Best Wicket Keeper-Batsman in Test Cricket

[metallics2006]

TBH I didn't know Jayawerdene was a Keeper until now, lol.

"Prasana" Jayawardene. Not "Mahela".

 

[unknownguys]

Currently Dhoni is the best Keeper-Batsman.

 

[Tway]

id have to rate kumar as the no1 in the world.
second is a good race muccullum though now he is opening the batting would win the race ahead of msd.
I will put taibu from zimbabwe in there to not much of a chance to shine due to politics but a very good keeper batsman.
Would def have mccullum as no1 odi and 20/20 keeper

 

[BlueString]

The reason I chose Dhoni is not because of his batting; it's his wicketkeeping. It is disciplined, athletic, and he always comes up with the big catch or stumping.

 

[Symptom_Control]

Prasanna keeping these days is robbing us of the obvious selection, Kumar Sangakkara. Kumar is pretty good with the gloves, and easily the best batsmen out of all of the keepers - often underrated in that people say Gilly was better. I reckon overall, Sangakkara has Gilly covered.

But of that lot, I reckon Haddin is the best. He's not the best keeper, but we haven't seen the best of his batting, having watched a fair few of his state games, I know he'll cause a headache or two for opposition sides to come.

mmm...I wonder what Gilchrist could have acheived if he had had a run at no 4 or 5 as a batsman only?

 

[shaunmedrik]

Adam Gilcrist are the best wicket-keeper in test cricket .He also good batting in ODI cricket and In Twenty Twenty Cricket.And another name is Shrilanka Captain and Wicket-keeper name is Shangakara .He is also good batsman in Test cricket and ODI aslo.

 

[shaunmedrik]

Adam Gilcrist are the best wicket-keeper in test cricket .He also good batting in ODI cricket and In Twenty Twenty Cricket.And another name is Shrilanka Captain and Wicket-keeper name is Shangakara .He is also good batsman in Test cricket and ODI aslo.

 

[AbhishekS]

Among the ones mentioned in the first post, I think Boucher is the best keeper batsman. Haddin is very good as well and so is McCullum but he has recently given up keeping for the longer format of the game.

MS Dhoni would have been a name to select if the choice was for ODIs. In test matches, he hardly performs well with the bat.

 

[War]

Sangakkara although he doesn't keep anymore in test due to circumstances.

But of those who keep regularly in tests. None of the frontrunners in Dhoni/Haddin/Boucher are really dominant. Haddin has the potential to be the best of the lot if he continues to show the batting improvement that he has displayed in the 1st two test of current Ashes series.

McCullum would be right up in consideration as well if he was still keeping as well.

 

[Varun]

I think Boucher is the best keeper batsman.

Well, I haven't seen him play any remarkable innings lately in both test and ODI cricket. He is a good finisher but not probably a good middle-order batsman who could guide the team amidst falling wickets.

Sangakkara would be the best as far as batting is concerned. (though he hardly keeps now in tests)

Close competition between Dhoni and Sangakkara for ODI keepers (who haven't retired), I really miss Gilchrist's aggression from the horrid Aussie side at present.

 

[AbhishekS]

I really miss Gilchrist's aggression from the horrid Aussie side at present.

Who doesn't!

 

[sifter132]

Well TBH, the Gilchrist to Haddin transfer has been the most pleasant of any of the changes in the Aussie side. Haddin's actually playing a little better than Gilchrist was during the last couple of years of his career - both batting and keeping.

I actually like Matt Prior for this question. I think he's improved a lot with gloves to the point where he's just as good, if not better than most keepers, and when he puts his mind to it is he's excellent batsman.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

kumar is a much better batsman because he ditched the gloves though.

as a keeper he only averaged 40 with 7 hundreds. Since he gave up keeping he averages.... wait for it... 76 in 46 tests, with 17 hundreds.

sanga is over-rated as a wicket-keeper bat because he never combined the two roles effectively, it's far too simplistic to say he is the best keeper-batsman. Even in ODIs where he does do both you'd still have to say Dhoni was the better keeper-bat in that format.

However, as a batsman he's among the best playing right now and focusing on his keeping does his batting an injustice.

 

[War]

kumar is a much better batsman because he ditched the gloves though.

as a keeper he only averaged 40 with 7 hundreds. Since he gave up keeping he averages.... wait for it... 76 in 46 tests, with 17 hundreds.

sanga is over-rated as a wicket-keeper bat because he never combined the two roles effectively, it's far too simplistic to say he is the best keeper-batsman. Even in ODIs where he does do both you'd still have to say Dhoni was the better keeper-bat in that format.

However, as a batsman he's among the best playing right now and focusing on his keeping does his batting an injustice.

Nah giving up the gloves didn't make Sanga a better batsman. Their seems to be an incorrect notion that Sangakkara not keeping is sign that affects his test batting or something. When it fact his batting peak just coincided with him leaving the gloves IMO. AFAIS, the only reasons Sangaka doesn't keep in tests is because its a great strain to do that along with being captain & # 3. He does all 3 in ODIs & T20 very well. If SRI had a WC all-rounder batting @ 6 or 7in tests for example, i think it would have been very possible for him to stay keeping & his rate of runscoring wouldn't decline at all IMHO.

He would just have to move down to # 5 like what Andy Flower did in the 90s/early 2000s. Since i dont think its possible for him to bat @ 3, be skipper & score runs. Given that Keeping & being your teams # 3 are two super important roles in any test side. Between 2004-2008 (as i will explain in my view of Sanga's career summary below) not being totally settled on his role may have had a mental effect on his game. In a stronger team, he probably would not have batted @ # 3, while keeping. Andy Flower batted @ # 5/6 while being ZIM best batsman & keeping, so most likey thats the mistake SRI made with him.




This how Sanga's career evovled to to best of my knowledge:

- From 2000-2004. He was basically SRI full-time keeper in tests, as he outsed Kaluwitharana. Although for team balance sake (the lack of another quality middle-order bat during this period, since SRI usually had a batsman batting @ # 7 alot), Kaluwitharana kept in a few tests. While Sanga's his batting was showed potential but wasn't the finised article.

- Then has his batting began to peak in 2004 after the AUS series (home & away). When he scored those two big double hundreds vs ZIM & SA. Between 2004-20008 (vs WI in WI). He kept on & off as P Jaywardene emergened. But his batting was already in peak mode batting @ # 3 & scoring big runs as he shuffled between keeping & not keeping due to SRI team balance.

-Then after the 2008 series vs WI. P Jayawardene became full-time keeper in tests. The last year Sanga became captain & the runs continued.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

imo, again too straightforward.

as sanga's batting improved he was looking too move away from the wk alot earlier than 2008. The big ton against SA your thinking of was actually scored when jayawardene was keeping. Sanga was concentrating primarily on batting, from about 2003.

It was SL's worries over jayawardene's batting and Kaluwitharana's age that kept putting him back as the wk as they juggled about. he was a pure batsman well before 2008, around 2004 or '05, however due to a jayawardena injury he was still keeping purely because until recently SL were absolutely barren when it came to wicketkeepers.


I see what you're saying, that yes, were you forming a world XI that sanga is sufficiently good enough at keeping to do that and bat close to his full ability, but he would never be the batsman he is had he not focused on his batting much earlier and the only reason he has kept so much is because he's playing for a country that has (or had, the money is pouring in to expand it now) a tiny pool of players and had bad luck with the position he covers.