Should AB be our 1st choice keeper?

After a horrible 4 days of Telkom nightmares, I’m back online!  And back online just in time to comment on the Proteas match from last night.  A few things stood out for me. Firstly, Morne Morkel needs to learn to get it right! Last night was not the first time he’s struggled to bowl line and length. He bowls far to many wides for an international bowler. Secondly, we need to learn to keep calm under pressure. Watching Jos Buttler hit Wayne Parnell for 32 runs (second highest over in T20 history), my heart was racing out of control. I couldn’t stop thinking that this is what will happen in the T20 quarter or semi final. At no stage during that over did Parnell just go back to basics and try bowl straight and full, go for the old-fashioned yorker. Every ball was in the slot for Buttler to hit, then he tried to go shorter and that travelled too.  Last nights performance was one of those rare performances that the Proteas usually keep for ICC tournaments when it really counts.  So lets hope that we got that horror show over with and can go into the World Cup and play a lot better.

The third and most important thing I picked noticed last night, is how average AB de Villiers is behind the stumps. I’m a massive fan of AB and think he’s one of the best batsman in the game. I also can’t imagine anyone saying they don’t think they good enough to take the gloves after the coach has asked them too. Obviously AB is going to say he’s happy, you can’t see him saying “I hate it but Gary Kirsten wants me to” can you?  Watching him last night made me realise that we have to get a specialist keeper in the side. The slightest mistake can change a game of T20. Last night AB missed the stumping of Craig Kieswetter that any regular keeper would have taken. Over and above this, he let quite a few Bye’s go through too. Yes, I know it was the Parnell to Buttler over that was the difference between the 2 sides last night, but maybe in the T20 World Cup – a regulation stumping or dropped catch could be the difference.  The Proteas have not selected a 2nd keeper in their T20 World Cup squad – and personally I think they’ve made a mistake.

DANE VILAS:

Dane Vilas is, in my opinion, the best wicket-keeper batsman in the country. He was selected in the initial 30 man squad, but was then dropped for the final 15.  I think the number 6 position would be perfect for Vilas. Justin Ontong has had a great season or 2 for the Cobras but has failed to bring that form to the Proteas side, so why stick with him?  Having played for the SA-A side, the selectors have missed a trick by not including Vilas in the final Proteas squad.

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
T20Is	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0	0
First-class	42	62	5	2582	203	45.29	3613	71.46	8	12	277	53	114	5
List A	58	56	7	1443	120	29.44	1472	98.02	4	4	118	41	52	16
Twenty20	40	33	11	845	71*	38.40	638	132.44	0	6	61	30	19	6

As you can see by the stats, he is a class player with bat in hand and the gloves.  Focusing on T20’s, he averages just below 40 with a highest score of 71 not out and another 5 half centuries to go with that. With the gloves, he’s taken 19 catches and 6 stumpings in his 40 matches.

THAMI TSOLEKILE:

Tsolekile is the keeper with an Proteas contract at the moment, but has failed to make the grade in a Proteas shirt as yet. I don’t believe that he is the future of SA keeping, purely on the basis that Vilas is in a different league.

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	3	5	0	47	22	9.40	177	26.55	0	0	3	0	6	0
First-class	132	185	28	4559	141	29.03			4	23			433	32
List A	126	84	25	1246	68	21.11			0	3			171	19
Twenty20	47	30	13	415	52	24.41	375	110.66	0	1	34	5	27	8

If we focus on T20’s again, you can see that he averages just short of 25, only passing 50 once. With the gloves he’s taken 27 catches and 8 stumpings.

HEINO KUHN:

The final option would be the Titans keeper, Heino Khun. He’s been spoken about as the next Proteas keeper for years now but with Mark Boucher being the timeless cricketer that he was, Khun never really got a full time chance and has now been somewhat forgotten about. A solid keeper, but not as great a batsman. He has probably dropped to third in the pecking order of Proteas

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
T20Is	5	4	2	10	5*	5.00	16	62.50	0	0	0	0	4	0
First-class	85	142	15	5754	216	45.30			13	29			261	17
List A	84	73	8	1867	141*	28.72	2294	81.38	4	10			105	17
Twenty20	41	32	5	510	68	18.88	428	119.15	0	1	47	17	20	6

The stats prove my point about his batting, he’s played 5 T20’s at international level, taking only 4 catches and averaging 5 with the bat. In non-international T20, he averages less than 20 with the bat and only takes a catch every second game and has 6 stumpings to go with those catches.

So overall, I hope the facts back up my point that Dane Vilas should be in the Proteas squad for the T20 World Cup and rather let AB de Villiers focus on batting and captaining the Proteas to their first ICC trophy.