The wicket-keeper in
cricket is
the
fielding player who stands behind the
batsman on
strike at the
wicket. The role of the wicket-keeper is governed by Law 40 of the
Laws of cricket, and is similar to that of the
catcher in
baseball.
The wicket-keeper's major function is to stop deliveries that pass the
batsman (in order to prevent
runs being scored), but often he can also attempt to
dismiss the batsman in various ways. The most common dismissal effected by
the wicket-keeper is for him to catch a ball that has nicked the batsman's bat,
called an edge, before it bounces. Sometimes the keeper is also in the
best position to catch a ball which has been hit high in the air. The keeper can
also
stump the batsman by using the ball to remove the
bails from the
stumps if the batsman has come out of his
crease during a delivery. Finally, when the ball is hit into the outfield,
the keeper moves close to the stumps to catch the return throw from a fielder
and, if possible, to
run out a
batsman.
A wicket-keeper's position depends on the bowler: for
fast
bowling he will crouch some distance from the stumps, in order to have time
to react to edges from the batsman, while to slower bowling, he will come much
nearer to the stumps (known as "standing up"), to pressure the batsman into
remaining within the crease or risk being stumped. The more skilled the keeper,
the faster the bowling to which he is able to "stand up".
Wicket-keeping is a specialist discipline and it requires training consistent
with the level expected of a specialist batsman or
bowler. However, the modern-day wicket-keeper is also expected to be able to
bat reasonably well, in the middle order at least. Wicket-keepers who are also
capable of batting at the top of the order are known informally as
wicket-keeper/batsmen.
Since there is only room for one wicket-keeper in a cricket side, selectors
(especially at the international level) are often faced with a difficult choice
between two or more skilled keepers. Often, one of the two wicket-keepers is an
exceptional keeper, but only an average batsman, whereas the other is a
wicket-keeper/batsman who is clearly better at batting, but not quite as good a
wicket-keeper as his rival. One such selection dilemma was that faced by
England selectors in the
1990s between
Jack Russell (the pure keeper) and
Alec
Stewart (the keeper/batsman). They were never able to consistently choose
between the two until
1998, when Russell began to fade: prior to that, they had regularly swapped
the role, often with Stewart maintaining his place when not wicket-keeping
thanks to his batting skill. Currently a similar situation prevails with
wicket-keeper
Chris Read
and keeper/batsman
Geraint Jones.
The wicket-keeper may also have a captaincy role. Uniquely, they are usually
involved in every delivery of an innings, and may be in a position to see things
that the captain misses. They can frequently be heard encouraging the bowler and
"sledging"
the batsman with well timed comments about their skill, appearance or personal
habits.
The wicket-keeper is the only fielder allowed to touch the ball with
protective equipment, typically large padded gloves with webbing between the
index finger and thumb, but no other webbing. An example of this can be seen in
the image on the right. The protection offered by the gloves is not always
adequate. The
England wicket-keeper
Alan Knott
sometimes placed
steaks inside his gloves for added cushioning. Wicket-keepers also tend to
wear leg pads and a box to protect the groin area.
