Performance measures for wicket keepers in cricket

Abstract

A wicket keeper should not only perform well behind the wickets in terms of taking catches, executing stumpings and limiting the number of byes, but should also perform well as a batsman. The purpose of this study is to combine the dismissal rate (based on the number of catches and stumpings) and a measure of batting performance into measuring wicket-keeping performance. Measures are developed and applied to rank wicket keepers for test matches and for one-day internationals (ODIs) alike. The first two measures are for wicket keepers’ test and one-day international careers, and then the necessary modifications are made to make the measures suitable for use after a short series of matches. The measures are easy to apply, which is in contrast to cumbersome methods found on the internet. In the case of test matches the ranking of wicket keepers is Adam Gilchrist, Brad Haddon and Kamran Akmal in the top three positions. In ODIs the ranking is Gilchrist, Haddon and Dhoni, with Boucher and Sangakkara alternating in the fourth and fifth positions.