Adam Gilchrist - a new breed of wicket keeper

Profiles / Andrew Hughes / 21 January 2008 / 1 Comments

Andrew Hughes talks about the impact Adam Gilchrist has had on the role of wicket keeper and how India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni compares to the hard-hitting left-hander

One of the quirks of twenty-first century cricket, along with cheerleaders, frenetic touring and dizzying scoring rates is the decline of the art of wicket keeping. Few of the ICC Test playing nations currently have a wicket-keeping coach, amongst the ranks of the bowling, batting and fielding specialists, not to mention the dieticians, physiotherapists, psychologists and data analysts they employ. The modern keeper is expected to be a combination of hard-hitting batsman and sledger-in-chief, his fielding role reduced to nothing more than a glorified first slip.

It would be unfair to lay the blame for all this at the feet of one man, particularly when that man is one of the most likeable of current cricketers, a man who has walked when given not out in a World Cup semi-final and who always speaks with such admirable honesty. But Adam Gilchrist's emergence has changed the way people think of wicketkeepers. Pre-Gilchrist, there was an argument between those who saw keeping as a specialism and those who demanded an all-round contribution from their glove men. In the eyes of most coaches, Gilchrist settled the argument.

Averaging in the high forties, he has managed to remain consistently destructive of bowling, in all conditions and all countries. There is little variance between his batting average at home or away, against pace or spin, against right-handers or left-handers. His batting is free, simple and based on timing and soft wrists. As a wicket keeper, he rarely misses a straightforward catch. He is good enough to hold his position as a batsman alone and is solid behind the wicket. He has become the model for all modern wicket keepers.

His Indian counterpart, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is from a similar template. His aggressive style with the bat is reminiscent of those great wicket-keeping rivals of the 1960s, Farokh Engineer and Budhi Kunderan, both fierce strikers of the ball. But whilst his batting can be breathtaking, he is some way short of Gilchrist. At the same stage of his career, the Australian was averaging 53.13 compared to Dhoni's 35.22 and had already amassed four Test centuries to Dhoni's one. And Dhoni's weakness not just against the rising ball, but also against pacemen in general is a significant obstacle. He averages 17.37 against pace and 52.11 against spin.

But in amongst all this stroke making, the art of wicket keeping is being lost. Greats such as Wally Grout or Syed Kirmani may not have pummelled many sixes in their time but they were skilled specialists, for whom a single bye against their name was a black mark. Some of the greats of the past would be horrified at the way modern keepers don't stay down long enough when the ball is bowled or the modern habit of taking the ball with swinging arms rather than getting their body behind it Gilchrist and Dhoni are great entertainers and powerful batsmen but neither will go down in history as great glove men.

Both will have their work cut out at the Adelaide Oval this week, a pitch that offers both spin and reverse swing. In outplaying Australia at Perth, the Indians showed that swing is the key to dismantling that formidable batting line-up whereas the Aussie bowlers still rely predominantly on pace and hitting the seam.

With Adelaide offering neither seam movement nor bounce, they could struggle, particularly as India holds the spin bowling aces. If you think the home side will bounce back, you can back them at [1.72] though it might be worth waiting to see whether Matthew Hayden is fit again before taking the plunge. Some might be tempted by the draw, currently trading at [3.3] but they should bear in mind that only one in the last ten and four in the last nineteen Tests at Adelaide have ended in a draw. And if you think that India, buoyed up by their performance in Perth, are sensing weakness in a curiously muted Australian side, you can avail yourself of the very tempting [8.8] on Anil Kumble's men emulating the tourists of 2003-04 and securing a series draw.

Comments (1)

1. Paul | 21 January 2008

   I really enjoyed this article. Found myself nodding throughout! Written by someone who understands cricket. A credit to the site!