Australia were narrowly defeated in the first Ashes Test, with the reinstated Brad Haddin (35) the almost-hero with a gusty innings.
Last week I wrote about what I thought the future held for our top order batting line-up, today I would like to focus on what could be a contentious upcoming wicketkeeper selection.
For sake of this discussion, this is also the number seven batting spot.
Currently Brad Haddin (35) has wrestled the gloves from Matthew Wade (25). While I guess the reasoning behind Haddin’s reinstatement is mainly to partly fill a leadership void left by Michael Hussey and Rick Ponting, it is also viable the selectors were choosing the better gloveman of the two.
He has displayed his fighting qualities once more against the old foe, and on the back of that will be hard to dislodge as the national keeper this series.
Unfortunately I have not seen much of a few of the state keepers to evaluate their keeping skill, but I will do my best and happily welcome opinions.
I am a firm believer that the wicketkeeper is an integral part of setting the standard for the fielding side, and in turn think that quality glovework of the keeper is crucial at Test level.
Matthew Wade (25) – heir apparent but needs to improve glovework / footwork dramatically. If stats were taken for missed chances I would imagine Wade has already passed Ian Healy in the error department.
Healy was been critical of Wade over the last Australian summer – “some of the basic stuff that he’s not tidying up, he’s not getting to the stumps, he’s not taking returns well, he’s not sharpening up the fielding effort.”
This criticism preceded the two getting together for a one-on-one ‘clinic’, however improvement was it as hard to judge whether he improved during the Indian Test series.
If Haddin lasts to the end of the home Ashes series, it gives Wade the entire domestic season to work hard at his keeping attributes as well as consistency with the bat. His batting is simply not strong enough to warrant selection as a specialist at number six.
Peer Nevill (27) – with strong batting credentials, he will be given plenty of opportunity at domestic level in the wake of Haddin’s Test elevation, and strong returns in the runs column will see him pressure Wade for the backup spot.
Tim Paine (28) – a gifted gloveman, but five finger operations and almost two domestic seasons out of the game has seen him fall behind Wade in the pecking order. His batting is probably not up to Test level with his solitary first-class century versus Wade’s six weighing heavily against him. It remains to be seen if he will be given another opportunity.
Chris Hartley (31) – as a parochial Queenslander, it would be remiss of me to omit the gritty Bulls ‘keeper from this discussion. Consistent domestic seasons with the bat tethered to his Ian Healy-given tag of ‘best keeper in Australia’ has failed to deliver opportunities, and by the time of Haddin’s retirement, the ship may well and truly have sailed.
Others – Tim Ludeman (SA, 26), Tom Triffitt (WA, 22), Ben McDermott (Aus 19s, 18), Ben Dunk (TAS, 26), Jake Doolan (Aus 19s, 16). I haven’t seen much or any of these players, but performances provided by the increased domestic cricket workload may see some of them given more opportunities in the spotlight and maybe, just maybe, our next Australian keeper could be in that mix somewhere…
My personal selection post Haddin is Peter Nevill by a nose over Matthew Wade. The domestic summer could sway me either way, but the NSW keeper is ticking the glovework box better than Wade for me.
Linedropout
Roar Pro
Best wicket-keeper without a baggy green. By no stretch of the imagination the best cricketer.
AdamR
Guest
Paine definitely deserves to be Australia's #1 keeper. If it wasn't for his numerous finger injuries he would be the Aus keeper right now and Wade would have never gotten his opportunity. He is a much more technically sound batter than Haddin and Wade, and has proven he has what it takes to perform at Test level - in India mind you. Not to mention his ODI stats are much better than Wade's in fewer matches. Undoubtedly Australia's best keeper, followed closely by Hartley. Great leadership qualities and would make a more than perfect vice captain to Michael Clarke. Would much rather see a class keeper such as Hartley in the Aus team over Wade or Haddin. A strong Aus A tour and domestic season for Paine will make it hard for the selectors to not had him the gloves after the Ashes in Aus later this year. IMO 1. Paine, 2. Hartley, 3. Nevill, 4. Wade - Haddin international career is over after the second Ashes series.
cotts
Guest
If we were talking about a horse race the likelihood is that you would put your hard earned on McDermott or Doolan. The exposed form of the other candidates inspires little confidence. Perhaps these kids can actually keep wicket in its traditional sense. They would certainly be young enough for their batting to benefit from the truckload of coaches and high performance extras we have. There is an old saying that keepers are born, not made. I suspect any bowler would prefer a keeper to a backstop. Look for the naturals amongst the juniors and nurture them, don't settle for a backstop because he's also an average batsman. A seventh average batsman in the Test side (unless its Gilchrist) won't change the outcome. Don't be too harsh on some of the recent keepers for their efforts in the field. As a former keeper myself I know it is the duty of every fielder to throw the ball in at the keeper's feet.
