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[Matt_D]

Guys Ive recently taken the keeping gloves for my time after a sudden leave from a our regular. However since i have done that Ive noticed a sudden drop in form with bat. Grabbing a pair of ducks over my last two innings for example. As an opener this is obviously no where near good enough. Contemplated percieveering with both, but im definately no Matt Prior with the gloves, just wondering if you think I should go back to being a out and out opening bat. Or weather I should just trudge through the dark times being a very average WK, and an out of form opener....

[thecord]

Have you fielded or batted first in the games in which you have struggled batting?
If you have batted first I would say the two are unrelated, if you fielded first it may have had an impact? I know sometimes my legs can feel a bit dead going out to open after keeping although it can help in getting the pace of the pitch sometimes.

[richthekeeper]

I feel your pain.

I began the season in my usual position - opening the batting, keeping and vice captain for the 2nd XI. I scored three 50s in my first 5 knocks and my keeping was pretty tidy.

Then the 1st XI keeper got injured and I have been in the 1s ever since. I bat 11 for the 1s (a source of constant annoyance) but my keeping has come on in leaps and bounds because I am totally focused on my one job for the day and not having to worry about fielders/bowlers/helping the skip/scoring runs.

It is a hard job doing both and you need to be able to switch your concentration on and off between balls or you get tired mentally. That said, if you've spent 50 overs in the field keeping then when you go out to bat you should have a fairly good eye for the ball, pitch and conditions.

[Nato]

I'm in my first season with my club, as 2nd XI keeper. I also bat down the order (which irritates me greatly), but it has given me the opportunity to work hard on my glovework, and I feel that as a result I'm a far better keeper now than I was in my first couple of games. I spent all winter working on my batting, so am not too concerned about a lack of runs this year, mostly because I did not bat 4 weeks in a row, although I managed to get in for a handy 18 this weekend, batting at no 9. If you're a batsman, and you're only keeping to help out, I'd be inclined to try to get away from behind the stumps asap, as particularly if you're not keen on developing as a keeper, your batting will inevitably suffer while you're juggling both jobs.