By CricketCountry Staff
Former England wicketkeeper and captain Alec Stewart believes that AB de Villiers will do a good job behind the stumps in absence of South Africa veteran Mark Boucher in the upcoming Test series.
Published: Jul 17, 2012, 05:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 17, 2012, 05:45 PM (IST)
AB de Villiers has kept wickets in only three Test matches so far © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
London: Jul 17, 2012
Former England wicketkeeper and captain Alec Stewart believes that AB de Villiers will do a good job behind the stumps in absence of South africa veteran Mark Boucher in the upcoming Test series.
“AB de Villiers has kept wicket with style in the shorter forms of the game, but to date he has only donned the gloves in three Test matches. When it comes to keeping, there’s a huge difference in doing it over five days compared to 50 or 20 overs,” he was quoted as saying by BBC Sports.
“I’m also aware that keeping at times can cause him some back problems and he’s inexperienced in English conditions. Because of his unbelievable natural sporting talent, I’m sure he’ll do a more than decent job,” he added.
Since Paul Collingwood’s retirement from Test cricket, fifth spot in the batting line-up has been left void with players like Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow unable to cement their place.
However, Stewart believes Ravi Bopara is a fine prospect and hopes that he starts performing more consistently.
“Bopara is a hugely talented individual, one that I’m a big fan of, but he hasn’t shown yet on a consistent basis what he is really capable of in Test cricket.
I hope he will be able to transfer what he’s been doing in the shorter formats into the five-day game because, as well as his batting, a few overs of his medium pace could be very valuable,” he concluded.
