Choose the 3rd & 4th bowlers for Pre Packer XI

[chaminda_00]

Walcott as a keeper averaged 40, good but I don't think that much more likely to oppose Gilchrist equally as Knott who averages 32 and is, as I understand, infinitely the greater keeper.

I think it has been mentioned before that he kept in his first couple series, so when he kept he was beginning as a batsmen. From all reports it was his back and the support he gave as 6th bowler, in a slightly weak attack that kept him away from gloves. Not lack of quality with the gloves.

 

[chaminda_00]

Actually he was the best keeper of his era. The only one that came close was Bob Taylor and it's true opinion was split, but either way it was never more than a minimal difference purely on keeping.
It's bad enough the England selectors chopping and changing every other series in search of a "Gilchrist" that doesn't exist, but trying to unearth one retrospectively is even sillier.

Never seen then keep, but most people seem to say Evans and Taylor were a class above as pure keepers. Though the standard of keeping was a lot higher back then and Knott himself was meant to be a class above most current keepers.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Never seen then keep, but most people seem to say Evans and Taylor were a class above as pure keepers. Though the standard of keeping was a lot higher back then and Knott himself was meant to be a class above most current keepers.

Not sure who the "most people" are. I've never heard anyone say anyone was a class above Alan Knott. A few people thought Taylor had slightly tidier glove work when standing up to the stumps, that's about all.

 

[chaminda_00]

Maybe not a class above. But most things I have read Taylor was a better keeper, it was just his batting let him down when it came to selection over Knott.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Up for more votes?

 

[Matt79]

I think Taylor would have been one of the very few contemporaries of Knott to be considered by many (but not all) to be a better keeper. From everything you read, Knott was better than Healy or any of the other great allrounder genuine keepers.

 

[bagapath]

laker and lindwall make it to the team.

 

[zaremba]

Am I missing something or was Ian Botham not nominated in any category for the pre-Packer polls (defined as being up to April 1979 IIRC)?

I'm the first to write the fat unfit has-been off as far as the latter part of his career is concerned, but I'd have thought he ought to have been worth consideration for his early career?

 

[bagapath]

min qual of 100 wickets for bowlers and 2000 runs for batsmen. botham crossed those landmarks a little later, in summer of 1979. at our cut off date his records stood at

17 791 108 35.95 3 87 8/34 18.68 8 23 0

 

[zaremba]

min qual of 100 wickets for bowlers and 2000 runs for batsmen. botham crossed those landmarks a little later, in summer of 1979. at our cut off date his records stood at

17 791 108 35.95 3 87 8/34 18.68 8 23 0

Jeesh, you're a tough taskmaster Bagapath!