

open365

International Vice-Captain
^i take it by 'in the world today' meant still playing.

Chris Read,though i think the 'best keeper' argument is one of the hardest in sport as keepers are are more remembered for their drops than takes,.
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
Gilchrist, as far as I am concerned. Though Akmal has a lot of potential, as does Ramdin, and Taibu is good as well.

Gilchrist is the only keeper in the world to be consistently quality against both seamers and a world class spinner, though his keeping is not quite as good as it was, he does a superb job against Warne. Sangakkara used to be quite poor but has come a long way, while Boucher has declined severely in my mind. McCullum and Geraint are nothing special, and I've never seen Dhoni keep.
 

no1_gangsta_786

U19 Cricketer
I think a wicket-keeper should be judged on their batting as well as theri keeping if they are to be judged. Akmal all the way at the moment!
 

Natman20

International Debutant
Adam Gilchrist
Kumar Sangakarra
Brendon Mcullum
Mark Boucher
Kamran Akmal (looking very promising)

the rest ... :D
 

Neil Pickup

Cricket Web Moderator
Natman20 said:
Adam Gilchrist
Kumar Sangakarra
Brendon Mcullum
Mark Boucher
Kamran Akmal (looking very promising)

the rest ... :D
Amuses me how you can rate McCullum and disregard Taibu and Ramdin.

Oh wait...
 

godofcricket

State 12th Man
Well definetly Gilchrist at the moment, although Akmal has the potential, i would seriously want to see him score runs outside the sub-continent.
 

Natman20

International Debutant
Neil Pickup said:
Amuses me how you can rate McCullum and disregard Taibu and Ramdin.

Oh wait...
I havnt seen much of Ramdin and I would probably rate Taibu and Akmal the same :blink:

EDIT: I guess with the zimbabwe bowlers bowling all over the place you need a good keeper :D
 
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Blaze

Banned
I don't think any one is standing out head and shoulders above the rest. I have never rated Gilchrist as a keeper, although he does do a good job keeping to Warne.

Adam Parore
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
Gotta be Gilly. Had a bit of a mare against us this summer (bat & gloves), but he'd been pretty incredible up til then. There might conceivably be better glove men about (although none amazingly so), but his batting means he's streets ahead of the oppo. Sangakarra is the only other keeper whose batting is even in the same ballpark, but Gilchrist's keeping is superior by some little way. Akmal looks the coming man, but seems more of a first slip with gloves rather than a true keeper. I heard one of the commentators today say he only started keeping when his batting hadn't got him selected for Pakistan U-16s; until then he was a specialist batter.

FWIW, of the keepers that I've seen a bit of Chris Read is probably the best glove man about.
 

33/3from3.3

International Vice-Captain
I thought we were talking about keepers not WK/batsmen
good keepers(in no particular order):Gilchrist
Akhmal(could do with some more practise)
Taibu(is god)
Mccullum(could do with some more practise)
Sangakarra
Boucher
 

Zinzan

Request Your Custom Title Now!
FaaipDeOiad said:
Gilchrist, as far as I am concerned. Though Akmal has a lot of potential, as does Ramdin, and Taibu is good as well.

Gilchrist is the only keeper in the world to be consistently quality against both seamers and a world class spinner, though his keeping is not quite as good as it was, he does a superb job against Warne. Sangakkara used to be quite poor but has come a long way, while Boucher has declined severely in my mind. McCullum and Geraint are nothing special, and I've never seen Dhoni keep.
Rubbish .....Sangakkara and McCullum are both better glovemen that Gilchrist these days. IMO Gilchrist has become very sloppy behind the stumps. Obviously he is a special batsmen though. But Keeping alone, I don't rate him much these days
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
McCullum is only 23 though...I reckon in a few years, he'll be pretty good with the gloves.
 

Zinzan

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Tim said:
McCullum is only 23 though...I reckon in a few years, he'll be pretty good with the gloves.
and correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't thinks he's been keeping that long has he??
 

dro87

U19 12th Man
I reckon Sangakkara is the best keeper, but Kartik (the indian wk) was very promissing too IMO...
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
zinzan12 said:
Rubbish .....Sangakkara and McCullum are both better glovemen that Gilchrist these days. IMO Gilchrist has become very sloppy behind the stumps. Obviously he is a special batsmen though. But Keeping alone, I don't rate him much these days
That just isn't true. Whether you go by dismissals or byes conceded Gilchrist comfortably outperforms Sangakarra with the gloves. In 8 tests in 2005 Sangakarra has conceeded 90 byes; in Gilly has conceded 60 in 13. Sangakarra had made 18 dismissals (average of just over 2 per match); Gilly has made 51 (very nearly 4 per match).

Even if Gilly hasn't had the best year he's still a far better keeper than Sangakarra.
 

Tim

Cricketer Of The Year
I don't think Gilchrist is that bad, I think he's better than he used to be. He's not as average as people make him out to be.

He's keeping to Warne, MacGill, McGrath & Lee so its never really a dull moment for him.
 

Dasa

International Vice-Captain
BoyBrumby said:
That just isn't true. Whether you go by dismissals or byes conceded Gilchrist comfortably outperforms Sangakarra with the gloves. In 8 tests in 2005 Sangakarra has conceeded 90 byes; in Gilly has conceded 60 in 13. Sangakarra had made 18 dismissals (average of just over 2 per match); Gilly has made 51 (very nearly 4 per match).

Even if Gilly hasn't had the best year he's still a far better keeper than Sangakarra.
Those figures don't really mean a great deal...Gilchrist will obviously get more chances for dismissals with Warne and McGrath, and he has more accurate bowlers to deal with, cutting down on the amount of byes he gives away. The fact that subcontinental pitches are harder to 'keep on is also a factor against Sanga.

I think in pure 'keeping, Taibu is the best around (although unfortunately he's not playing anymore). Next would be Sangakarra, although he is very inconsistent.
 

_Ed_

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I'd go for Gilchrist probably...but for most improved I'd say McCullum, he's barely recognisable as the same player as he was in early 2003.
 

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