Kamran Akmal - finally, a proper wicket-keeper....

[Maranello]

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:

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.

[Zainub]

Good post M.

No doubt in my mind that the careers of Moin and Rashid are long over, I reckoned they were over even before the India series started. They were over from the very day the Australia squad was announced. Kamran Akmal is as of now in my humble opinion the most natural keeper in world cricket. Wasim Bari always says that keepers aren't made, they're born, and Karma Akmal certainly fills that bill. I don't really care one bit if people do or do not want to rate him as the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or whatever best ranked keeper in the world, the most important thing for me is that he is the best man in Pakistan, and the way to go about for hopefully a very long time. I couldn't have been happier with the progress he's made. Its very satisfying indeed.

I think what's helped him too is the time he had to wait to get into the first team. Ramiz Raja and Sanjay Manjerekar raised this point in the commentary box, and I seem to agree with them. Having looked at the Indian keeper Karthick and before him Patel I did think both were naturally suitable of being first rate keepers but what they lacked, or seem to be lacking in Karthick's case is experience. Both Karthick and Patel were intoduced into test cricket as teenagers when they'd barely played one or two full first class seasons. As apposed to them Kamran Akmal has a very healthy 90 first class game experience to benefit from, owing to Rashid and Moin's strong hold in the national squad he's had to wait for his chances much longer then some other keepers around, and that's really toughened him up. Seeing how Denish Karthick quickly got under pressure keeping to Kumble in the second innings after letting go a few byes he probably should have stopped I couldn't help resist comparing how well in contrast Akmal has responded to the task of saving the match from the position we were in. I also couldn't help compare how in comparision with some of the other keepers in world cricket Kamran Akmal seems to be responding to the pressures of international cricket in a much more composed fashion then some of the others. It really was satisfying feeling.

[Shaka]

I think first and foremost, the most important thing as far as Akmal is concerned is that he is an extremely gifted wicketkeeper in the pure sense of the term. He is very agile, enthusiastic and communicative with the rest of the team. That said though, these days every team wants a wk who can bat, and it's no coincidence that Akmal has been getting acclaim after some sterling efforts with the blade. I don't blame people for being reluctant to let Moin and Rashid fade into the sunset because both were wonderfully gifted batsmen and super keepers at their height. I'm just glad that Kamran is starting to forge a name for himself which isn't easy following two such excellent predecessors. Moin Khan especially, for me is the greatest wicketkeeper/batsman Pakistan has ever had. There's so much talk about Waqars and Wasims, it's easy to overlook Moin. Mike Atherton described him as the true tiger during Pakistan's fantastic performances in the last World Cup held in England.

[Paoli]

Pre-Australian tour, i thought Moin was the man---perhaps even Rashid..Kamran Akmal's agile wicketkeeping however has led me to believe Pakistan have a star, and i was presently surprised with his 124 off as many balls against the Windies up in Brisbane, and he has poise under pressure as well, 109 vs India case in point...

For a Pakistani or Indian cricketer, the biggest stage is against each other...Kamran passes the first test with flying colours