How good was Gilchrist?

[Chrish]

As a keeper? Recent debate regarding Saha vs Pant got me thinking. Everyone is in unanimous agreement that Saha is a better keeper while Pant is a better batsman. So, that made me think; Gilly is a yard-stick by which all keeper-batsmen are judged against but what about his keeping? Was he great, decent or merely okay?

I have seen good portion of his career and don't remember him making too many blunders but everyone also acknowledged that Healey was a superior keeper.

 

[Daemon]

Healy would have made a better underwear model than Gilchrist

 

[Himannv]

Tim Paine would have been an underwear model if Gilchrist was still playing.

 

[mr_mister]

Healy was AAA tier so better than Gilly, but Gilly was still super solid

 

[Teja.]

Was Gilchrist a better keeper than Paine?

Roughly the same level imo but I was around 14 when Gilchrist retired and know ****all about keeping technique.

 

[Chrish]

Was Gilchrist a better keeper than Paine?

Roughly the same level imo but I was around 13-14 when Gilchrist retired and know ****all about keeping technique.

Yeah similar. Saw plenty of him but wasn’t mature enough to understand all the intricacies of the game.

 

[trundler]

Not as good as Jayawardene.

/Migara

 

[TheJediBrah]

Gilchrist was a very good keeper. Obviously not in the same league as the ATG specialist keepers but a lot better than almost all keepers in international cricket these days. Personally I think he was better than Paine is.

 

[Prince EWS]

Gilchrist was a very good keeper. Obviously not in the same league as the ATG specialist keepers but a lot better than almost all keepers in international cricket these days. Personally I think he was better than Paine is.

Yeah I was too young/uninterested in cricket to catch the very beginning of Gilchrist's career but he was certainly very good by 2003 or so. Certainly better than Paine at that point.

 

[honestbharani]

He was good enough to basically be a lock in most ATG World XIs.

 

[mr_mister]

And is always the first keeper picked in drafts

 

[Flem274*]

he was a better keeper than paine. his drops were very rare, so probably in the watling/boucher category of going unnoticed behind the sticks but that being a very good thing. there were better glovemen in the 00s (thinking jayawardene and mccullum in particular) but he averaged like 20 more with the bat than them.

 

[Naheed]

Gilchrist was a very good keeper. Obviously not in the same league as the ATG specialist keepers but a lot better than almost all keepers in international cricket these days. Personally I think he was better than Paine is.

Gilchrist was a very good wicket keeper. His wicket-keeping skills were very very good.
he was one of the most destructive batsmen ever to play the game, and genuinely
loved the game. He is in my greatest team of all time.

 

[Uppercut]

I remember him being above average at the time, which might make him well above average now. Certainly better than Paine. He kept to Warne and MacGill for a long time without anyone seriously questioning his ability, and I think a lot of people wouldn't have needed much of an excuse to criticise his keeping given that he was (a) a batsman-WK when the establishment view was that you should pick the best WK and (b) following Healy, which would make anyone look bad.

I'm pretty sure that if Paine was keeping to Warne long-term, at some point he'd become the story, and not in a good way.

 

[tony p]

Very good.

 

[TheJediBrah]

he was a better keeper than paine. his drops were very rare, so probably in the watling/boucher category of going unnoticed behind the sticks but that being a very good thing. there were better glovemen in the 00s (thinking jayawardene and mccullum in particular) but he averaged like 20 more with the bat than them.

I always thought Boucher was a pretty ordinary keeper

 

[Chrish]

Paine is a **** keeper if the recent series is anything to go by tbh.

 

[Himannv]

Not as good as Jayawardene.

Better keeper than Mahela. Also better at squash.

 

[Kirkut]

Too good. Edge the ball to Gilly/Waugh/Ponting/Clarke/Warne at your own risk, they were that good. Even if the ball looked like falling short of slip fielders, one of them would dive forward to take the catch.

 

[Gob]