I always thought of wicket-keepers like drummers in rock bands, there to keep things ticking behind the scenes. It was the fast bowler who was the lead singer in the leather jacket. But the current crop of ’keepers can change anyone’s mind. Take, for instance, swashbuckling South African captain AB de Villiers. He is clearly a head-banging front man. It’s been two years since he took over the ODI captaincy and he looks set to be test skipper too. And he’s just one of the many wicket-keepers increasingly influencing world cricket. Watching Kumar Sangakkara’s match-winning 134* (135) in the ICC Champions Trophy against England made me realise what a wealth of talent world cricket currently has, both as custodians behind the stumps and counter-attackers in front of them. ![Abraham Benjamin de Villiers. Photo: REUTERS / Philip Brown]()
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers. Photo: REUTERS / Philip Brown
Kumar Sangakkara, Matt Prior, MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum are either captains of, or among the most important players on, their teams. Some are better limited-overs sloggers while others are Test match fulcrums. But how do they stack up against each other and, probably the greatest keepers of the recent past, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Boucher? If we compare their batting (runs, average, strike rate, centuries) and keeping (dismissals – catches and stumpings – and dismissals per innings), AB de Villiers seems to come out on top. The One Day game seems to throw up a three way battle between the elegant Sangakkara, the athletic de Villiers and ice cool Dhoni. Here they are, ranked by average.
too – who can forget how he smashed Dale Steyn last year or how he hit a reverse sweep for six?[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wATCrfSLpU[/youtube] Playing a shot like that requires you to be an all-round athlete: his balance, the hand-eye coordination and forearm strength are stunning. He can save Test matches, anchor ODI innings and improvise under IPL floodlights. AB can do it all. And that’s why he’s my first among equals.
