Wicket-keeping is an art that is best carried out only by a professional wicket-keeper. But sometimes, owing to unavoidable circumstances, the role of a wicket-keeper is taken up by another teammate. These are the players who don the gloves occasionally.
As you read below, expect some unexpected names on the list of non-wicketkeepers who have kept wickets.
Phil Hughes
Phillip Joel Hughes, fondly remembered as a consummate batsman from Australia, was nothing less than a child prodigy. He marked his arrival at the big stage by scoring two hundreds in two innings against South Africa in a Test Match, thus becoming the youngest cricketer to achieve the feat.
In his small career which ended in an unfortunate on-field accident causing his death, he scored many runs for his national side. But not many fans are reminiscent of Phil as a wicketkeeper. On the fifth day of a test match against Sri Lanka, Captain Michael Clarke handed over the ball to wicketkeeper Mathew Wade for an over.
And Wade’s wicketkeeping duties were quickly taken up by Hughes who kept wickets for the first time in his career. The Kangaroos won the game.
Johnson Charles
Johnson Charles has often been described as an occasional wicketkeeper. He became a well-known name during the ICC World T20 2012 when he proved his mettle with the bat.
But Charles as a wicketkeeper is still news to many. West Indies have played him as a wicketkeeper sparingly because Denesh Ramdin (the main wicketkeeper) is available for all three formats of the game.
Thami Tsolekile
Mark Boucher’s injury, which led him to retire from international cricket, remains one of the saddest incidents in the history of the game. The South African wicketkeeper suffered a fatal eye injury during the match against Somerset.
Boucher was replaced on the field by Thami Tsolekile who kept wickets for the first time in his short career span of one year.
Bill Athey
If you consider yourself a cricket historian, you probably already know about the Test match remembered for not one but four wicketkeepers. This one of its kind incident dates back to 1986, when England wicketkeeper Bruce French was critically injured on the field and needed quick medical attention.
As a replacement, batsman Bill Athey wore the wicketkeeper’s pads for the first time in his career. He successfully kept for two overs. England then decided to allow 2 overs each to another 2 players – Bob Taylor and Bobby Parks, both of whom had experience of being behind the stumps. Bruce French returned to keep for the last over.
Sometimes nature’s call, and other times critical injuries, the men behind the stumps have had their share of miseries which gave the game substitute keepers.
Virat Kohli
They say that there is nothing that Virat Superman Kohli cannot do. He bats, he bowls, and he keeps wickets too! In a surprising change, Virat Kohli was seen taking up MS Dhoni’s duty for an over in an ODI against Bangladesh in June 2015. This was the first time when India’s Test Skipper was seen keeping wickets.
And he did so without donning the wicketkeeper’s pads. Dhoni made his return after the 6 balls but the reason for his absence from the field is still not known. It was also in this same match when Kohli bowled an over.
Justified question – what can Virat Kohli NOT do?
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