As ever there were myriad team and individual performances worthy of note throughout the last 12 months but one of the more intriguing aspects to Test cricket in 2001 was the ever increasing influence of the wicketkeeper-batsman.

While the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan and Matthew Hayden enjoyed prolific individual years with ball and bat respectively it was the impact of Adam Gilchrist and his fellow multi-dimentional stumpers that really caught the eye.

Their continued emergence as the lynchpins of a modern-day Test team owes much to the disappearance of the traditional all-rounder role, a rare breed of cricketer that has seemingly buckled under the increasing physical and mental strain applied to today’s top players.

Gone are the days when the likes of Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee dominated the global stage, today’s “must-haves” are the free-scoring stumpers.

Ideally the modern ‘keeper will be good enough to earn his selection on two fronts - batting and ‘keeping – but in reality the balance has swung away from technical proficiency with the gloves in favour of extra runs with the bat.

In the absence of genuinely world class all-rounders – Jacques Kallis is the only current player in the top 20 of both the batting and bowling world rankings – wicket-keepers have become the fulcrum of modern-day Test cricket.

A successful ‘keeper-batsman offers the side balance and allows the captain to tailor is bowling attack according to conditions… just ask Steve Waugh.

He has arguably the world’s best exponent of the modern ‘keeper in Adam Gilchrist, a man who averages over 50 with the bat and who possesses the added bonus of being able to turn the direction of a match almost single-handed due to his explosive stroke-play.

Not all teams have the decency to offer him three lives per innings – as England regrettably did at Lord’s – but Gilchrist’s emergence as Australia’s all-singing No 7 has been a major factor behind the Baggy Greens’ extraordinary recent successes.

His captaincy credentials may not bear close scrutiny but his personal statistics certainly do and in today’s victory-driven sporting arena he is The Daddy of modern ‘keepers.

Purists may sneer at his glove work and argue that finesse has been diluted by necessity but Gilchrist’s ability behind the stumps has brought him 52 catches and six stumpings in 14 Tests during 2001, in addition to his 870 runs at 51.18.

In many ways his extraordinary deeds have set the tone for the modern game, laying out an enviable template for others to attempt to mimic.

Strangely, England were for once at the vanguard of this new trend with their employment of Alec Stewart in the all-rounders’ role following a fruitless search for the “new” Botham.

The former captain has won 64 of his 115 Test caps as a wicketkeeper-batsman and it was perhaps only in his absence on the recent India tour that his true value to the side was finally appreciated.

Whether he returns to the Test arena in the future depends on Duncan Fletcher and Nasser Hussain but in going for James Foster as his replacement this winter they have clearly confirmed their willingness to continue down the ‘keeper-batsman path.

The young Essex stumper has already shown enough talent and bottle to suggest he’s worth developing but the mixed success of India’s Deep Dasgupta highlights the tricky balancing act modern coaches must apply.

Dasgupta’s batting has so far stood up to the test (both at home to England and away in South Africa) but his fallibility with the gloves has proved costly and there’s no point wiping out your runs with a succession of fluffed catches and stumpings.

That’s not a problem currently worrying the Zimbabwe selectors, who like Australia are fortunate enough to possess a truly world-class batsman behind the stumps in the shape of Andy Flower.

Indeed, such was his form throughout 2001 he spent a large chunk of it sitting pretty at No 1 in the Test batting rankings as he notched up 899 runs at 89.90.

Without doubt his greatest achievement was in scoring 142 and 199no against South Africa at Harare, a monumental last stand that merely delayed a crushing nine-wicket defeat.

Elsewhere, other ‘keepers continued the trend with old hands Adam Parore and Mark Boucher both enjoying lower-order success while Ridley Jacobs remained a rare beacon of hope in an otherwise disastrous West Indian middle-order.

Kumar Sangakkara also emerged as a young ‘keeper-batsman of substance, collecting 992 runs (@ 55.11) and 38 dismissals as he continued to impress in Sanath Jayasuriya’s rejuvenated Sri Lankan team.

Of the 10 Test teams only Bangladesh and Pakistan have yet to identify a suitable candidate for the all-important ‘keeping role, although the latter can call on Moin Khan or Rashid Latif as an adequate stop-gap.

31 Dec, 2001