The wicketkeeper who bats, and the batter who keeps

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A dropped catch behind the stumps costs more than a low score, and it happens in front of everybody.

Counting what a keeper prevents

Byes conceded and chances missed are the only statistics most people see. Neither captures the leg-side take standing up, or the throw collected cleanly with the batter half a yard short.

The key points

• Standing back to seam hides most keeping weaknesses
• Standing up to spin exposes all of them
• Byes are a poor proxy for keeping quality

When the trade-off is worth it

On flat surfaces, with the keeper standing back, a batting keeper costs very little and adds a great deal. On a turning pitch, standing up to spin, the arithmetic reverses entirely.

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