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A heavily loaded pace battery, a rock-steady batting line-up and an outstanding fielding unit – all of these combined would still be a failure without a proper wicket-keeper. An entry into the keeping slot is pretty difficult in the modern game, if you are not an exceptional talent with the willow in your hand. A keeper now has to perform the dual role of keeper-batsman with equal finesse and expertise.
Such an athlete is a rare commodity for any country. Gathering balls bowled at 145 kph in the hot sun for two days and then going out to bat seems to be the most difficult thing in the world to a layman. But there are several keepers who do it, and do it well.
Here’s the list of the top 10 wicketkeeper-batsmen of all time:
10. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
At No. 10 is the Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum. As destructive with the bat as with his athleticism behind the wickets, he is the perfect embodiment of skill, power, athleticism and smart-thinking. His prowess with the Mcscoop (or Dilscoop) and the reverse sweep has made him one of the most dangerous players of his generation to have swung the willow in the shorter formats of the game.
The 158* with which he set the IPL on fire remains etched in the memories of everyone – from the groundsmen who watched the match from the sidelines, to the bowlers who were at the receiving end of the onslaught, to the millions who watched the demolition on TV. Over 6,000 runs in Tests, close to 6,000 and ODIs (to go with a record 2,105 in T20 Internationals) and more than 200 dismissals in both formats speak volumes about his class.
9. Matt Prior (England)
A prolific batsman who was initially not considered to be an outstanding keeper at the international level, Matt Prior fine-tuned his glovework to become the ideal keeper-batsman for England. His batting too, was a big boost to England in Tests, as he averages above 40 which is quite impressive for a keeper-batsman coming in to bat at 6 or 7.
His aggressive knock of 126 studded with boundaries, in his debut Test match was much appreciated by fans and critics alike. Despite a relatively pedestrian average of 24 in ODIs, his total of over 250 dismissals behind the stumps in Tests make him a must on this list.
8. AB de Villiers (South Africa)
The only reason De Villiers is at No. 8 despite his heroic exploits with the bat and behind the stumps is because of the amount of time he has been a keeper for the national team. He took over the gloves only after Mark Boucher’s retirement, and has lately been replaced by Quinton de Kock.
But if he gets to keep wickets again before his career comes to an end, he will surely be ranked among the top 5 greatest wicketkeeper-batsmen of all time.
7. Brad Haddin (Australia)
Haddin is an aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman who took over the reins from the legendary Adam Gilchrist. Apart from an average in the early-30s in ODIs and mid-30s in Tests, Brad Haddin has 252 catches and 8 stumpings to his name in Tests and 170 catches along with 11 stumpings in ODIs.
At the age of 36, Haddin played a huge part in Australia drubbing England in the Ashes. He would love to close his career on a high by doing a repeat of his efforts in the upcoming Ashes series in England.
6. Alec Stewart (England)
Although he doesn’t boast an exceptional average – about 39 in Tests and 31 in ODIs – Stewart is still considered to be one of the most prolific keeper-batsman England has ever produced.
The most capped Test player of all time in England, Stewart gloved 263 catches behind the stumps in Tests and 159 in ODIs, besides affecting close to 29 stumpings across both formats prior to his retirement from the international scene in 2003.
5. Andy Flower (Zimbabwe)
A batsman from a minnow team, but richer in class and compassion than the heavyweights. Yes, Andy Flower was a high class veteran from Zimbabwe who showed that his batting was no fluke; he reflected a very high degree of batsmanship, much like any other great of his era.
Flower captained a team that was not expected not to get anything better than, if at all, honourable defeats. Much happened as expected. But his personal performance during his career is commendable.
He averaged 51.54 in the 63 Tests which he played and had over 6,000 ODI runs under his belt too. One of the highlights of his career was his total of 540 runs against India during the Test series in India in 2000, which bears testimony to his talent.
Though his keeping can be said to be decent at best, he still gloved close to 150 catches behind the stumps across both formats and affected over 30 stumpings in Test Cricket.
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India)
India’s World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni is arguably the greatest keeper-batsman India has ever had. Batting, keeping, captaining: three jobs, one person. Yet, he averages over 52 from 262 ODIs apart from affecting 244 catches and 85 stumpings in the format.
In the whites, his average might be considered a little below par at 38, but he still gloved 256 catches and affected 38 stumpings on mostly turning wickets in the sub-continent.
Dhoni’s score of 183* against Sri Lanka is still a world record for the highest ever score by a wicket-keeper in ODIs. He has received as much acclaim for his captaincy, as for his batting and glove-work. The only chunk in his armory, though, is his batting in the Test matches, and after his retirement from the format last year, he won’t have any chance to address that.
Nevertheless, Dhoni is a certified modern great of cricket, and he fully deserves a place in the top 5 of this list.
3. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
One of the most sophisticated and classy batsmen of his era, Kumar Sangakkara is perhaps the best keeper-batsman in the current cricketing world. The Sri Lankan averages a magical 58 in the Test format to go with an impressive 41.98 in ODIs. He has garnered over 14,000 runs in ODIs.
Having bidden goodbye to the glovework in Tests, Sangakkara took 178 catches behind the wickets and affected 20 stumpings prior to giving up as keeper.
In ODIs, he has affected a world record 99 stumpings (highest ever) and gloved 383 catches for the all-time record total of 482 dismissals. He is a widely celebrated cricketer of his generation and a perfect role model for youngsters, as much for his batting, as for his keeping.
2. Mark Boucher (South Africa)
A serious eye injury on 9th July, 2012 put an end to a legendary career. Mark Boucher was perhaps the last of the classical wicketkeeper-batsmen of the past generation.
Widely considered as one of, if not, the greatest keepers of all time, Boucher held the record for most number of dismissals as keeper at the international level – 998! And if not for the serious eye injury which put an end to his career, he would have become the first gloveman to affect 1,000 dismissals in international matches.
Boucher effected 555 dismissals in Tests (the highest by anyone till date) and 444 in the shorter formats including 424 in ODIs (behind only Sangakkara and Adam Gilchrist) and 19 in T20Is. He averaged just below 30 across both formats, which may not be considered great, but his value to the team as a crisis batsman was unrivalled.
Boucher scored just one ODI hundred in his entire career, but that one sent shock waves across the ground – it came off just 44 balls, the second fastest ever in ODI history! He guided South Africa during the marathon 434-run chase against Australia in 2006, finishing the game off with a sweet boundary and bringing up one of the best and most nervy half-centuries ever.
1. Adam Gilchrist (Australia)
No guesses, no arguments for the sweet No. 1 spot; this one belongs to, the one, the only – Adam Gilchrist. With strike-rates of 81.98 in Tests, 96.94 in ODIs, and 141 in T20Is, Gilly is considered to be one of, if not, the most destructive batsmen of all time. He powered Australia to several wins across all formats with his breath-taking hitting with the bat and skilful mastery behind the wickets.
Gilchrist had to keep to one of the deadliest pace batteries ever – McGrath, Lee and Gillespie, apart from tackling the spin of the magician named Warne. He averaged 47.60 and 35.89 respectively in the Tests and ODIs and was Australia’s vice-captain across all formats, captaining the side in the absence of regular captains.
Gilchrist holds second place in the list of most ODI dismissals as a keeper with 417 catches and 55 stumpings. In Test cricket, just as in overall international cricket, he is one place behind Mark Boucher, with 379 catches and 37 stumpings to his name in the longer format.
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