10 great wicketkeepers who did not enjoy much success in international cricket

Perhaps the most thankless job in the cricketing world is that of a wicketkeeper. Not only does a wicketkeeper have to be as safe as a house behind the stumps, but also needs to add value to the team as a batsman.Having success as a wicketkeeper in the international arena can be difficult, particularly if there is already an established one in the national team. There are quite a few instances in world cricket where highly gifted wicketkeepers had ordinary careers due to being second choice most of the time. Most of them finished with terrific figures in first-class cricket, but do not offer much to cherish about in their international numbers.Here are 10 former wicketkeepers from different countries who make the cut:

#1 Bob Taylor (England)

Despite being one of the best wicketkeepers in England’s domestic cricket, Bob Taylor donned the gloves full-time for his national side only after No. 1 wicketkeeper Alan Knott made his way into the rebel World Series Cricket.

Taylor had a decent England career as he played 57 Tests and ended with 174 dismissals, but his international records came nowhere close to his legendary status in domestic cricket. With the bat, he scored 1156 runs at an average of just a little above 16.

In first-class cricket, though, Bob Taylor holds the record for the most dismissals in a career with a staggering figure of 1649 from 639 matches. His first-class batting average may only be slightly better, but Taylor did score over 12,000 runs with a century and 23 fifties.

#2 Jack Russell (England)

Although Jack Russell has a 54-Test long career as England wicketkeeper to show for his exploits, he spent most of his time under the shadow of Alec Stewart. The obvious reason behind this was the fact that Stewart was a better batsman than Russell.

With 165 dismissals and 1987 runs at an average of 27.10, Jack Russell did not have much to cheer about in his international career. However, he is quite easily a great wicketkeeper in first-class cricket with 1320 dismissals in 465 matches. Russell also has scored 16,861 first-class runs at a 30 plus average with 11 hundreds.

#3 Steve Rixon (Australia)

Steve Rixon may be better known as a coach these days, but he used to be pretty good wicketkeeper in his playing days. He got his opportunity to play for Australia when preferred wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh had signed up for the World Series Cricket.

However, Marsh’s return to the thick of things for Australia ensured that Rixon was back to being his understudy. Steve Rixon got his next international opportunity only after Rodney Marsh retired and his replacement Wayne Phillips got injured. However, his 13-Test long career ended soon enough with 47 dismissals against his name.

In comparison, Rixon’s first-class career was far better as he claimed 460 victims behind the stumps in 151 matches.

#4 Lee Germon (New Zealand)

Another fantastic wicketkeeper who did not have too much success in international cricket was New Zealand’s Lee Germon. He was drafted into the New Zealand side at the behest of former coach Glenn Turner and made his Test debut as the captain of the team.

In a career which lasted just 12 Tests, Germon claimed 29 victims behind the stumps and scored 382 runs at an average of 21.22. A change of coach with Steve Rixon taking over from Turner meant that Lee Germon quickly went out of favour and lost his place in the team.

However, in first-class cricket, Lee Germon performed quite well as he had 284 dismissals from 103 matches and more than 3000 runs with the bat.

#5 Brian Taber (Australia)

Australia have had a history of producing talented wicketkeepers and Brian Taber was one of them. Taber played for Australia in the period between 1966 and 1970, however, he did not have a career with too much to cherish about.

His international career saw Taber play 16 Tests and end up with 60 dismissals to his credit. There were no great contributions with the bat either with just 353 runs at an average of just over 16. The emergence of legendary Australian wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh ensured that Brian Taber lost his place in the national side.

Taber did have a noteworthy first-class career with New South Wales, though, as he claimed 395 dismissals in 129 matches.

#6 Steve Rhodes (England)

One of the most successful wicketkeepers in England’s domestic cricket, Steve Rhodes, did not have too much success in his brief international career. Rhodes’ call to the national side came in 1994 at the back of him being named one of Wisden’s 5 Cricketers of the Year.

During an 8-month period lasting from June 1994 to Feb 1995, Steve Rhodes made 11 Test appearances for England and picked up 49 dismissals. However, a forgettable time with the bat with just 294 runs at an average of a shade above 24 meant that Rhodes went out of the team only to never make it back.

However, a great first-class career, primarily for Worcestershire, witnessed Steve Rhodes claim as many as 1263 victims behind the stumps and score close to 15,000 runs.

#7 Courtney Browne (West Indies)

Courtney Browne is another great example of a highly talented wicketkeeper not being able to garner success at the highest level. His 10-year long career saw Browne make just 20 Test appearances as he kept going in and out of the team.

The former West Indies wicketkeeper did have 81 dismissals in his career, but it was his none too great batting which perhaps let him down as he scored only 387 runs at an average of just over 16. On the other hand, though, Courtney Browne had a good amount of success in first-class cricket with 486 dismissals and close to 5000 runs at an average of just below 28.

#8 Tim Zoehrer (Australia)

Another talented Australian wicketkeeper, Tim Zoehrer, had a brief Test career for his national side. Zoehrer played only 10 Tests in a period of 11 months and was replaced in the team post that by Ian Healy.

Tim Zoehrer did not have a great record in his few international outings as well with as few as 19 dismissals and 246 runs with the bat at 20.50. His first-class career was completely contrary to that as he claimed 461 victims behind the stumps in 147 matches and also scored in excess of 5000 runs at a decent average of just under 30.

#9 Ashraf Ali (Pakistan)

Ashraf Ali was one of the best keepers Pakistan produced, however, he could not translate his talent into international success. While his initial career saw him being second choice to the great Wasim Bari, the later period saw another keeper Saleem Yousuf being preferred to Ashraf.

He did manage to play 8 Tests for Pakistan which saw him get 22 dismissals and score 229 runs at a good average of 45.80. Ashraf Ali was quite brilliant in Pakistan’s first-class cricket, though, as he had 463 dismissals from 156 matches and also scored 6850 runs at an average of above 38.

#10 Sadanand Vishwanath

Sadanand Vishwanath may have had a blink-and-you-miss international career for India, but such was his prowess behind the stumps that some of his former teammates still consider him to the best they have seen. Vishwanath played just 3 Tests and had 11 dismissals to his credit.

His terribly short international stint was purely the result of a snub from the selectors. However, Sadanand Vishwanath did perform quite well in first-class cricket with 175 dismissals from 74 matches and 3000 plus runs at a very decent average of 30.66.

It is really unfortunate that a talented wicketkeeper like Vishwanath could not be around for a longer duration in the Indian team.