A wicketkeeper is put to the same rigors of the long format of Test cricket stumpings as a batter or a bowler. A prominent example of this is Australia’s WAS Oldfield, who leads all Test cricket players in stumpings.
Being a wicketkeeper is a difficult job that calls for both mental and physical stamina. Wicketkeepers must always be on the lookout for every ball that is delivered. In particular, stumping is a difficult skill that demands a high level of mental focus.
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Let’s look at the top 10 bowlers who have stumped the most whites.
Australian WAS Oldfield: 52 stumpings
Bert Oldfield of Australia, who took part in 54 Test matches between 1920 and 1937, is at the top of the list. 52 stumpings and 78 catches total his 130 dismissals in 101 innings. In the fourth Test of England’s tour of Australia in 1925, he turned in one of his best glovework displays, performing four stumpings in a single innings while also taking a single catch. Oldfield’s fielding stole the show as England defeated Australia by an innings and 29 runs. He was a skilled batter as well, tallying 1427 runs at an average of 22.65 over the course of his 80 innings. One of Australia’s best wicketkeepers, Oldfield, died in 1976, but he is still remembered.
England’s TG Evans – 46 stumpings.
The next player on the list is TG Evans, who represented England in 91 games between 1946 and 1959. In 175 innings, Evans caused 219 dismissals, including 173 catches and 46 stumpings. Evans, who Wisden called “probably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen,” was the first English cricketer to score 2000 runs and 200 dismissals in Test matches as well as the first keeper to reach 200 dismissals in a single match. In 91 games, he has scored 20.49 runs with the bat, including two hundred. In 1952, he achieved his highest score at Taunton, 144. Evans, the 1951 Wisden Cricketer of the Year, passed away on May 3, 1999.
Indian player Syed Kirmani: 38 stumpings
Syed Kirmani, who played 88 Test matches from 1976 to 1986, is the first wicketkeeper from India on the list of most stumpings in Test match cricket. With 160 catches and 38 stumpings, he recorded 198 dismissals in 151 innings. Six dismissals, made up of five catches and one stumping, were the most he ever managed in an innings. With two Test hundreds to his name, the 72-year-old was also a skilled batter lower down the order. Kirmani was outstanding behind the stumps and occasionally contributed with the bat in 1983, contributing significantly to India’s victory in the World Cup.
India’s MS Dhoni -38 stumpings.
Between 2005 and 2014, former India captain MS Dhoni, who played in 90 Test matches, was also dismissed 90 times, matching Kirmani’s total. One of his generation’s top wicketkeepers, Dhoni recorded 294 Test dismissals in 191 innings, including 256 catches and 38 stumpings. Dhoni is fifth on the list of Test match wicketkeepers with the most dismissals, behind Mark Boucher, Adam Gilchrist, Ian Healy, and Rodney Marsh. Dhoni was a terrific batter as well, as evidenced by his more than 4500 runs in 90 Test matches, which included six hundred and 33 fifty-pluses. Kiran More is another Indian goalkeeper worth recognizing in addition to Dhoni.
Australia’s Adam Gilchrist – 37 stumpings.
Adam Gilchrist, a former cricketer for Australia who is regarded as one of the best wicketkeepers in game history, comes in at number five on the list. Between 1999 and 2008, Gilchrist played in 96 Test matches for Australia, recording 416 dismissals in 191 innings, including 379 catches and 37 stumpings. He took five catches in one inning, which was his finest glovework effort. The southpaw had a batting average of about 48, hitting 17 hundred and 26 fifties. He is one of the best players to have worn the keeper’s gloves, ranking second on the list of most dismissals in a Test career.
Prasanna Jayawardene, Sri Lanka – 32 stumpings
The first Sri Lankan on the list is Prasanna Jayawardene, who played 58 Tests for Sri Lanka between 2000 and 2015 and collected 156 dismissals in 102 innings, including 124 catches and 32 stumpings. His highest effort in a single Test inning was five catches. The right-handed batter’s average was 29.50 runs per game as he drove in 2124.
Australia’s Ian Healy -29 stumpings.
From 1988 until 1999, Ian Healy represented Australia in Test cricket. In 119 matches, he dismissed 395 batters, 366 by-catches, and 29 through stumpings. He ranks third for both the most catches and the most dismissals by a keeper in Test matches. Healy was dependable at the plate as well, scoring 4356 runs at a rate of nearly 28. In the format, he has four centuries and 22 fifties. Healy has been a cricket commentator since 1999.
Pakistani Wasim Bari: 27 stumpings
Wasim Bari of Pakistan is next on the list. He played 81 Test matches and recorded 228 dismissals in 146 innings, including 201 catches and 27 stumpings. He was a key member of the Pakistani team in the 1980s and 1990s when it came to gloves. Bari was also a capable batter in the late innings, with 1,366 runs in 112 innings. After his final Test match in 1984, he was appointed head of Pakistan’s selection committee.
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Romesh Kaluwitharana, Sri Lanka – 26 stumpings
Romesh Shantha Kaluwitharana, a wicket-keeper in all formats, is the second Sri Lankan on the list. Kaluwitharana amassed 119 dismissals in 85 innings during the course of a 12-year Test career, including 93 catches and 26 stumpings. He was also a shrewd batsman who achieved three Test hundreds, including one on his debut in 1992 against the elite Australian team. After playing his final Test against Pakistan in 2004, Kaluwitharana worked as a cricket coach for a few local teams.
Australia’s Jack Blackham recorded -24 stumpings.
Many people believe that Jack Blackham, often known as the “price of wicket-keepers,” is the keeper who revolutionized the field of wicket-keeping. Between 1877 and 1894, he maintained wickets for Australia in 35 tests, recording 59 dismissals in 57 innings, including 35 catches and 24 stumpings. His final game was in 1894, and he died in December 1932.
