I just thought I’d weigh in on the McCullum keeping debate. Personally, I think it’s the wrong decision. While I find the prospect of Hurricane Brendon opening in Tests incredibly exciting, I think that a promotion to the top of the order will disrupt the overall balance of the team. The problem does not, perhaps, stem from McCullum himself but from the lack of quality wicketkeeper-batsmen in New Zealand domestic cricket. Let us consider the options then if McCullum were to give up the gloves across all formats – or at least the two longer forms.
Gareth Hopkins and Peter McGlashan are the two keepers used by the Black Caps in the recent past as back up to McCullum. Hopkins has had an extended run in ODI’s over the last few months with limited success (a highest score of 45 in nine innings), while McGlashan managed a not out fifty against India in his only series to date. To my mind McGlashan is the better wicketkeeper and is a handy, if unorthodox, batsman. He could perhaps suffice as a stop-gap solution in one-dayers (he is already 31.) My feeling, however, is that this would be short-sighted, especially seeing as – based on their modest domestic records – neither McGlashan, nor Hopkins have the skill or temperament to foot it as test batsmen.
I know that in the past it was the norm to pick a specialist wicketkeeper, but the game has moved on and it is no longer practical to carry a ‘spectator’ in your Test batting line up. Especially, given the fragility of the current Black Caps top order. Also, New Zealand is without a genuine all-rounder, which makes batting ability in the lower middle order all the more vital.
For me, the best solution is probably for one of the side’s existing batsmen to step up and take the gloves. The leading candidate to do this is, BJ Watling, who recently made his ODI debut in the Sri Lanka Tri Series. Already a member of the Test team, Watling also happens to be McGlashan’s keeping understudy at Northern Districts. This way the team is equipped with a decent wicketkeeper – I imagine he would learn on the job fairly quickly – without compromising any of the team’s batting strength.
The question is, will the selectors agree with me or stick with the status quo of Hopkins and McGlashan?
Gareth Hopkins and Peter McGlashan are the two keepers used by the Black Caps in the recent past as back up to McCullum. Hopkins has had an extended run in ODI’s over the last few months with limited success (a highest score of 45 in nine innings), while McGlashan managed a not out fifty against India in his only series to date. To my mind McGlashan is the better wicketkeeper and is a handy, if unorthodox, batsman. He could perhaps suffice as a stop-gap solution in one-dayers (he is already 31.) My feeling, however, is that this would be short-sighted, especially seeing as – based on their modest domestic records – neither McGlashan, nor Hopkins have the skill or temperament to foot it as test batsmen.
I know that in the past it was the norm to pick a specialist wicketkeeper, but the game has moved on and it is no longer practical to carry a ‘spectator’ in your Test batting line up. Especially, given the fragility of the current Black Caps top order. Also, New Zealand is without a genuine all-rounder, which makes batting ability in the lower middle order all the more vital.
For me, the best solution is probably for one of the side’s existing batsmen to step up and take the gloves. The leading candidate to do this is, BJ Watling, who recently made his ODI debut in the Sri Lanka Tri Series. Already a member of the Test team, Watling also happens to be McGlashan’s keeping understudy at Northern Districts. This way the team is equipped with a decent wicketkeeper – I imagine he would learn on the job fairly quickly – without compromising any of the team’s batting strength.
The question is, will the selectors agree with me or stick with the status quo of Hopkins and McGlashan?
No comments:
Post a Comment