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| Wasim Bari |
Bari is employed by the Pakistan Cricket Board and is its chief instructor, focusing on educating the players on anti-corruption matters.
The following are excerpts
Q Is there a long list of what ’keepers must do?
A When I was young, I read a book by Godfrey Evans where he’d said ‘wicketkeepers are born, not made’... I entirely agree with that... Either you can ’keep or you can’t, there’s no middle ground to stand on. You shouldn’t have situations where a middle-order batsman is made into an opener. So, top of the list is that you must enjoy keeping. You’ve got to love wearing the big gloves.
What else?
You’ve got to be able to glove the balls right through the day’s play... I recall Alan Knott telling me that ’keeping isn’t about how many catches you take, but how many balls you glove in a day. I used to practice gloving the balls on a tennis court, getting the mohallah’s boys to keep throwing them at me. To glove the balls, you have to keep your eyes on them... Then, you’ve got to rise with the ball, not before.
Is there a method for gloving the balls properly?
The gloves have to be soft... In fact, Knott revealed a secret — that the padding in the palms had to be less, allowing for a ‘cup’ to be made. On the 1971 tour of England, he put me on to his man in the Slazenger factory in Huddersfield, to get my gloves custom-made.
It’s unlikely that many will be as helpful today...
Probably not. But those were different times... Also, besides being the greatest ’keeper, Knott was such a fine person. A master at his trade, yet so modest.
Are the last 30 minutes of a day’s play the most testing for a ’keeper?
The last 30 minutes before lunch, the last 30 minutes before tea, and the last 30 minutes before stumps... A ’keeper has to be at 200 per cent, or else he’ll make mistakes.
What would you do if you dropped a catch?
I’d convince myself that it wasn’t a catch! Because, if I didn’t, then the miss would play on my mind for the rest of the innings. Possibly, the rest of the match.
When did you switch off, so to say?
In between overs, walking from one end to the other. Never when I was behind the stumps.
What are the don’ts?
The gloves must never be worn out, the rubber should never be slippery. Don’t get indisciplined, for you’re the most important person... Indeed, a ’keeper is the most important man in any team. He has the best seat and can guide his captain and the bowlers.
But you aren’t in favour of ’keepers being captains...
I didn’t enjoy both roles, so it’s a very personal view.
What’s your message to the young ’keepers?
Never stop working hard.
Is Kamran Akmal Pakistan’s best ’keeper?
No, his brother Adnan is... Kamran’s there more for his batting, for that’s the way it is nowadays.
Disappointing?
Well, ’keepers are expected to bat and to bat competently... It’s not about what I feel, but the requirement has changed.
How do you rate Dhoni as a ’keeper?
As I’ve told you, he’s special, given the roles he has... To talk of him as a ’keeper, he doesn’t make many mistakes.
You belonged to an era of outstanding ’keepers... Knott, Rodney Marsh, Deryck Murray, Bob Taylor, Syed Kirmani... It hasn’t been the same since...
Yes... The same level of skill isn’t seen nowadays, but they’re better with the bat today... Look at a Kumar Sangakkara and a Matt Prior, they can make any XI as batsmen... Adam Gilchrist could have played purely as a batsman... A batsman-’keeper is an all-rounder... The business of having a tail has gone... Even the No.11 is expected to contribute with the bat.
At this point in time, is there a stand-out ’keeper?
No.
Lastly... Was it a challenge ’keeping to Imran Khan at his peak?
(Laughs) One was tested by his big, curving in-swingers... He swung so much. I had a hand in a majority of his 362 wickets in Tests. He always wanted me behind the stumps.