Will W QOS
Roar Pro
This article was by no means a Wade bash, simply a discussion of where we look to next after Brad Haddin. My votes are actually for an improved Matthew Wade but Peter Nevill presents a strong case.
Will W QOS
Roar Pro
Healy wasn't the only one to say it, he was the first everybody took notice of. Wades footwork was sloppy and the glaringly obvious thing I noticed was his habit of not taking return throws on the full. Not being a wicketkeeper but having coached in the Qld system, one of the things I have heard on a number of occasions is to help get footwork going and rhythm try and take the ball on the full. 1. It takes care of the bull 2. It limits overthrows etc. 3. Not doing it is just downright sloppy!
Deep Thinker
Guest
I feel sorry for Wade. Nobody was talking about his keeping before Healy went to town on him. Healy seemed to be advocating for his mate Chris Hartley. Then overnight Wade's keeping was hopeless. I think he is no worse than Haddin. Lets face it - keepers miss stumpings, drop catches, sometimes don't do the basic stuff well. Healy cost Australia a test series against Pakistan when he missed a stumping off Imzamam. It is unreasonable to expect perfection from keepers every time. Wade has been ok, but I think his big problem is that he gets bogged down in scoring. I'm sure that is party due to him having to rebuild the innings every time he bats. But he bats better than Paine and Hartley. He probably keeps better than Neville. He's the man if you ask me. That said, I don't think he will be a star. Australia has a keeping problem as much as a batting and spinning problem if you ask me.
Will W QOS
Roar Pro
Andy - difficult question, was more putting the topic out there for discussion. As far as stats orientated information that highlights how efficient a wicketkeeper is, there is simply no stats out there. Simply looking at how many catches / stumpings they are gathering per match. A statistic that somehow shows how many dismissals are made versus how many opportunities are missed would be a better stat - but as discussed above, how do you generate that stat - what classifies a chance / how do you weigh a tough chance against a sitter for example. In this day and age a keeper needs to be able to bat in the No 7 position so batting skill does come into it. As to what weighting I give this in selection of our Test keeper, I would love to say the keeping side of thing is 70% batting is 30% when selecting but I think the selectors almost look at this in the reverse with batting being a more heavily weighted criteria. How's that for fence sitting!
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Will, You talk about the ctual iket-keeping and fielding standard as being the mot important thing at test level. yet when you put forward the credentials of the alternative players available you mention their batting ability as being the deciding factor. Which is it?
sledgeross
Guest
I guess we will see then!
DCO
Guest
Moving his feet properly (has been his weakness behind the stumps) would have made those tough chances more 'gettable'.
Adam
Guest
Paine by a long way. A high class keeper and he has outstanding leadership qualities. Would be a very calming influence over an evolving side. A better batsman than the stats give credit to too. I would bank on him being a player where by the end of his career, his international stats will surpass his domestic stats... His batting is a statistical anomaly.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Paine's century was also when playing as a specialist batsman if I recall correctly. Clingeleffer would still have been Tasmanian keeper (and was a better gloveman, if not graceful in movement, than Paine).
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Or that has one. I'd probably say Hartley then Ludeman in terms of glovework, but it is difficulr to tell from the occasional look at the CA livestreams.
Trev
Roar Rookie
Haddin misses a lot of gettable ones though.
sledgeross
Guest
Gettable doesnt mean it should count against him, they were tough chances, especially the one down leg side on a pitch with variable bounce.. Do you have a clue about keeping? Wades blown chances a decent district keeper would take.
Jane
Guest
Haddin missed two gettable chances in the last Test. He is no better a glove-man than Wade. Wade is a better batsman and has youth on his side. Wade should be given another chance.
Will W QOS
Roar Pro
Not sure about what those stats really display - is that a mixture of T20, FC and OD?
Will W QOS
Roar Pro
Not doubting Wade's batting credentials but I do not think his keeping is better than Haddin, Paine or Hartley's. I have not seen enough of Nevill's keeping to make judgement there.
sledgeross
Guest
If his bat was good enough he would have scored more runs..........
zatoo77
Guest
I think that Paine's five ford ranger cup 100s and 1 ODI 100 show that his bat is good enough. We will see we need one of these players to bat as well as a batsman for a summer to show who is the best. If one of them averages 38-45 for a season we will know who is the second best wicket keeper batsman for Australia