One question is put to bed
Questions, questions and more questions. Most of them surrounding team selection for The Ashes. Well, at least one of them has, for the timebeing, been answered. That is, who will keep for England? The choices have only seriously between two players - Geraint Jones and Chris Read.
Chris Read initially took the gloves after Alec Stewart left the side. He was only behind the stumps for a short spell, after a few unconvincing performances. Geraint Jones then stepped in and had a long spell with the gloves, playing in the successful Ashes series last summer. But his run was ended midway through the Pakistan series, where Chris Read took over. This came about after a series of costly errors behind the stumps and a lack of runs on Jones’ part.
The argument has raged for a little while, now, given that no longer can a wicketkeeper get away with just being a wicketkeeper. Adam Gilchrist has almost single handedly turned the position from wicketkeeper to all-rounder, and it’s now almost common practice to expect the wicketkeeper to be able to score runs. It’s been coming for a while now, certainly Alec Stewart was a very accomplished batsmen as well as a fantastic keeper, and others before him, such as Jack Russell and Ian Healy were known to score runs. But it seems, long gone are the days where a keeper is selected solely on the grounds of being the best keeper. This is due mainly to the dramatic shift in the style of Test cricket being played nowadays, where there’s more flash and panache, big scores and lots of sixes.
In this debate, one man was always going to lose out, and again, it’s Chris Read. It’s common knowledge that Fletcher has always preferred Jones.
“We just think that he [Jones] handles the pressure better and technically we think he is a better batter out here on these wickets and particularly in Test match cricket,” he said. “Those innings of Read’s in the Champions Trophy in India did influence us to some degree, we always felt he would be a better batter in one-day cricket and we took that into consideration. But there were also a few innings in England, he’s had five knocks there in the one-dayers and the Test matches and we just believe, and it’s a very difficult decision, that Jones will do a better job.”
I think it’s a mistake. Notice that Fletcher doesn’t at all mention wicketkeeping skills in his selection process. I’m from the camp that says you pick your best wicketkeeper. There’s no doubt that that person is Read. He’s a natural behind the stumps, whereas Jones gives the impression it’s something he’s had to learn, which means he’s always working harder resulting in a tendency to make more errors. When you’re playing against a side like Australia, you can’t afford these mistakes. Further, you need to make the most of any half-chances. Read is the better man for such a job.
At least, however, it’s one distraction from a seemingly endless list that can be forgotten about. Jones will (initially) keep, end of story. If Fletcher can settle the various other question marks quickly then the side can then prepare themselves mentally for the opening test in Brisbane.
Tags: The-AshesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Cricket
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