Who is the keeper in a current World XI?

I was thinking about this today and can't really think who I'd want.

For the last 9 years, Adam Gillchrist would have been the obvious choice but with him gone, the cupboard is quite bare. My take on it:

Aust - Haddin - still unproven in Tests
England - Ambrose - still unproven in Tests
NZ - McCullum - has shown himself to be a good JAMODI slogger with the bat but not so good in tests. At least keeps regularly to a decent spinner in Vettori.
South Africa - Boucher - world record holder and good batsman. SHould be the obvious choice but he is clearly in decline
India - Dhoni probably would have been my choice until he pulled a heart-string recently
Pakistan - Akmal - massively inconsistent
Sri Lanka - Sanga - has become a World XI batsman since giving up the gloves. Prasanna Jayawardene - other than the tour of Aust, he has done well so far since his return to Tests in 2006.
West Indies - Ramdin - batting is not up to it
Zim/ Bangles - no



FWIW - I would probably go with Jayawardene but not with any great conviction.

Jayawardene is the best pure 'keeper, Sangakkara is the best 'keeper/batsman (When he takes the gloves).

I'd go with Sanga. Even with the gloves, he was averaging close to 50 with the bat. And his 'keeping is underrated, imo.

Jayawardene - but unfortunately Sri Lanka sometimes use Sanga as keeper & play the extra batsman.

More to the point is how a world team would look like right now.

Hayden
Smith
Kallis
Tendulkar Ponting)
Pietersen
Sangakkara
Boucher
Lee
Clark
Steyn
MuMu

Five Saffies there. Strong team, that man.

Haydos is in decline.

taipan wrote:More to the point is how a world team would look like right now.

Hayden
Smith
Kallis
Tendulkar Ponting)
Pietersen
Sangakkara
Boucher
Lee
Clark
Steyn
MuMu

That might be more to your point but not mine. Start your own thread.

PeterCS wrote:Five Saffies there. Strong team, that man.

Haydos is in decline.

Eh?

taipan wrote:More to the point is how a world team would look like right now.

Hayden
Smith
Kallis
Tendulkar Ponting)
Pietersen
Sangakkara
Boucher
Lee
Clark
Steyn
MuMu

Surely Shiv has to be in there somewhere. Right now, i'd go with-

Hayden
Strauss
Sangakkara+
Tendulkar
Pietersen
Chanderpaul
Vettori
Lee
Clark
Steyn
Muralitharan

Poor Chanders would be left without partners, as ever.

Clark at 9!!

Sanga is the obvious choice whether he is the regular SL 'keeper or not as he can read Murali which Boucher couldn't when he kept to him for the ICC XI a couple of years ago (a selectorial howler). The ability to keep to top-class spin is the mark of a good, if not great, 'keeper which set both Healey and Gilchrist apart when keeping to Warne and undermines Boucher's claim to greatness, despite his aggregates. Next to Sanga I would put McCullum, even though, like him, he prefers to concentrate on batting now, presumably because of the big bucks to be made in the IPL.

Sorry don't agree with you. It takes a while for any keeper to get used to a particular spinner, especially one like MM. You cannot make a valid judgement on the basis of one match.

It took one match to confirm to me that Mark Boucher is a fat has-been.

taipan wrote:Sorry don't agree with you. It takes a while for any keeper to get used to a particular spinner, especially one like MM. You cannot make a valid judgement on the basis of one match.

Wholeheartedly concur. It's amazingly risable to judge a bloke who played with Murali for a week, in one match..

Henry wrote:It took one match to confirm to me that Mark Boucher is a fat has-been.

Yep and it took 1 post for you to prove you are a qunt and now we have to multiply that by 4500 odd

taipan wrote:Sorry don't agree with you. It takes a while for any keeper to get used to a particular spinner, especially one like MM. You cannot make a valid judgement on the basis of one match.

You're entitled to your opinion but Boucher was all over the shop, if I recall, when Murali bowled as he had no experience of keeping to a top-flight spinner. Sanga, Jayawardene and McCullum (if you count Vettori) have that experience so I would put them ahead of Boucher in the frame. Also, as JGK says, Boucher looks to be coming to the end of the road, sadly for him and Saffie supporters.

Allan D wrote:
You're entitled to your opinion but Boucher was all over the shop, if I recall, when Murali bowled as he had no experience of keeping to a top-flight spinner. Sanga, Jayawardene and McCullum (if you count Vettori) have that experience so I would put them ahead of Boucher in the frame. Also, as JGK says, Boucher looks to be coming to the end of the road, sadly for him and Saffie supporters.

IIRC, he dropped one catch that had nothing to do with 'reading' Murali(just a shitty lapse) and let 8 byes go through from Mucka - 4 of them being Mu's fault with a drag down leg.

They're the facts. Hardly 'all over the shop'.

In an era when pitches are meant to be flatter and bowling is meant to be weaker, Boucher averages less than 30 with the bat, also.

He's on the verge of being dropped, imo. AB (A better batsman and at least equally good 'keeper) could take the gloves and drop down to seven, with Duminy coming in at six.

Henry wrote:In an era when pitches are meant to be flatter and bowling is meant to be weaker, Boucher averages less than 30 with the bat, also.

He's certainly no fluid/flowing batsman. He's gritty as hell. Good solid batsman for a crisis. I wouldn't rate him as a WK/Bat at this time. He's been piss with the willow for ages.

Duminy needs to be in the time either way.

Brass Monkey wrote:Duminy needs to be in the time either way.

Half past Duminy?

Fork. Dunno where that came from. I meant side. He's freakin great.

Brass Monkey wrote:Fork. Dunno where that came from. I meant side. He's freakin great.

His time will come. Personally don't thjink he's quite ready for tests yet.

taipan wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:Fork. Dunno where that came from. I meant side. He's freakin great.

His time will come. Personally don't thjink he's quite ready for tests yet.

Well, considering that McKenzie is highly doubtful for Headingley, Duminy has 2 days to get ready.

taipan wrote:
His time will come. Personally don't thjink he's quite ready for tests yet.

I've only really seen him in the ODI side - though I heard he was in pretty 'fine fettle' at Zummerzut.

Duminy has class written all over him. He's certainly more aesthetically pleasing than Smith, Amla and Prince.