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How good was Gilchrist?

cnerd123

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You certainly dont want a junk keeper in, even if it means playing someone who averages 20. But if it is a choice between an excellent keeper who averages 40 and the best keeper ever, who averages 25, I am picking the former without any thought.
I'm not. Depends on the rest of the side. Do I need 15 more runs that badly that I drop the best keeper ever?
 

Bolo.

International Captain
I'm not. Depends on the rest of the side. Do I need 15 more runs that badly that I drop the best keeper ever?
Diminishing returns.

Hypothetically, the best keeper ever might drop a catch every 3 matches. An excellent keeper would drop one every 2 matches. At least disregarding the catches that they will both drop, which will increase depending on who they are keeping to.

That 15 runs per innings adds up when you are adding them up over muliple matches.
 

cnerd123

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Diminishing returns.

Hypothetically, the best keeper ever might drop a catch every 3 matches. An excellent keeper would drop one every 2 matches. At least disregarding the catches that they will both drop, which will increase depending on who they are keeping to.

That 15 runs per innings adds up when you are adding them up over muliple matches.
appreciate you trying to pull numbers out of thin air but it's a pointless exercise.

15 runs per innings might be value if we're playing in 200 vs 200 conditions and if I've got a massively long tail. If I've got 2 gun allrounders and we're playing 400 vs 400 cricket then I'd rather have the best keeper of all time. There is no universal right answer.
 

Bolo.

International Captain
It isnt quantifiable, but you surely appreciate the idea of diminishing returns?

People are calling Boucher a poor keeper in this thread.

I really dont think he fumbled more than a catch every 2 games unless we are adding the spectacularly difficult ones that even the atgs will typically miss.

Healy, who people are calling an atg keeper probably fumbled a similar amount, and might take 1/4 of the spectacular ones that Boucher missed. Its a catch every few games.

Sure, Boucher and Healy arent fair comparisons on account of the bowling, as I have said. But this is the difference between guys ppl are calling poor and ATG, not excellent and atg as I am describing.
 

cnerd123

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It isnt quantifiable, but you surely appreciate the idea of diminishing returns?
sure but i don't think there is 'more' diminishing returns for keeping than any other skill.

pulling imaginary numbers out of thin air isn't helping you make your point.
 

Bolo.

International Captain
sure but i don't think there is 'more' diminishing returns for keeping than any other skill.

pulling imaginary numbers out of thin air isn't helping you make your point.
You are a fiesty one today.

Diminishing returns for every skill set are a very real thing. The difference between a bat averaging 48 (who is typically regarded as atvg) and one averaging 52 (typically regarded as atg) is small.

The difference between a bat averaging 32 (or whatever knott did), as a keeper very respected as a bat and 48ish (gilly) is big. Diminishing returns come into play when we have a massive difference between the secondary skillset.
 

Bolo.

International Captain
sure diminishing returns are real but this statement:

is not true IMO.
This statement is possibly not true if reading literally. But I think we are talking about proper keepers here. Nobody is seriously considering an akmal. But the difference between a healy and a gilly in keeping quality is pretty negligable, even if you consider healy one of the best and gilly merely very good. The gulf between their batting quality is huge. Diminishing returns as you get to the top.
 

cnerd123

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This statement is possibly not true if reading literally. But I think we are talking about proper keepers here. Nobody is seriously considering an akmal. But the difference between a healy and a gilly in keeping quality is pretty negligable, even if you consider healy one of the best and gilly merely very good. The gulf between their batting quality is huge. Diminishing returns as you get to the top.
that's not a question of diminishing returns tho. The gap between Gilly's batting and Healy's batting is bigger than the gap in their keeping.

Daemon's post suggests that if you have two players where the gap between their keeping skills is equal to the gap between their batting skills you should pick the better batsman. I disagree with that for many reasons.
 

TheJediBrah

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Which basically means you will have a Wriddhiman Saha over Andy Flower?
Pretty bad choice mate.
Also please realise that averaging 15 points more in batting doesn't just mean you make 15 runs extra. LOL.
That's like saying that the only difference between sachin and Azhar Ali is that Sachin makes 10 more runs per match.
As Bambino pointed out, that's not what I said at all, however a choice between Andy Flower and Wriddhiman Saha is actually pretty close. I might go with Saha tbh, because the alternative is still playing Flower as a batsman. You don't lose him all together.

In fact Zimbabwe did almost exactly that in the early-00's when Tatenda Taibu came on to the scene. He was a tiny kid who was a decent keeper and could hold a bat (but nothing special) and he was rushed in so that Flower didn't have to keep (or try to) anymore. I can guarantee you if Zimbabwe had Saha during Flower's career there's absolutely no chance that he would have been keeping in Test cricket
 

Senile Sentry

International Debutant
Also Penile Dysentery making it sound like Gilchrist fluked an average of 50 in a couple of years when the bloke has a ridiculous century tally considering where he batted and played more clutch knocks than almost anybody. Oh and he struck as fast as Sehwag.

Also Healy had a really long career and his average tailed off a bit at the end but in the pre-Gilchrist days 30 was the bench mark. Waite, Knott, Dujon etc all around that mark. 2 notable exceptions being Ames who played in the 30s and got to downhill ski a bit (fantastic FC record still) and Flower who was a way better batsman than he was a keeper.
I know Pakistanis are the last people to underrate Gilly, Stockholm Syndrome and all.

Cold fact is that Gilly was good but not extra ordinary in his last 48-50 tests as a batsman. He struggled more or less.against the top 3 teams in this period. Of course, still.head and shoulders above his peers during this period nevertheless.

I dont mean it as disrespect to.someone who is a legend when I say had he debuted at say 22 he would have averaged a Prior like 40. But he still.would have had those ATG knocks smattered therein. And not to mention a bucket load of career runs. His legend would have only enhanced and not diminished.
 

Senile Sentry

International Debutant
Also Penile Dysentery making it sound like Gilchrist fluked an average of 50 in a couple of years when the bloke has a ridiculous century tally considering where he batted and played more clutch knocks than almost anybody. Oh and he struck as fast as Sehwag.

Also Healy had a really long career and his average tailed off a bit at the end but in the pre-Gilchrist days 30 was the bench mark. Waite, Knott, Dujon etc all around that mark. 2 notable exceptions being Ames who played in the 30s and got to downhill ski a bit (fantastic FC record still) and Flower who was a way better batsman than he was a keeper.
I know Pakistanis are the last people to underrate Gilly, Stockholm Syndrome and all.

Cold fact is that Gilly was good but not extra ordinary in his last 48-50 tests as a batsman. He struggled more or less.against the top 3 teams in this period. Of course, still.head and shoulders above his peers during this period nevertheless.

I dont mean it as disrespect to.someone who is a legend when I say had he debuted at say 22 he would have averaged a Prior like 40. But he still.would have had those ATG knocks smattered therein. And not to mention a bucket load of career runs. His legend would have only enhanced and not diminished.
 

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