Play two wicket keepers in a match...

Play two wicket keepers in a match...

I saw a really good idea on the 606 boards on the BBC. Teams should play two batsman\wicket keepers so that the guy who had batted for least time is the one who takes the gloves so that he is less tired and therefore more alert.

it seems a good idea, have the freshest bloke behind the stumps so that hopefully less chances will go down and if someone is having a bad day you can still change it. i guess you would need to have at least one of them able to average more than 40 but i think it could be the way forward in test cricket

Unlike batting/bowling all rounders, wicketkeepers cannot rest or hide while fielding.

If you tire out the 'keeper by letting him (or wanting him to) bat for 4 or more hours then why are you surprised when they are take the field and are sloppy.

If you want to strengthen the batting why not take the radical approach of playing 2 wicketkeeper batsmen and after batting, make the player who is less tired (i.e. less successful with the bat) start behind the stumps?

I happen to think that the wicketkeeper does more in the fielding innings than any other player (bowlers included) and so should focus on this important role.
 
Re: Play two wicket keepers in a match...

i dont think every team can afford that. if you have two keepers both or at least one of them should be capable of being in the team purely as a batsman. teams like australia, india and sri lanka have recently played two keepers but only one of them was used for keeping. i think for teams like those this could be a good strategy.
 
Re: Play two wicket keepers in a match...

It's a nice but as deer has said, you'd need to have at least one of them getting in the team on batting merit alone.

Who knows though, it might be the way forward in time?
 
Re: Play two wicket keepers in a match...

I think only Australia when they had both Haddin and Gilchrist could afford that. Most other teams have trouble finding one good keeper batsman let alone two.
 
Re: Play two wicket keepers in a match...

Prior's a good enough batsman to get in the England side, injuries permitting of course, he'd need one of the top 6 plus Shah, Bopara and any other guys close to the team to get injured aswell though :p. It's a good idea, but far from practical.
 
Re: Play two wicket keepers in a match...

I agree that it's a reasonable idea, and also that most (if not all) countries would struggle to have the calibre of players to achieve that.

One point no one has picked up on is confidence. Under this strategy if one wk/bat scores 100 and one gets a 3 ball duck, for example, the wk/bat scoring the duck would get the keeping duties. Surely this would have some impact on his keeping in terms of confidence?? So many keepers seem to lose form in one discipline and find the form of the other discipline slipping as a result.

The wk/bat with the 100 under his belt, here, would both
a) be on a high confidence-wise and
b) be more used the way the pitch was playing

Just something to consider, but yeah it might well be the way forward.
 
Re: Play two wicket keepers in a match...

Yeah, you make a good point about confidence. Also, this strategy wont work if the team bowls first. You can't predict which one of your keepers is going to be batting for a longer period of time. I don't think this would be a realistic approach for most teams. But for teams that can afford the luxury of playing two keepers could be a little flexible as to who keeps in case one of their keepers has played a long and tiring innings.
 
Re: Play two wicket keepers in a match...

obviously you would still have your 1st and 2nd choice keepers but it would give you that extra option in the field
 
Re: Play two wicket keepers in a match...

I can see the merits of the idea but surely all teams would love to be able to field a number of all rounders? Imagine having a team of 11averaging under 30 with the ball and over 40 with the bat? Plus they could all keep wicket if needed.
 
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