England Wicketkeepers?

First of all, I have no problem with Matt Prior and I see him as No.1 Keeper in the Test side for a while.

But the one-day formats have clearly not suited his strong off-side game and he probably should not be tested in the shorter formats again. But if injury occurs who is there to take over in the longer formats and who should keep in the shorter formats?

Over the past couple of months three keepers have been tried within the two one-day formats; Craig Keiswetter, Jos Buttler and finally Johnny Bairstow. Each has strong points and weaknesses as with any other player, but whomever can perform well when given the chance will surely be given the OD gloves.

Craig Keiswetter, recently dropped from the T20 side, has been given various chances to prove his worth to the ODI side and while not contributing with the bat, his glove work has been tidy for the most part. Being moved from Opener to 5/6/7 as a finisher to try hide his non-ability to rotate the strike and work singles has been a failure. In Sri Lanka and India this has been exposed as a serious flaw as his innings has mostly consisted of boundaries, inability to get off strike and being bowled by a non-spinning ball.

I feel his batting style would be more suited to the longer game, F-C games and potentially the Test arena. He is very good when there is pace on the ball, and also when has time to bat, as rotating the strike is not as important then it is in the OD games. His stats for the Lions and Somerset show this, as he averages 41.18 across FC matches. In his last match for the lions ( Which also featured Woakes and Stokes <3) he scored 112* and the bowling wasn’t too shabby as it contained players who England are more than likely will be playing here in the summer and then winter, in Mitchell “The Barmy Army put me off my game"Johnson, Nathan Lyon and maybe Jackson Bird. I feel with a bit more work he would be a suitable replacement for Prior, if any injuries occur, God forbid. It would probably be best if he was stopped player the shorter formats for England and worked on a Test career, as that is the only future I can see him having in an England shirt whether it be as a keeper or a specialist batsmen.

Jos Buttler, who was given the gloves in the recent t20 series in India looks more than likely to keep them in the T20 side, he is used more as a finisher in the side and has been somewhat successful, but as a keeper, work has to be done. He has not been given a place in the one-day side but I feel the next batsmen in the side (Not including the return of rested players) will be either him or Bairstow.

He plays the finisher role well for the t20 side and also Somerset and has shown the ability to clear the boundry often, even if there is a slight over-emphasis on how much he plays the ramp shot, a lot of people often miss his ability to clear the ropes all around the ground. It is really unlucky that him and Kieswetter are both at Somerset, which means that Buttler use to only take the gloves when Kieswetter was away, but since now are both in England’s current plans there is very little match time for Buttler to improve with the gloves which is very unfortunate from an English view point. He has recently impressed with the A side out in India but I unfortunately don’t feel that there is a place for him in the Test side in the future with the players that are/will be on the brink in the future, but has a very promising one day career in front of him, whether it be as Keeper-Batsmen or just a batsmen.

Finally Jonny Bairstow, who I feel was very unlucky to be dropped from the Test side after the SA match and then what occurred in Mumbai. After a thrilling debut 41* in Cardiff, a run in the ODI side and a place in the T20’s in the Sub-continent was his reward. Despite this the only real score in both sides was a 60* against Pakistan in the First T20?, I feel that a run now in the ODI side would do real wonders for him as the most of the OD games (Baring the final 2 ODI’s against India) will be on seaming wickets; The NZ tour, Champions trophy and then OD games against Aus home and away.

His ability to construct an innings whilst being able to maintain a high-ish strike rate is invaluable, he can also clear the boundaries later on if required. He was given the gloves in England’s final match in the T20WC, from what I remember he missed one catch and maybe a stumping off Swann? I at this current time I do feel that Bairstow is better with the gloves than Buttler and should be given a go with the gloves in both the ODI and T20 sides. It is a shame that he is around all the England sides and doesn’t get to work on his keeping at Yorkshire during the CC where he averages a healthy 46 although that does include a season in Div 2.

Overall, if Prior was to become injured, I could see the selectors going for Bairstow as a backup and hopefully they will give him the gloves in the One day scene.

Thoughts?