Wicket Keeping is the hardest job in cricket

Jacob Tyson

The job of a wicket keeper comes under so much scrutiny but unless you have done 90 overs in the 40 degree heat you don’t understand how hard the job actually is. With the Australian cricket team making a decision over who will keep wicket come the first Ashes test, I’ll be going through the jobs and criteria required to fill a wicket keeping spot.

Firstly, if you don't have a high cricket IQ, forget being a keeper. In my humble and completely unbiased opinion, the best vice captains are wicket keepers as they have the best vantage point in the game and have to know every little detail about the game whilst they are out there. Often, the wicket keeper has to constantly be talking to the captain to let them know what the ball is doing, how the wicket is playing and even little deficiencies in the batsmens technique. Even choice of bowler will come down to the keeper's information, from cover, a skipper may think a bowler is hitting an honest length but the keeper can see more appropriately that he’s hitting short of a length or maybe a touch full. If you’re not up to seeing all of these things, I don't believe you're up to being a keeper, even if you are the most athletic or have the best Hand-eye.

Imagine doing 540 squats a day, between sprints or powerful dives to the left and right. Athletically, keepers do not get a break, constantly on the move and constantly getting broken fingers as well. To be a wicket keeper, you need to have strong pain resilience for when inevitably three of your five fingers become either broken or dislocated. Then you need to be fit enough to keep up the same intensity in your stops for 90 long overs on a 40 degree day. On a cool overcast day it’s great to be a keeper, until you realise the ball is swinging 5 poles and you can't see it as good as a clear day. Then you get a clear day, but it's boiling hot, and the ball is coming through five clicks faster than it’s normal speed. To top it all off, you need the power and the ability to dive through the air at least three to four metres both sides to be able to take catches or prevent leg byes. Athletically, I believe it’s on par with the bowler's demands, at least the bowlers get a break after 8-10 overs.

The expectation on Wicket Keepers is second to none, if a bowler bowls one wide, or gets hit for six, he’s fine. If a keeper drops one catch or lets through one bye, they’re in a world of strife. A batsmen can have a run of outs but still be in favour because he’s seeing the ball well, yet a keeper if he drops a few catches doesn’t get that same excuse.

So after all the physical and mental assets required of a wicket keeper, what do they have to do next? Go out and bat like a top order player. Averaging 45 seems to be a prerequisite now of being a wicket keeper, in fact many junior players (myself included) who wicket keep are expected to bat between opening and number 5. So, essentially a Wicket Keeper has to slog out however many overs with mental and physical exhaustion in the field, then in many cases have to come out and back that up in the form of a big day with the bat. Anyone playing top level cricket has a hard job, but spare a thought for the wicket keepers among us, because they’re doing god's work.