Top 5 wicket keepers of all time
Sep 22, 2016 at 11:19 PM
Keeping wickets is one of toughest jobs in cricket as unlike other players on the field a wicket keeper has no time to relax. A Wicket-keeper has to alert all day during his job as there are 100% chances of the ball coming to him in case batsman fails to connect or leaves the delivery. The wicket keeper has to be quick all times as there is no room for even a single error behind the wickets. A wicket-keeper should be tireless and should be fit as this job is a full-time job which requires sitting and standing on a regular basis. So a team needs to choose the best person for the job. Despite it being one of the most important positions, wicket-keepers are sometimes deprived of attention and limelight that they should get.
Top 5 wicket keepers of all time
So today we have a look at few best wicket-keepers in the world cricket –
Mark Boucher (Top 5 wicket keepers)– Till the retirement of David Richardson, Mark Boucher had already established himself as the permanent wicket-keeper for the South African team. His mind boggling numbers are enough to tell his greatness behind the wicket. He has recorded most dismissals behind the wickets in international cricket. In 467 international matches, Boucher recorded 998 dismissals, 952 catches, and 46 stumps. Though he has most catches in international cricket but in terms of stumping, he is far behind many of his successors in the list. Mark had an ironical end to his career as while keeping wickets during a first-class match against England he was hit by a bail on his eye which ended his career as his eye got damaged due to it.
Adam Gilchrist (Top 5 wicket keepers) – He is surely one of the finest cricketer and wicket keepers in the history. From giving an aggressive start to the team to contributing equally with the bat, Gilchrist had everything in his bag which made him a complete cricketer. Gilchrist did everything which was enough to rate him as one of the finest cricketers Australia had ever produced. In 396 international matches, he recorded 905 dismissals, 813 catches, and 92 stumpings. His dismissal/innings rate is 1.865 which is quite high in comparison to others. He was one of the wicket-keepers who also contributed equally with the bat. In test matches, he scored 5570 runs at an average of 47.60 whereas in ODI’s he notched 9619 runs at an average of 35.89.
Ian Healy (Top 5 wicket keepers) – An important part of the Australian team for almost a decade, Ian was a great wicket keeper too. Starting a career with a selection controversy, he went on to become one of the finest players behind the wicket with the gloves on. His numbers are evident to prove this as he recorded 628 dismissals in 188 international appearances which include 560 catches and 68 stumpings. His dismissal per innings is 1.602 which is much better on the list. He also played an important role in the bat across all formats he played and was an asset to the team due to his batting and keeping skills.
AB De Villiers (Top 5 wicket keepers) – From international cricket to IPL he is one of the most dangerous and attacking batsman in the world. The former test captain of the South African cricket team though is not seen keeping the wickets but in his short wicket-keeping career he has done enough to get a name registered in this list. The 360-degree player has 224 dismissals in international cricket, 207 catches, and 17 stumpings. His dismissals per innings rate is 1.723 which is even higher than Mark Boucher. Along with being a wicket keeper ABD is an electric fielder too as he always marks his presence on the field with his extraordinary fielding skills. For his simplicity and his playing skills, he is one of the most loved cricketers in the world.
Arthur Grout (Top 5 wicket keepers) – The former Australian wicket-keeper died at a young age of 41 years and 224 days on November 9, 1968. He played only in test cricket, that too only 51 test matches but his number were enough to call him the best wicket keeper. He recorded 187 dismissals behind the wicket which included 163 catches and 33 stumpings. His dismissal rate per innings was 1.908 which is the best in the list. He did not have a good outing with the bat as he just scored 890 runs in 67 innings he played but his wicket-keeping skills did not have this issue and he was consistent behind the wickets.
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