“If the man behind the stumps has not come to your notice, it generally means he’s doing an excellent job.”
In a sport which is called ‘The Batsman’s Game’, it is said that the bowlers are the labor class. That the players with the willow are the only one’s in the limelight. It has become a cliché to mention the workload of a bowler, and how hard they have to toil all day in the field. Amidst these discussions, there is one person who stays hidden despite working harder than anyone else on the field – The Wicket Keeper.
A job that is often overlooked, Wicket Keeping is taxing not just on the body, but also on the mind. A fast bowler will bowl a few overs, finish their spell, stand at fine leg with drinks, all the while staying switched off. The man with the gloves on the other hand, is in the thick of things, squatting down 540 times in a day of a test match, all the while staying mentally alert and ready to glove every ball cleanly. The only time a Wicket Keeper gets to switch off is when the bowler is going back to his mark.
That was a briefing on the workload side of the job. What goes terribly unnoticed is the sheer amount of technique work that is required to be a good Wicket Keeper. Ian Healy, in one of his keeping masterclass said “If even my teammates don’t understand what goes into the job, I can’t expect the public or the media to.” Whether it is standing back on a seaming deck, or standing up to the stumps to a spinner or a medium pacer, a keeper is required to stay low, get up with the pitch of the ball, make dynamic yet swift movements on either side while having soft hands.
The best in the biz do it all and make it look easy, and yet they go unrecognized. If I ask the reader to think of great keepers, the names that will pop into your head will be any of the following – MS Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, Brendon McCullum, Jos Buttler, Quinton de Kock. The commonality among all these names is that the reason for their fame is their batting prowess. If you ask me, or other people who have kept wickets at a respectable level, the names that will pop up are – Brad Haddin, Tim Paine, BJ Watling, Moin Khan, Ian Healy, Allysa Healy, Nayan Mongia just to name a few. The commonality among these people? Barely anyone knows them because they are pure wicket keepers, and their batting performances didn’t satiate the needs of people watching the ‘Batsman’s game’. People following the sport don’t understand the role, hence overlook it and focus on the performance with the bat. The only time a keeper comes into public notice is when they miss a catch or a stumping, thereby ‘undoing’ all the good work they managed throughout the day’s play.
Kumar Sangakkara, a well known Keeper-Batsman, averaged 40 while keeping wickets for Sri Lanka. He then left keeping, and his average since then jumped to 60. Brendon McCullum, Ab de Villiers, are also a few names who got better with the bat after giving up the gloves. This is an indication of the toll the demanding job can have on a player. Despite the little light and appreciation given to Wicket Keeping, it still remains one of the most beautiful arts in the game of Cricket next to Leg Spin Bowling. And although unlikely, I hope this blog can make you appreciate the arduous task that is Wicket Keeping, and look at it in a more positive light.
-Vibhor Dubey
The Average Cricketer 