Craig Kieswetter was another casualty of England’s drawn out wicket-keeping dilemma before the New Zealand series, but has now been re-instated in the 30-man preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy. At just 25, this ex-Safa U19 already has 46 ODI’s under his belt in his 3 year tenure behind the stumps. It was promising at first, but then again, they always are…
Pietersen tries to strangle Kieswetter after he dropped a catch, or the less likely scenario, congratulates him for taking a catch (PC: The Guardian)
England have now have used 13 glove-men in ODI’s since Stewart’s retirement that still play county cricket. An obscene number of keepers when you think how long the likes of Gilchrist and Sangakarra held the honour in all three formats. The list is unbelievable considering the time frame, plus it contains someone who, in my opinion, is probably still one of the best keepers in England, James Foster of Essex. There is also Chris Read of Nottinghamshire and Steve Davis of Surrey. Sadly, the calls for these fantastic three to get the call up were back in the days when Kieswetter was showing potential, and they would be stopping the younger generation if they took up the job now. Ben Foakes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Duckett are all potential future occupants of the position, it would be unfair to give the job to someone who’s joints will soon give up due to their arthritic backs! (Their aren’t actually that old, I hear the usual age for Arthritis is older than the early 30’s…)
22-year-old Jos Buttler keeping for what could soon be Kieswetter’s old county, Somerset (PC: cricnet.com)
The most obvious name that sticks out at me from that list (below) is that of Matt Prior. The Sussex man has already been billed as a great like Stewart, Gilchrist and Sangakkara so why won’t the ECB give him an opportunity to flourish in all forms of the game? Who better to tutor the young understudy on long away tours than this reformed bad-boy, now loved by all the people who wrote him off in 2007? I see wicket-keepers as very similar to the goalkeeper in football and as any avid Football Manager player would tell you, keeper’s see their best years in the late 20’s-early 30’s.
So it is the age-old argument of whether to blood the youngsters, or let the adults have a short tenure. To continue the goalkeeper comparison, the trend seems to be the more mature member acting as a father figure to the understudy, before his bones give way, or the understudy become more talented. Whichever comes first. This method would gain my vote. With Prior aiding possibly both Buttler and Bairstow, maybe even Foakes depending how quickly he matures, before he bows out of all three formats.
Kieswetter no longer getting on the team-sheet may become a more significant life change for him than just being dropped from the squad. With the replacement being fellow Somerset-man Jos Buttler, the ECB will encourage Somerset to give the gloves to him above Kieswetter whenever they can (despite Kieswetter wicket-keeping in today’s game). Meaning, if Kieswetter ever wants to play International cricket again, he will have to find a new ground to crouch behind the stumps and call his own. It is not that simple however, with a mixture of youth and experience currently holding the squatting positions at all the counties that would be able to meet his wage demands, it may be harder than he thinks to find a county that want him. Buttler and Bairstow who travelled to New Zealand as the only keeping options are only 3 years younger than Kieswetter, who in keeping terms definitely still has his best days ahead of him. Both Read and Foster were blooded too early and fell by the sword, I hope the Somerset man hasn’t been condemned to the same fate.
Have your say on the Forum, click here!
List Of England ODI Keeper’s still playing County Cricket
Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire)
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Jos Buttler (Somerset)
Paul Collingwood (Durham)
Steve Davis (Surrey)
Chris Read (Nottinghamshire)
James Foster (Essex)
Phil Mustard (Durham)
Matt Prior (Sussex)
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset)
Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire)
Geriant Jones (Kent)
Craig Kieswetter (Somerset)
Custom Bats Cricket Blog 