Not one to jump on a band-wagon, I wasn't sure if today is the right day to start an Akmal eulogy. In my defense, almost all of what I say would have held true before today too, but would probably not have merited as much attention.
Wicketkeeping gets many of us very excited, and judging by the numerous Read v Jones threads, something people feel strongly about, so another wicket-keeping thread is always a good idea
Akmal seems to me to be one of the better gloveman around today. He is a natural, with soft hands and economy of movement behind the stumps. Keeping to the pace of Akhtar and Sami, and the guile of Kaneria cannot be easy, but this young lad manages it with aplomb, hardly ever conceding byes. In that, he is heads and shoulders above many of his contemporaries, though to be fair, there is a dearth of genuine gloveman around - most teams, in trying to manufacture their own Gilchrist, select batsmen who can keep a bit, and hence the numerous byes conceded in Tests these days.
During the Australia tour, Ian Healy, who probably knows a thing or two about keeping, was raving about Kamran Akmal's excellence, and how this kid was a natural behind the stumps in a way that Gilchrist et al are not. The other pundits, including Chappelli, were similarly impressed. Pakistanis have long maintained that Kamran is a very good keeper, and it was only his apparent lack of batting ability which has hindered his progress to date. Inzamam and Woolmer's decision to select
only Kamran for the Australian tour, with no w/keeping over, seems an inspired move in retrospect. The young guy was given great confidence by the team management, and he repaid that with a century in the ODIs.
Some Pakistanis still hankered for the days of Moin Khan and Rashid Latif, but Kamran's performance with the bat should ensure that those days are long gone. Personally, I have always believed that not everyone can be a Gilchrist, and other countries should select their
best gloveman for this important role, regardless of his proficiency with the bat. No football club would select a goalkeeper on the basis of the better taker of free-kicks; they would pick the best shot-stopper and goal-blocker. Wicket-keeping similarly is a proper art, and a defined role; let's stop messing with it to accomodate part-timers.
I think, simply as a keeper, Akmal can develop into a potential world-class player. He has the athleticism and the agility, but more importantly, the technique which means that he does not have to rely solely on diving about athletically. Contrary to popular belief, a gloveman does not have to act like an Olympic gymnast to be successful
His batting will ensure that he keeps his place in the team, but it is his wicket-keeping that I am really looking forward to. How good can this lad be?
I will end on the following from Wisden/Cricinfo
today:
Quote:
Of course it helped that accompanying him was, for one day at least, the second-best wicketkeeper-batsman in the game. When Kamran Akmal was made first-choice glovesman for the tour of Australia, he had many critics in Pakistan, most of whom thought either Moin Khan for his batting or Rashid Latif for his keeping should have been there instead. An impeccable tour Down Under with the gloves assuaged little and when India beckoned, there were still ridiculous calls for the veterans to return. It is ridiculous because, as a pure keeper, he currently has few equals in the game. He is short and agile, and has a great feel for the delivery, as his movements to Kaneria in particular are testament to. Kaneria's extravagant bounce and variable turn make for awkward work, but Akmal barely faltered throughout his spell, rising and moving in rhythm with the ball. Out of a total of 516, there was the solitary bye. But his hands were used for another purpose today.
If anything, it was his batting which fuelled the doubts but the boy can play. He cuts, fashionably late but supremely well, and he cover-drives from a textbook and for the camera. When on 99 he calmly played out eight dot balls, including a maiden from Kumble, his defensive technique and temperament shone.
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