ronaldo7777
PC Journalism Contest Winner
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Who do you think should be Englands Wicket Keeper
Englands Wicket Keeper
- Thread starter ronaldo7777
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FreddieFan
International Coach
Geraint Jones all the way. He's not as bad a keeper as everybody likes to think he is, and a decent batsman too. Read's batting simply isn't good enough, and I've never seen Prior keep but I've heard he's a long way behind Jones or Read. Trescothick, at this stage of his career, should concentrate on his batting and I wouldn't be impressed if the selectors chose someone who's never played test cricket before with two huge events (The Ashes and The World Cup) coming up fast.
genghis_khan
International Cricketer
jones.....never seen any of the others lol
Skater
ICC Chairman
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I, like many others, have voted for Geraint Jones to be England's wicket keeper. He has a decent catching ability, is acrobatic, enthusiatic, always willing to improve and is a very decent batsman. He's made mistakes in the past but we all do. He is also rarely injured.
If not Geraint Jones, then it would have to be Chris Read. He's got all the attributes as Jonesy and has been more than reliable for Nottinghamshire recently. I would never choose Matt Prior as his wicket keeping is below average in my opinion and he doesn't make enough runs to cover for that. He gets a good start and then throws his wicket away foolishly. That's what I thought of him in India anyway.
If not Geraint Jones, then it would have to be Chris Read. He's got all the attributes as Jonesy and has been more than reliable for Nottinghamshire recently. I would never choose Matt Prior as his wicket keeping is below average in my opinion and he doesn't make enough runs to cover for that. He gets a good start and then throws his wicket away foolishly. That's what I thought of him in India anyway.
puddleduck
Chairman of Selectors
Well I have been prepared to stick by Geraint over the last year despite various people wanting Read to be given a second chance, however I have finally decided that Read does deserve a 2nd chance.
Jones keeping is shoddy, in fact I would go as far as to say he is one of the worst wicketkeepers in international cricket. Now the fact that he only averages just under 30 with the bat is not enough to make up for it. Yes he takes some nice looking catches, yes he has good games, but he is primarily a keeper and some of the catches he drops are relatively easy by international class standard.
The main point is that his keeping to spinners is appaling, by far the worst in the test arena. He rarely gets his gloves on anything that beats the bat, whether it be a stumping chance or thin edge.
The thing with Read is, when he first played international cricket he couldn't bat, he was a quality keeper, still the best in England by a fair distance, but he could most definately not bat.
He was told to go and work on his batting if he wanted to get back into the England side, and over the last two years in the CC he has averaged 50 and 40. On the England A tour of the Windies he again impressed with the bat, and if he was given a second chance, looks like he would do no worse than Jones with the bat, or at worst average arond 20-25. Considering he rarely drops a catch, and is the impeccable gloveman of English Cricket I believe in test cricket, where taking 10 wickets twice is pretty much the only way to win, that he deserves that chance.
Jones keeping is shoddy, in fact I would go as far as to say he is one of the worst wicketkeepers in international cricket. Now the fact that he only averages just under 30 with the bat is not enough to make up for it. Yes he takes some nice looking catches, yes he has good games, but he is primarily a keeper and some of the catches he drops are relatively easy by international class standard.
The main point is that his keeping to spinners is appaling, by far the worst in the test arena. He rarely gets his gloves on anything that beats the bat, whether it be a stumping chance or thin edge.
The thing with Read is, when he first played international cricket he couldn't bat, he was a quality keeper, still the best in England by a fair distance, but he could most definately not bat.
He was told to go and work on his batting if he wanted to get back into the England side, and over the last two years in the CC he has averaged 50 and 40. On the England A tour of the Windies he again impressed with the bat, and if he was given a second chance, looks like he would do no worse than Jones with the bat, or at worst average arond 20-25. Considering he rarely drops a catch, and is the impeccable gloveman of English Cricket I believe in test cricket, where taking 10 wickets twice is pretty much the only way to win, that he deserves that chance.
Read.
I'd rather have a keeper who catches 90+% of chances and averages 20 ish, than a keeper who averages just 30 and catches 70% of chances.
Also Reads batting has improved greatly, averaging 40+ since his last Test.
For the future we have alot of potential:
Gazzard
Wessels
Ambrose
Prior
Read himself is still only 25 ish.
