Wicketkeeper

The wicketkeeper is the fielder who stands behind the stumps, catches everything the batter misses, and effects stumpings and run-outs.

Only the keeper may wear gloves. Standing up to the stumps against spin and slower bowling, they take the stumping when a batter drifts out of the crease; standing back to pace, they are the first slip that never moves. Byes are their responsibility, and a keeper who lets through a dozen a match is costing runs as surely as a wayward bowler. Every side needs one, and there is only one, which makes the position a selection problem of its own.

The modern debate is about the bat. A generation ago a keeper was picked for glovework and batted at seven or eight. Now most sides want a keeper who is also a top-six or top-seven batter, because that is what lets a captain fit an extra bowler or all-rounder into the XI. Managers weigh a few dropped chances against thirty extra runs an innings, and in limited-overs cricket the runs usually win.

In Masterstroke: your wicketkeeper is one of the nine fielders you place, and his batting rating decides how deep your batting order really goes.