The advent of odi cricket for many has given the game new life. However, being a traditionalist I am sad at one trend that has resulted from odis and that is the decline of the genuine wicket keeper.

I am not saying keepers should be rabbits with a bat in their hand but it should be a pre-requisite for an international keeper to be an outstanding gloveman, capable of not only stopping byes and taking balls cleanly and taking regulation chances but of pulling off the half or even quarter chance that turns a test match. In days gone by, that would have been the case. Sadly, it seems now that people want keepers who are batsmen first and very average keepers.

It is not only sad to see a fall in standards of excellence but it also costs a team very dearly and has in my opinion pushed along the decline of spin bowling as well. A wicket keeper should be able to contribute some runs yes but as I say he is a keeper first. It is very hypocritical when lesser batsmen who field exceptionally are picked yet the one man there for fielding is mediocre. People talk of the bowling attack but the keeper is a key component of it. How can a bowler bowl with 100% effort if he knows any chance that goes to the keeper may well be dropped? Have you ever watched a football game where a team has had a good defence and bad goalkeeper? I would be very surprised if you had! Also, when a team is having a bad spell in the field, it looks to the keeper to set the example. He sets the standards that the others then follow.

And it is a myth that just because you are an outstanding keeper that you are a no 9 or worse batsman. Alan Knott of England averaged 32 with 8 tons and never dropped a catch, well almost never! Ian Healy averaged 27 and has almost 400 test dismissals. Jeff Dujon was vital in the phenomenal run of the West Indies in the 1980's. And then there is of course the great Rashid Latif. He made Moin Khan look exactly what he was, a very ordinary wicket keeper. He is the best pure gloveman of the last 15 years. Once more, his batting was better than his Karachi rival, he had a higher test average. He stood up for the average man on the street of Pakistan who wanted to see his team try the best it could and be honest. Rashid Latif was more than just a great keeper, he was a symbol of hope in Pakistan. Whilst Kamran Akmal is a fine successor, it is a shame Rashid is no longer gracing the international stage. India or my team Ireland would love to have him! Rashid has been treated badly because of his honesty but he has not been bitter. He is now striving hard to put something back into the game he gave so much.

I hope he inspires a whole new generation of great glovement not only in Pakistan but all around the world. They really do add to the game of cricket. So as we see Geraint Jones for England, Mahendra Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik of India and Brendon McCullum for New Zealand, I again ask:

Whatever happened to the genuine wicket keeper?