I'd rather have a keeper who catches 90+% of chances and averages 20 ish, than a keeper who averages just 30 and catches 70% of chances.
Also Reads batting has improved greatly, averaging 40+ since his last Test.
For the future we have alot of potential:
Gazzard
Wessels
Ambrose
Prior
Read himself is still only 25 ish.
Briggsey
International Coach
Even the best keepers in the world make mistakes, look at Gilly, until recently he'd been having a shocker for the last 6-12 months with the bat and made some mistakes with the gloves but no Aussie in their right mind would demand he be dropped. Jones wont get dropped not only because he is probably the best keeper-batsman in England at the moment, but because he is a proven performer at test level now and the selectors and his team mates have every amount of faith in him.
We have keepers for the future, but for the forseable future, Jones will be England's wicket keeper for quite a few years yet.
We have keepers for the future, but for the forseable future, Jones will be England's wicket keeper for quite a few years yet.
m_vaughan
Chairman of Selectors
Ive explained a number of times (in other threads) why England should carry on playing Geraint Jones. Hence my vote goes to him.
Cricket_60
International Coach
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I voted for Jones
From what I saw in the ashes he seemed to be a semi reliable keeper and a decent batsmen.
From what I saw in the ashes he seemed to be a semi reliable keeper and a decent batsmen.
genghis_khan
International Cricketer
if theyre going to change keeper (which i cant see happening) then it will happen at some point during teh English summer. theres no way they would suddenly replace Jones during or before the ashes and unsettle the team.
BigCrickNan
Chairman of Selectors
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- Sep 11, 2005
FreddieFan said:
Yep I totally with Jones being the keeper. His keeping in Pakistan and India was drastically imrpoved from the Ashes, and his batting is improving. No point in dropping him really
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Yorkshire_No1
Club Cricketer
Geraint Jones is the man for the job. He's starting to get better or at least he did in the one dayers with the bat and didn't do too much wrong with the gloves during the 2 tours in the suib continent 
puddleduck
Chairman of Selectors
How can you say he didn't do too much wrong with the gloves in India? He dropped Kumble who went on to hit a 50. He missed 2 stumpings, one of which saw the batsman go on to hit a 50. He missed 2 catches of the spinner. All in all his keeping in India was shoddy at best, granted his batting was an improvement.
In Pakistan his glovework was good, but you have to remember this was on placid and lifeless tracks so the ball was hardly jagging, and with Udal and an injured Gilo it barely spun either. Bounce was minimal and all in all it was as easy as it's gonna get for a keeper. Batting however he failed big time in Pakistan.
The fact is, that he was bought into the side to provide runs, his keeping was supposed to improve over the years, and rather remarkably it hasn't and his batting average has dropped consistently after a good start, to see him now average under 30 with the bat. For someone who is not being picked as a specialist keeper, but a keeper-batsman, surely he should be averaging 35 at least with the bat?
As was mentioned he will not get dropped, unless they drop him for the series v Sri Lanka so as to give Read or whoever time to bed in. With that being the case I will support Jones as much as the next English cricket fan but I can't help but feel Read deserves a 3rd chance, he has afterall done everything that was asked of him, whilst Jones continues to either have a decent series with the gloves but poor with the bat, or vice-versa.
In Pakistan his glovework was good, but you have to remember this was on placid and lifeless tracks so the ball was hardly jagging, and with Udal and an injured Gilo it barely spun either. Bounce was minimal and all in all it was as easy as it's gonna get for a keeper. Batting however he failed big time in Pakistan.
The fact is, that he was bought into the side to provide runs, his keeping was supposed to improve over the years, and rather remarkably it hasn't and his batting average has dropped consistently after a good start, to see him now average under 30 with the bat. For someone who is not being picked as a specialist keeper, but a keeper-batsman, surely he should be averaging 35 at least with the bat?
As was mentioned he will not get dropped, unless they drop him for the series v Sri Lanka so as to give Read or whoever time to bed in. With that being the case I will support Jones as much as the next English cricket fan but I can't help but feel Read deserves a 3rd chance, he has afterall done everything that was asked of him, whilst Jones continues to either have a decent series with the gloves but poor with the bat, or vice-versa.
