Greatest Wicketkeepers Of All Time

Wicketkeeping is a skill in cricket that not many have the ability to execute to perfection. As far as fielding positions are considered, it is the most important position in a cricket field. Very few cricketers in the world have excelled in the art of wicketkeeping and that makes it the toughest position to be in a cricket field.

It also has an added importance because he/she is the only one who has the best view of the happenings on the 22-yard pitch. He is the first person that a captain consults in case of referring a decision of an on-field umpire to the third umpire. In countries like England and Australia where the pitches have bounce and pace, the job of a wicket-keeper becomes more difficult as the ball comes at a great pace and also at a considerable bounce to the wicket-keeper.

Wicket-keepers have to be alert at all points of time because the ball could come to them at any time and in tough situations spilling a chance could be costly for the team. Wicket-keepers also have to be real quick especially in the case of stumping. They should also have a great presence of time and ability to read the situation of the games.

The game of cricket is lucky to have some great wicketkeepers and in the following slides, we are going to have a look at some of them.

#1 Mark Boucher-South Africa

Mark Boucher is considered to be the greatest cricketer to have played the game of cricket. He had 998 dismissals to his name across all the three formats of the game. He fell just short of reaching 1000 dismissals because he suffered a serious eye injury while wicket-keeping against Somerset in 2012 which brought an end to a glorious cricketing career.

In his career which spanned for almost 15 years, Boucher had 952 catches and effected 46 stumpings. He was also quite handy with the bat lower down the order for South Africa amassing 5515 runs at an average of 30.30 which included 5 hundred and 35 fifties.

With an almost perfect temperament, guts, and utmost determination, Mark Boucher is one of the greatest wicket-keepers of all time.

#2 Adam Gilchrist- Australia

Australia v India - Commonwealth Bank Series 1st Final

Cricket is considered to be a gentleman's game and Adam Gilchrist is by far the best example of that. He was one of those players who had the sportsman spirit as his highest priority whenever he stepped on the cricket field. Besides being a great batsman, he was also one of the greatest wicketkeepers in the game of cricket.

During his career, he had 905 dismissals to his name which included 813 catches and 92 stumpings. He was the most exhilarating cricketer of the modern age. Proficient with the gloves, Gilchrist was a man to watch out for and scored over 15,000 runs in his career.

Another amazing thing about his prolific career was his strike rate in both Tests And ODIs. In tests, he had a strike rate of 81.96 while in ODIs it was 96.95. A game-changer of another level, Gilchrist was arguably Australia's biggest impact player during their golden era.

#3 Kumar Sangakkara-Sri Lanka

CRICKET-SRI-PAK

Apart from being one of the finest batsmen, he is also considered to be one the best when we talk about wicketkeeping. In his career which spanned 15 years, he had 678 dismissals to his name which includes 539 catches and 139 stumpings.

He is considered to be the greatest cricketer to have played for Sri Lanka scoring over 26000 international runs for his team. Apart from being a great cricketer, he also possessed the qualities of a true gentleman. Kumar Sangakkara, an elegant stroke player, a reliable keeper, and an astute thinker, was the cornerstone of Sri Lankan cricket for close to 15 years. Part of the modern generation of wicketkeeper-batsmen, Sangakkara's versatility is the prime reason for his side's success.

Apart from being a great batsman, he was equally good as a captain also. He captained Sri Lanka for a very long time and helped Sri Lanka reach the finals of the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

#4 MS Dhoni- India

When we talk about wicketkeeping, this man needs no introduction. He was like a live wire behind the stumps. He has the ability to effect stumpings in the wink of an eye. He has 179 stumpings to his name which is the highest for any wicketkeeper in the world.

To go with 179 stumpings, he has 610 catches which take his tally of a total number of dismissals to 788 and still counting. His great presence of mind also has a key role to play in his world-class wicketkeeping skills. Apart from being a great wicketkeeper, he has been considered as one of the best finishers in the game of cricket.

Recently he completed 10,000 runs in ODIs becoming the 4th Indian and overall 12th batsman to complete this feat. To score these many runs at a position he usually bats at is absolutely commendable and that too at a fantastic average 51.

#5 Ian Healy

Ian Healy - Australia

Another Australian which made his mark in the international cricket by his wicketkeeping skills. Healy has 628 dismissals to his name which includes 560 catches and 68 stumpings. Apart from being a good wicketkeeper, Healy was also a handy batsman lower down the order. He had 4356 runs to his name as far as test cricket is concerned.

One of the greatest wicket-keepers to have graced the game, Healy was a frantic live-wire behind the stumps. His energy levels were infectious and his glovework exemplary while his batting did contribute during pressure situations via some courageous strokeplay. Although he was a very handy batsman, it was clearly Healy's keeping that defined his persona on the cricket field.