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Who’s Australia’s next Test keeper?

Matthew Wade has made it back into the Aussie side, and should stay until the Ashes. (AFP Photo/William West)
Roar Guru
28th October, 2014
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While Brad Haddin is still out there scoring runs and snatching leg-side dismissals, the fact remains that age is not just a number.

At the end of the month, Hads will be 37, and on the top 10 most-capped keepers, only England’s Alec Stewart has carried on past that birthday.

One would imagine that after next year’s World Cup, Australia’s incumbent wicketkeeper may evaluate his place in the side.

So let’s have a look at our domestic stocks when it comes to the gloves, and throw some imaginary odds on them!

Sam Whiteman – $2.50
Whiteman seems to be the favoured understudy by the selectors. After getting a call up in the Australia A side against India A, he made it count, notching up his maiden first-class ton. However, it was a run feast of a match, and that is his only first-class hundred to date.

Western Australia have a history of producing great keeper-batsmen (Rod Marsh, Adam Gilchrist, Ryan Campbell), and Whiteman has kept for an assortment of quicks and spinners. Still, Sam would need to score a few more runs before getting a baggy green.

Matthew Wade – $5
There was a time when this race was clear cut. Scoring runs and nabbing dismissals, Matthew Wade had the gloves and looked unlikely to lose them, after usurping Haddin. Since he lost his place to Haddin in 2013, Wade’s form has been questionable at state level. He captained the Bushrangers in their One Day Cup campaign, and perhaps the extra responsibility is taking an additional toll on his batting and keeping.

If Haddin retired tomorrow, I feel Cricket Australia would turn back to Wade, as his experience at the top level outshines his competition.

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Peter Nevill – $11
Many were scratching their heads when Nevill departed for the West Indies in 2012 as a back-up for Wade. Unless you had followed Shield cricket intently, his low-profile career may have meandered past you.

With Wade hogging the gloves at Victoria, Nevill moved up to NSW and hasn’t looked back. He’s captained the side, as well as become an integral part of the lower order, and their man behind the stumps. He’s kept wicket to some pretty mean NSW talent, and he moves and even looks similar to Hads himself.

Ben Dunk – $20
While he’s been given the gloves for the upcoming South African T20 series, due to the likely clash with the return of the Test squad from the UAE tour, it’s hard to imagine that Dunk, not currently the incumbent for Tasmania, would take the full-time role for Australia.

He seems to be there to replace a combination of David Warner and Haddin in the opener spot. Not to mention this is T20, and his limited overs form is much more impressive than his first class career. He would have to do something pretty remarkable in this year’s Shield Cricket with the bat and gloves to rise to the top of the pecking order. Yet stranger things have happened.

Ryan Carters – $26
He may be the dark horse in the race, but I am a huge Carters fan. Given Cricket Australia’s habit of rolling the dice with youth, if Haddin retired tomorrow, Carters may be given his debut. He’d still be ranked lower than the others in this race, as he is not even the first-choice keeper for NSW when Nevill is playing, but his 2013-14 breakout season showed what class and potential this young man has.

His start to the domestic one day season was solid, accumulating 100+ runs without being dismissed. Furthermore, his charity initiative ‘Batting for Change’ showed a responsible and worldly side of the young man.

Tim Paine – $51
One may feel Tim’s time may have come and gone. After getting a shot at the job after Graeme Manou in the post-Gillie era, Paine played four Tests and nearly 30 ODIs after Haddin was sidelined with injury. He was ear-marked as next in line, but a series of finger injuries, and subsequent form slumps, now have him much further down the pecking order.

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Despite having a great cricketing brain and experience, several other glovemen would need to be admitted to the infirmary for Paine to be recalled.

Not named – $151
So that’s five of them, but let’s face it, the race is wide open, as young guns Peter Handscomb and Cameron Bancroft have big raps, and old dog Chris Hartley has been pumping runs this One Day Cup.

This domestic season is poised to bring out the best of all our wicketkeeping understudies, as the World Cup, and next year’s Ashes may signal the swan song for Hads.

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