English wicketkeepers

[OnlyClarkey]

England have had a few wicket keepers over recent times, especially since the retirement of Alec Stewart. Geraint Jones, Chris Read, Tim Ambrose and Matt Prior are the ones who stick out in my head. I was wondering how many their have been, and who you think has been the most successful. Also, who has been the unluckiest in meaning of being dropped for a 'below par' performance etc.

Thought this would be an interesting topic

 

[Howsie]

I've always argued that Mustard wasn't given long enough, I think given England's opening problems over the years they could of given him more time.

But tbh I don't really rate any of them, Foster looks like a good keeper but Ambrose and Prior have never impressed me.

 

[OnlyClarkey]

I also recall a small spell when Paul Nixon was our man with the gloves... never rated him.

 

[King Pietersen]

Eugh, here we go with the Mustard rubbish again.

Prior's good enough. He gets alot of unfair flak for his keeping when he's actually been consistent with the gloves and only had 2 or 3 bad games which get exaggerated. He's kept very solidly in England, especially this summer, and as Alec Stewart says, he's improving every day and is starting to look far more natural with the gloves. He's an excellent batsman as well, could get into this England team on batting alone.

 

[Skater]

Prior is very good. Foster is his understudy. Mustard's crap, and Read is hideously overlooked.

 

[OnlyClarkey]

I think some people have either misread the subject matter or just totally ignored the actual topic. I wanted to talk about wicketkeepers post-Stewart, and how successful they've been. This isn't a topic saying Prior shouldn't have the gloves or anything of the sort..

 

[Howsie]

Geraint Jones wasn't too bad, well he was but he played pretty well in patches.

Matt Prior is the only wicketkeeper that has done well with the bat since Alec Stewart retired.

 

[Biggy]

From recent years I remember,

Geraint Jones
Chris Read
Paul Nixon
Phil Mustard
Tim Ambrose
Matt Prior
James Foster

All fairly average, nothing special. Prior looks the goods at the moment, especially at Test level.

 

[OnlyClarkey]

Do you guys think England haven't shown enough trust in wicketkeepers in the past? Flogging them too early during one rough patch or that the keeper weren't just up to the standards?

 

[Howsie]

Do you guys think England haven't shown enough trust in wicketkeepers in the past? Flogging them too early during one rough patch or that the keeper weren't just up to the standards?

They haven't shown enough faith. I've been saying that for over a year now that England don't give there keepers long enough to get settled in. I also remember Ian Botham saying the same thing a few years back.

 

[Furball man]

Yeah think Mustard was unlucky. Prior does the job with bat too . I always liked Jones despite his faults. Stewart's boots will always be hard to fill

Kieswetter is the future & I think he'll be playing for England by next year

 

[Biggy]

They haven't really stuck by any of them. Could also have something to do with the size of the Domestic competition. It's too easy just to chop and change when you have a bucket load of them just waiting in a line.

 

[Skater]

Prior should be in for the long haul now. I'm not going to get into the domestic scene, because the domestics are not made purely to provide players for England.

 

[King Pietersen]

Probably hasnt helped that the selectors have continually picked the wrong bloke which has put pressure on them when they've dropped them after poor performances. Jones should never have been picked. He was chosen off the back of just 1 good season, and even that 1 season wasn't particularly exceptional. He looked pretty with the bat, but was very inconsistent and his glovework was often poor. Chris Read should have been the one to hold the gloves for a decent period after Stewart, but he never really got a fair chance. Unfortunately for Chris his time has passed, and Prior is definitely the right man for the job now.

Most of those guys listed by Biggy are decent. Just GoJo, Nixon and Mustard that have let things slip, none of them should ever have been picked to play for England, especially Mustard.

 

[OnlyClarkey]

As a one off, opinions on Steven Davies?

Also, I'm glad (for Notts sake) Read got dropped.