The best pure wicketkeeper of all time

[stephen]

Yeah, there's definitely a more prevailing attitude of it's ok for someone to lear 'on the job' with their keeping these days if they're making runs, but not vice-versa. And to be fair, a Prior and Bairstow (just as examples) started off a poor keepers and improved quite a lot.

Out of interest, I've heard people say before that Gilchrist wasn't actually a particularly special keeper when he first started playing international cricket - was this actually the case?

Gilchrist was not quite as good as Healy. Which made him look worse by comparison. I posted an article on cricinfo on another thread and Gilchrist had a 12% error rate in the second half of his career after he had declined a bit. In the first half his error rate was single digits. In the time period that stats were provided, the best was Boucher on 10%. Most other keepers were worse.

 

[AndrewB]

The first catch in this video is unbelievable. Commentator makes it seem as though it's merely good. Needs to lift his game and scream his head off imo.

It's Jim Laker, and that's about as excited as he ever got.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

There's a legend in our club...a wicket-keeper during the 80s who would kept up to the pacers...and before he would get into the field, he would load his pockets with fried channa. While he was behind the stumps, he would put a few channas into his mouth so that when the bowler delivers the ball, he would spit out a channa out of his mouth projectile style in hopes of getting the bail off its grooves.
He was very effective in this trick...but was ultimately found out when a batsman of a sharp sense of smell picked up the smell of garlic and peppers (the fried channas were season with these).
He was kicked out of the club and began drinking and smoking crack.
He would still come to games at our club (as a spectator), and provide excellent commentary from the stands.
The Crack really got to him. He passed away about 10 years ago.

Was Bucknor the square leg ump or something

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Was Bucknor the square leg ump or something

Nah, Bucknor is Jamaican. This happened in Guyana. Club games.

 

[SteveNZ]

Surprised Jack Russell hasn't got a go, he's the best I've seen. Stood up to everything.

 

[Gob]

Rad Haddin