Is Luke Ronchi potentially the next Adam Gilchrist?

[Craig]

Seeing how he played last night, there was a lot of similarity's to how Adam Gilchrist used to play in ODIS, so the question is do you think he will be Australia's successor to Adam Gilchrist or will he and Brad Haddin spent a lot their careers fighting it out for Australia's wicket keeping position? Or hell turn out like Brendon McCullum, despite his flashes of brilliance, often throws it all away?

 

[Briony]

Yes he is.

 

[Top_Cat]

Can't see him being as good a Test bat at Gilchrist was for a while there.

 

[NZTailender]

Like Gilchrist in that he'll probably be pushed up to open in ODI cricket eventually and be a big hitting batsman? Yes.

Will he be as good and as consistent as Gilly? Unlikely.

 

[sideshowtim]

Consistency has always been an issue for him so...I don't think so. I do think he'll produce a few very memorable innings though.

 

[Flem274*]

Was it Craig who said he was born in NZ?

And on that bombshell the bond21 style Aussies immediately label him the next Sylvester Joseph...

From the limited amount I've seen of him, first he's got to prove he isn't just a domestic dominator and is a genuine international. We will learn what he's made of in due course but until then, who knows? Personally don't see any need to rush him through, Haddin is a high quality keeper-batsman from the admittedly little I've seen of him. My only critiscm (sic) is he's a bit too reckless, much like his rival McCullum.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Would he actually be older than McCullum?

 

[Flem274*]

Would he actually be older than McCullum?

Haddin? Yeah I think he is. They are both related players in their gameplay though, hence I used the term "rival" as they play the aggressive keeper-batsman role.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

From the limited amount I've seen of him, first he's got to prove he isn't just a domestic dominator and is a genuine international.

He hasn't even proved a domestic dominator. He's got a reasonable FC average of 36ish (actually better than I thought it was) though it helps coming in behind arguably the best batting lineup in Australian domestic cricket (Langer, North, Pomersbach, Marsh, Rogers) and his List-A average is a largely underwhelming 26. His keeping certainly has improved but it's still no better than Haddin and certainly doesn't justify him playing ahead.


Anyway, there's a common perception in Australia that Ronchi is a young star of the game, mainly because of a) people only hear about him when he makes his customary hundred from 60 balls per season (generally his only hundred in the given season) and b) because he's only been even close to reasonable in very recent years. He's 27, which isn't that young, and if Haddin plays for another 4 or 5 years which he perceivably could (being only 30 himself) he'll be much too old to be debuted and should be overlooked for (hopefully) Tim Paine or another young keeper.

Ronchi doesn't have the temperament or the talent to emulate Gilchrist. While Gilly had multiple gears to his batting, Ronchi has only the one. Go for it. He has no slow down or off button and it is obviously the major factor to his lack of consistency.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Haddin? Yeah I think he is. They are both related players in their gameplay though, hence I used the term "rival" as they play the aggressive keeper-batsman role.

Was referring to Ronchi.

 

[Flem274*]

From the limited amount I've seen of him, first he's got to prove he isn't just a domestic dominator and is a genuine international.

He hasn't even proved a domestic dominator. He's got a reasonable FC average of 36ish (actually better than I thought it was) though it helps coming in behind arguably the best batting lineup in Australian domestic cricket (Langer, North, Pomersbach, Marsh, Rogers) and his List-A average is a largely underwhelming 26. His keeping certainly has improved but it's still no better than Haddin and certainly doesn't justify him playing ahead.


Anyway, there's a common perception in Australia that Ronchi is a young star of the game, mainly because of a) people only hear about him when he makes his customary hundred from 60 balls per season (generally his only hundred in the given season) and b) because he's only been even close to reasonable in very recent years. He's 27, which isn't that young, and if Haddin plays for another 4 or 5 years which he perceivably could (being only 30 himself) he'll be much too old to be debuted and should be overlooked for (hopefully) Tim Paine or another young keeper.

Ronchi doesn't have the temperament or the talent to emulate Gilchrist. While Gilly had multiple gears to his batting, Ronchi has only the one. Go for it. He has no slow down or off button and it is obviously the major factor to his lack of consistency.

Interesting. So if Haddin dropped dead tommorrow, would Ronchi deserve his place or is there someone else in mind?

At any rate, I agree. Haddin should have a while left in him yet so there's no reason to jump up and down about someone unproven.

 

[Flem274*]

Was referring to Ronchi.

27...think he's a year younger than McCullum.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Interesting. So if Haddin dropped dead tommorrow, would Ronchi deserve his place or is there someone else in mind?

Obviously not, there are talented keeper-batsmen in Aus but most of them are much too young to be playing for anyone other than their states.

 

[sideshowtim]

Obviously not, there are talented keeper-batsmen in Aus but most of them are much too young to be playing for anyone other than their states.

Matthew Wade for the future IMO.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Smith summed it up. Ronchi is a pretty useful batsman but he's not some 21 year old making the step up from prodigy to international star. If Haddin was no longer available he'd be a reasonable choice but I don't see him being worth a spot over Haddin in either form in the forseeable future, and there's a fair chance he will have been surpassed by younger players by the time Haddin's time ends.

Having said that, some players develop rapidly in their late 20s and it was an impressive innings. You can't write him off but he won't be playing regular international cricket for a while.

 

[Smudge]

27...think he's a year younger than McCullum.

McCullum is younger than Ronchi by five months.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Matthew Wade for the future IMO.

Tim Paine is the better prospect, IMO.

 

[Craig]

Haha my bad I was thought Ronchi was always younger, but there you go. But since McCullum has played more international cricket (obviously) I guess I would have to use him as the yardstick. Looks like T20 and Luke Ronchi could be a match made in heaven.

 

[sideshowtim]

Tim Paine is the better prospect, IMO.

Has to improve his scoring rate if he ever wants to be in the Australian ODI team.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Has to improve his scoring rate if he ever wants to be in the Australian ODI team.

Granted I've only seen 4 or 5 OD knocks from Paine but he's not too bad. He struggles to rotate strike early, generally. He gets to about 25(50-60) and seems to be able to go from there, finding the boundary and such. If he can improve his rotation early in his innings I think he could be a quality ODI player.