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A wicketkeeper is the workhorse of any cricket team.
They can never be off their A-game, but there’s no such thing as perfect game – keepers are their own harshest critics.
The stats show how central the wicketkeeper is: on average Australian keepers are on the team for more than four years, or around 23 matches. Given keepers are sixth or seventh spot in a batting line-up, they must devote time to practice with bat – something you’d be forgiven for thinking our current test keeper doesn’t do.
A keeper can make or break a great cricket team, so this is an analysis of our current keepers in an attempt to find the best one.
Keepers with international experience
Peter Nevill
Peter Nevill has been Australia’s only Test keeper since his debut at Lord’s last year. He’s also been our Twenty20 keeper since the world cup. There is no doubting his keeping ability, and though he looked uncomfortable keeping to spinners in his early career, he has patched this gap well.
He certainly has the best hands in the country, but his batting at international level is flawed – he’s surpassed 50 twice in 19 innings for an average of just 20. Those numbers are hard to believe when compared to his first-class average of 38, including a breakout season in 2014-15 featuring 764 runs. His leadership experience at New South Wales works in his favour, but his convincing batting technique has disappeared from the world stage.
However, his critics are too harsh. He’s been forced to perform with the weight of Brad Haddin’s legacy on his shoulders, so he deserves at least an Australian summer to prove his batting – otherwise the selectors should explore other options, which shouldn’t prove much of a challenge.
The stats
First class
Catches (per game): 230 (3.1)
Stumpings: 12
Runs (average): 3547 (38.55)
List A/international
Catches (per game): 1.7
Stumpings: 10
Runs (average international): 401 (22.9)
Runs (average list A): 886 (22.2)
Matthew Wade
As the one day international keeper, Wade would be an obvious and safe replacement for Nevill – the Victorian already has 12 Tests to his name.
His keeping is more than reliable, but his commitment and concentration in Test matches is questionable, especially given his up and down form and tendency to drop regulation catches. His confession to not being the best keeper in the country during the Ashes didn’t sit well with Australian coach Darren Lehmann, who called for him to knuckle down.
Though his Test days are over at the expense of younger players rising through the ranks, his long-format batting is serviceable and he remains a terrific short-format keeper.
The stats
First class
Catches (per game): 321 (3.3)
Stumpings: 12
Runs (average): 4740 (39.50)
List A/international
Catches (per game): 287 (1.2)
Stumpings: 29
Runs (average): 5736 (30.84)
Tim Paine
Unknown to some, the Hobart Hurricanes and Tasmania captain has four test matches, 26 one day internationals and five Twenty20 internationals to his name. After being touted as not only Australia’s future long-term wicket-keeper but a potential team leader, Paine became a regular ODI keeper and was named vice-captain of the new-look Twenty20 side. Paine is a tidy keeper notably effective against spinners.
Though he was selected as a specialist batsman in 2007-08, in recent years his batting has bee inconsistent. Today he is struggling for opportunities to make Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield squad, with the selectors preferring to look at younger, brighter talents – an inevitability given Paine is 31 years old. It seems unlikely he will ever don the baggy green again, but that isn’t to say he couldn’t represent the country again – although his batting consistency would need to improve considerably.
The stats
First class
Catches (per game): 229 (2.7)
Stumpings: 11
Runs (average): 3819 (28.93)
List A/international
Catches (per game): 209 (1.3)
Stumpings: 25
Runs (average): 4714 (26.9)
Young prospects
Sam Whiteman
It wasn’t so long ago this Western Australian was being touted as the keeper to succeed Brad Haddin – but those same rumours put him off his game, and it now seems he requires at least one more Sheffield Shield season to prove himself before returning to the international spotlight.
After watching him in the quadrangular in August, I think he’s the best keeper in Australia. Aiding his talent are his sharp reflexes both at the stumps and when diving for a catch. Though his batting is questionable, his delightful technique will soon see it improve. International selection should be on the horizon, but how long does he need to be scoring in shield cricket to prove his worth?
The stats
First class
Catches (per game): 152 (3.3)
Stumpings: 4
Runs (average): 2216 (35.17)
List A/international
Catches (per game): 35 (1)
Stumpings: 4
Runs (average): 532 (20.46)
Cameron Bancroft
Already Bancroft has international Twenty20 experience, and if not for a cancelled Bangladesh tour, he would have a baggy green, such is the regard in which the selectors hold him. As an opening batter he is very composed, but he isn’t the best keeper in the country – he isn’t even the best keeper in WA – but this means he could be considered as a replacement keeper if the opportunity arises.
He looks clumsy at the stumps, but he always takes the catches. That said, the difference between the best and worst keeper is smaller than the difference between the best and worst players of other types. He is high in the pecking order, and he must be on the selectors’ minds. Surely he will add to his lone international Twenty20 match in the near future.
The stats
First class*
Catches (per game): 51 (1.2)
Stumpings: 1
Runs (average): 2764 (37.86)
List A/international*
Catches (per game): 26 (0.7)
Stumpings: 0
Runs (average): 939 (33.06)
*isn’t always keeper
Peter Handscomb
Like Bancroft, Handscomb isn’t the state’s first choice for keeper, but as a batsman he is ultra-reliable and very quick between the wickets. A very coordinated keeper who is willing to do anything to help the team, Hanscomb is the workhorse of the Victorian squad, a trait any successful keeper must possess.
Peter is also a great reader of the game and, like most on this list, he has leadership experience and traits. His enthusiasm, positivity and talent should have him playing on Thursday, though he lacks experience at the highest level of cricket.
The stats
First class*
Catches (per game): 93 (1.6)
Stumpings: 4
Runs (average): 3579 (38.48)
List A/international*
Catches (per game): 44 (0.9)
Stumpings: 2
Runs (average): 1130 (3138)
*isn’t always keeper
Who do you think should be keeping for Australia in each format? Let us know in the comments below.
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