Custom Bats Cricket Forum
General Cricket => Your Cricket => Topic started by: 97notout on April 06, 2012, 09:30:29 PM
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Although not the best and making a return to cricket after a number of years away I class myself first and foremost as a wicket keeper.
I was going to put specialist keeper but that might sound a bit pomp what I mean first and foremost is I keep wicket and my passion has always been that. I watched Knott and Taylor as a kid and that was it I was hooked.
I can bat a bit, a highest score of 97 not out, albiet in a friendly against average bowling and I once averaged 50 in one season.
I have been netting with a staffs league team, expecting to play 3rd eleven cricket but was told the other night at nets that I would be playing 2nd eleven as they had no keeper and where did I normally bat. I said anywhere even 9, 10, Jack so long as I keep wicket.
My point is that in the modern game do clubs need a 'purist' keeper, a keeper/batsman or a batsman/keeper and does it affect decisions on selection nights
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I don't think in club cricket your keeper has to be able to bat. I've played in several teams where the keeper sees themself as a keeper and as long as they keep wicket are happy at 11.
As amateurs who play for enjoyment I think that clubs have a duty to their members to make sure everyone gets a game, so personally having someone like yourself is a god send as I don't have to worry about where to slot you on the order.
Having too many good allrounders is a nightmare as if you're not careful you end up with a select few people doing the bulk of the batting and bowling. Our current first team keeper also opens the batting, but we have toyed with the idea of bringing in a specialist keeper just to spread the workload a bit.
Curiously I've also played with a guy who saw himself as a keeper, and would only play if he kept wicket. He preferred to play 2nd team cricket and keep as opposed to playing 1st team cricket as a batsman, even though he though he should definitely have been in the 1st team as a batter, he just wasn't the best keeper at the club
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id like to think am a keeper batsman, but i do tell the skipper im not arsed where i bat!
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Too many all rounders is a problem as I had it last year where our no 1,3,4,5 were 4/6 best bowlers so leaves tough calls to make although the keeper batted 9 so helped
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i just bat where i am told some days 1 some days 4 some days 6 7 8 doesnt matter im not arsed. i dont bat any diff no matter where i bat
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depends on the kind of batsman you are as well really.
in our club both myself (2nds) and the first team keeper are openers. i wouldn't want to bat 4-7 if i could help it; if i'm not opening or batting 3 then i don't have the ability to bat in the middle order.
on batting ability i probably wouldn't get into our current first team even though i was the highest 2nds run scorer last season. however if i had the choice of playing 1s as a lower order batsman or keeping/opening for the 2s it would be an easy choice.
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When I skipper a team I believe everyone should have a role to play.
Our 1st XI have 2 very good all-rounders, plus a keeper batsman. They end up picking at least one sometimes 2 TFC's every week and I don't agree with it.
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TFCs?
last season our first team basically had 8 all rounders, a keeper/batsman, one specialist bat and a specialist fielder!
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TFC = Thanks for coming
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which staffs league club?
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im a keeper who bats in the top three and captains now so i must ruin everyones day!
in reality the most important thing is having a keeper who will take the chances regardless of their batting ability. in amateur cricket the balance of the side can generally be covered in other areas
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Depends on standard, but I always think a keeper who can bat is a bonus. As long as they do the job behind the stumps i'll be happy as captain!
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I'd put the keeper as probably the most important position, and to have a good one is very comforting. For me, it's not necessary for the keeper to be a top order batsman .
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Depends on standard, but I always think a keeper who can bat is a bonus. As long as they do the job behind the stumps i'll be happy as captain!
agree with this 100%
i think the keeper that is the better batsman will generally get ahead of the better keeper that doesnt bat so well...
take James Foster for instance IMO the best wicketkeeper in England for quite some time but didnt make the cut
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was at a dinner with paul nixon recently and he described foster as the best gloveman in the world by some distance.
yet geraint jones was selected ahead of him!
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was at a dinner with paul nixon recently and he described foster as the best gloveman in the world by some distance.
yet geraint jones was selected ahead of him!
my point exactly
i have heard stories of fozzie upsetting the selectors when he went a bit mad on one of the tours out in oz
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shame really!
something fascinating about seeing a keeper good enough/ brave enough to stand up to someone bowling 80+
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When you get to the highest level and you have the whole country to choose from, then agreed you may pick the batsman wk, but at club level your choice is much less, the bowling is not as good, so personally I'd go for the best wk ... but it does depend who you have to choose from
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Not sure at our club as I was in the 1st team before I started keeping and have stayed in the top 6 since becoming the keeper. Am pretty sure I'm the best glove man at the club but you would have to ask the rest of the players really ;)
The guy who was universally regarded as our best ever keeper though did bat 11 and he was nailed on 1st team. First ball he kept for the club he stood up to our fastest bowler having never seen him bowl before. Everyone tried to persuade him to stand back but he refused. Young fast bowler was unsurprisingly unimpressed by this and decided to bowl the quickest bouncer he could to put him in his place. As the opener ducked a wild leg side head high wide he was rather confused when an appeal went up....he had been stumped off a leg side wide bouncer. If you are that good you don't need to bat ;)
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Curiously I've also played with a guy who saw himself as a keeper, and would only play if he kept wicket. He preferred to play 2nd team cricket and keep as opposed to playing 1st team cricket as a batsman, even though he though he should definitely have been in the 1st team as a batter, he just wasn't the best keeper at the club
Personally I'd say that's pretty selfish, I'm a keeper myself and bat in top 3, but I'd never turn down 1s if they asked me to play as a batsman (or conversely as a keeper and bat low down), I'd say that you have to make sacrifices for your club and if you're good enough your time will come!
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Not sure at our club as I was in the 1st team before I started keeping and have stayed in the top 6 since becoming the keeper. Am pretty sure I'm the best glove man at the club but you would have to ask the rest of the players really ;)
The guy who was universally regarded as our best ever keeper though did bat 11 and he was nailed on 1st team. First ball he kept for the club he stood up to our fastest bowler having never seen him bowl before. Everyone tried to persuade him to stand back but he refused. Young fast bowler was unsurprisingly unimpressed by this and decided to bowl the quickest bouncer he could to put him in his place. As the opener ducked a wild leg side head high wide he was rather confused when an appeal went up....he had been stumped off a leg side wide bouncer. If you are that good you don't need to bat ;)
great story- would have loved to have seen that
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he had been stumped off a leg side wide bouncer. If you are that good you don't need to bat ;)
i do need to bat lad! lol
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I don't agree with tfc's but if you have 2-3 sides if not more your first xi is there to win as the standard of your club is judged on your 1st xi so it's not about giving everyone a game it's about winning the game but everyone in the team should be able to bat bowl or keep no specialist fielders
Then lower teams about giving everyone a game
At club level a good keeper can win you more matches than the ok keeper who can bat
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I agree with Roco, at club level a keeper who can stand up and put pressure on batsmen into making mistakes, can take the majority of catching chances that come his way and make a couple of stumpings can save a team 50+ runs every week. The top order batters should be able to get enough runs without the keeper having to be a crash hot batsman as well. I love batting, but would rather keep in the 1s and bat 7,8 or 9 than bat in the top 4 and keep in the 2s, it is about putting the club first.
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Nice to see different comments and views and after all it is as you say club cricket but I think in whatever area you play you want to do well.
I will bat anywhere in the order and once did open batting, keep wicket and captain, but that was for Walsall Police, we only ever turned out seven, with three TFC's and we batted down to number two, but it was still so much fun..................lol. :D