Alec Stewart

Calcutta: Former England captain Alec Stewart, an ‘all-rounder’ who played 133 Tests and 170 ODIs, recently spoke to The Telegraph on ’keeping.

The following are excerpts

Q Your last England appearance was eight years ago. Generally, how has the ’keeping been in this period?

A You have to be an all-rounder now… It’s not only about how good your glovework is, you have to bat as well. Besides myself, there was Andy Flower early on... Then, (Adam) Gilchrist, (Kumar) Sangakkara, (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni and Matt Prior… They have taken the ’keeping-batting role to a new level. So, to an aspiring wicket-keeper, I would say that make sure you can bat up to a certain level… The lowest you should be batting is No.7, but bat in the top six, if possible.

With this change in role, has there been a compromise with the actual ’keeping?

No, I don’t think so… If you look at the glovework of the people I just mentioned, they are all wicket-keepers in their own right. But it’s their batting which is the added bonus. If you keep dropping the ball, no matter how good your batting is, you will be left out. All these quality batsman-’keepers are very, very fine cricketers — both with the gloves on and with the bat.

Mark Boucher, the world record-holder in Test cricket?

Yes, he’d most definitely be in the same bracket… He is another one who has been around for a length of time. He bats at No.7 and scores very valuable runs for South Africa. That’s what you have to do. You will have to turn yourself into an all-rounder… Not only to score runs when it is easy, but also to score when it is difficult. Gilchrist took the attack to the bowlers on numerous occasions, as also Dhoni... Prior has been doing that as well.

You made your debut well before Gilchrist took things to another level… How do you view Gilchrist’s role in giving the ’keeper-batsmen more recognition, something which wasn’t there earlier?

Well, I would go back a little bit further… Alan Knott… He’s the greatest ’keeper ever and was such a fine batsman... Gilchrist is a one-off. I don’t think anyone has got close to what Gilchrist achieved… He kept to Shane Warne, he kept to a couple of great quick bowlers, but it was his style of batting and the rate at which he scored that made such a difference. On most days, you couldn’t bowl to him in ODIs.

Can wicket-keepers be made? Or, you need to be born a ’keeper?

If you are a good fielder, a good athlete with good hands, you can turn yourself into a wicket-keeper… I didn’t keep wickets as a youngster, I learnt how to do so and I was lucky that I had Knott as coach… I improved my ’keeping as I grew in experience and understood what wicket-keeping was all about. The more I did it, the better I got. So, it is possible.

You said you didn’t start as a ’keeper… What’s the age when you started wearing the gloves?

I did it on and off… When I went to play grade cricket in Perth, I was 18, and I used to keep wickets there… Playing with the likes of Tom Moody, I learnt to keep wickets there. Then, I came back and kept on and off for Surrey… And, then, I got picked for my first tour for England as a batsman. I was the back-up wicket-keeper to Jack Russell… When England needed an all-rounder following Ian Botham’s retirement, they looked at options… Bowler-batter, batter-bowler… But they decided that that the best option was keeping me as the all-rounder!

Technically, how do you rate Prior?

Very, very good… If you compare him now to what he was three years ago, the difference is chalk and cheese! ’Keeping in England, standing back to the seamers when the ball dips and wobbles around, is not easy. Prior has mastered the wobbling ball and his technique is absolutely spot on.

Who would you pick as the top three ’keepers today?

Dhoni and Prior, for their all-round destructive play besides their ’keeping.

Some words on Dhoni…

He is a wonderful cricketer, a wonderful human being… I’m a huge admirer of Dhoni... He has the added responsibility of being the captain... A destructive batsman with glovework which is very good.

Prior?

In terms of ’keeping exclusively in England, I will rate him fractionally higher than Dhoni… Millions of Indians will straightaway disagree with me, though! England is probably the hardest place to keep and Prior has the advantage of ’keeping in England day in and day out. As batsmen, they are pretty similar... I’ll admit that I’m slightly biased, so Prior just outscores Dhoni… Dhoni, for me, is No.2.

Who is the No.3?

It’s a difficult one… You’ve mentioned Boucher... He has been there, done it for a period of time.

Sangakkara…

Yes… If Sangakkara still kept in Test cricket, then he’d be the very best… He’d be above Prior, above Dhoni.

Why?

Because he is such a good ’keeper… And, look at his average — over 55 in Test cricket and almost 40 in ODIs.

But, then, who is your No.3?

Well, there’s Boucher, Brad Haddin, Brendon McCullum… Picking one ahead of the other two would depend on where they are playing.

In England?

I’d go for Boucher, because he has more experience than the other two. He’s a great competitor. He started off as a youngster and has just got better and better… He is not the captain, he is a leader out there… I like the way he plays his cricket. He is a proud South African and he wants to win.

Is there a young ’keeper in England who you think has a bright future?

We’re very lucky at the moment, we have got some good ’keepers… We’ve got Steve Davies, Jonny Bairstow… He’s a batsman who can keep and is improving all the time. It’s because of the work that Bruce French does, not only with Prior, but also with the emerging ’keepers as well, that you see them improve at a rapid rate. Usually, you have bowling coaches and batting coaches, but a ’keeper too needs help to improve.

What’s your message to young ’keepers?

Enjoy… Because it’s a tough job… If you are not sure you want to do it, then don’t do it. If you enjoy the work, you will be doing it that much better. It’s a great job, a great position to be in, you’re involved with the game all the time… So, enjoy and also accept that you will, on occasions, drop the ball. Once you do so, forget it and move on... You’ve got to be strong-minded.

The last one... If you had a bad day in the office, how would you unwind? How much did it affect you?

(Grins) The more you do something, the better you deal with it, whether it’s good or it’s bad… That’s how it is. So, if you drop a catch, well, that is gone… It may be there at the back of your mind, but you don’t want it to be at the front. If you pull off a great catch, it’s good… It’s not fair if everyone thinks that, because you have a pair of gloves, you should never drop a ball. Show me a wicket-keeper who says he has never dropped a ball, and I’ll show you a liar!