Militant Moderate: The Campaign For Real Wicketkeepers?

Monday, July 31, 2006

The Campaign For Real Wicketkeepers?

Jonathan Calder exhibits great delight at the selection of Chris Read for England ahead of Geraint Jones, heralding it as a victory for the purist.

I'm not immediately convinced. Not that I'm saying Geraint Jones is a quality 'keeper - far from it. But it is only knocking three centuries this season for Notts that has Read back in the England team. His wicketkeeping has little to do with his inclusion.

More to the point, when Read first made the England team in 1999, his keeping had one serious weakness - going at everything with his hands first, rather than trying to move his feet into the right position before taking the ball. I haven't had a real look at his glovework since, but it will be interesting to see how well he fares at Headingley, traditionally a bowler-friendly ground. I suspect that James Foster may well have been a smarter choice.