Bundy_Dry&Lime
New Member
The future of Australia's wicket-keeping.
I think that there is a fairly good chance that Adam Gilchrist might retire after the World Cup. If we win the Ashes and the World Cup, I'd be almost willing to bet money on it- he seems to be pretty sick of the travelling involved, and he's not getting any younger. He's still the best wicket-keeper going around, but unlike some members of the team, I don't think he's going to stick around forever until he gets the famous 'tap on the shoulder' from the selectors.
So if he retires, it is pretty clear that Brad Haddin will replace him in the ODI side, and he's got enough talent both as a keeper and as a batsman to do justice to the job, although no one expects him to score 6,000 runs at a strike rate north of 90 and take 350+ dismissals. I'm fine with that.
I'm not so sure though, that he's the man for the job so far as the Test team goes. From watching a little bit this summer on Fox Sports, I've been hugely impressed with the glovework of Queensland's Chris Hartley, and I think that his batting may be good enough to do the sort of job for Australia that Ian Healey used to do.
I just wanted to get a feel about what other readers think. Should we split the wicket-keeping responsibilities again when Gilly hangs up his gloves for the last time? I think it might be worth a try.
I think that there is a fairly good chance that Adam Gilchrist might retire after the World Cup. If we win the Ashes and the World Cup, I'd be almost willing to bet money on it- he seems to be pretty sick of the travelling involved, and he's not getting any younger. He's still the best wicket-keeper going around, but unlike some members of the team, I don't think he's going to stick around forever until he gets the famous 'tap on the shoulder' from the selectors.
So if he retires, it is pretty clear that Brad Haddin will replace him in the ODI side, and he's got enough talent both as a keeper and as a batsman to do justice to the job, although no one expects him to score 6,000 runs at a strike rate north of 90 and take 350+ dismissals. I'm fine with that.
I'm not so sure though, that he's the man for the job so far as the Test team goes. From watching a little bit this summer on Fox Sports, I've been hugely impressed with the glovework of Queensland's Chris Hartley, and I think that his batting may be good enough to do the sort of job for Australia that Ian Healey used to do.
I just wanted to get a feel about what other readers think. Should we split the wicket-keeping responsibilities again when Gilly hangs up his gloves for the last time? I think it might be worth a try.