Top wicket-keeping opening batsmen – Part 1
Wicket keeping is one of the toughest aspects of cricketing domains. Wicket keeper holds a key position in fielding and is a permanent position installed. The captain has all the choice to marshal his fielders during the match; however the keeper will always hold his position. Gathering the bowl all day in his gloves makes their hands sore at the end of the day. He is in a position where he can tell the bowler where to bowl and ask the captain to change field positions. He is the best judge of the strengths and weaknesses of the batsman on the pitch. Nowadays the review system is introduced in test matches; the captains refer to their keepers to decide if it is worth taking a review.
When it comes to batting line, the openers hold prime responsibility. The openers are the one to face early on swing and pace attack. They are exposed to the conditions and need to be super skilled to sail the ship for the team. If the opener is dismissed early whole pressure comes on others. Cricket fans are well aware that opening partnership is vital for winning any match. Wicket keepers usually bat in the line up as a link between the proper batsman and the tail enders. This is an important position to bat on and the batting approach varies according to the situation of the match; however few wicketkeepers have opened for their respective teams as well. Following is the list of such talented all-rounders.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918
Adam Gilchrist was an exceptional talent and he justified his potential with brilliance with the bat and gloves behind the stumps. With the speedster Brett Lee and mechanical bowler Glenn McGrath it is never easy to keep wickets. Once the quickies were done with their part it was turn of legendary spinner Shane Warne. Warne and Gilchrist used to spend hours in the nets to match their chemistry. With dozens of variations Warne had in his arsenal, Adam Gilchrist had to be very vigilant behind the wooden stumps.
It was not only wicket keeping ability that earned him name, he was brutal with the bat in hand as well. In the One Day International matches he was regular opener for the Aussies. One of the top innings he played as an opener was in the finals against Sri Lanka in World Cup 2007. He blasted 149 runs on 104 balls with the help of 13 fours and eight sixes. For http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 he played 287 One Day Internationals and scored 9619 runs at an average of 35.89 and caught 417 catches and managed 55 stumps.
Brendon McCullum
McCullum is a http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754’s opener and a devastating right hander batsman. When in flow, he is nightmare for any bowler. Opposition wants to capture his wicket as early as possible; otherwise he makes bowling side suffer a lot. In the IPL he played brutalising innings as an opener and scored 158 runs individually in a Twenty20 match. That earned him the true reputation of one of the best strikers of the bowl. He also became the second player after Chris Gayle to hit Twenty20 international century against arch rivals Australia in Christchurch. He smashed top Australian bowling line to all around the park.
McCullum is quick and agile behind the stumps. With a good cricketing brain he keeps feeding the bowlers and captain with the ideas to take wickets. He has plucked some unbelievable catches in his ongoing career. He has played 176 ODI’s and scored 3655 runs with the tally of 196 catches and 13 stumps.
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