Craig Kieswetter might be England’s back up wicketkeeper for the World Cup. He was pretty good behind the wicket for Somerset last season and with the bat too, he did enough to keep himself in contention for the showpiece tournament down under.
Kieswetter’s glove work had always been an issue during his first run with England. But, after having been left out, he seems to have got it sorted out and he is looking pretty efficient even while keeping against the spinners.
The thing because of which the England selectors might opt to prefer Kieswetter over the other names in county cricket for that second keeper role is his batting ability.
The 27-year old is good enough to claim a place in the XI as a specialist batsman. And, he is an opener. So, if he is there in the squad for Australia-New Zealand, England doesn’t need to pick any reserve opener.
Kieswetter has won England matches bating aggressively at the top of the order and that too in big tournaments. In the World T20 Championship final in 2010, he had scored a half century against the arch rivals Australia. So, he has been at big stages before. That’s another positive that he has.
And, Kieswetter is a player of bouncy tracks. He is somebody who relies on playing his shots from the back foot rather than leaning on to the deliveries. So, he can be supposed not to find the Australian conditions as difficult as some of the other players.
Kieswetter has not made appearance in an ODI World Cup so far. He had a chance to be selected last time around in 2011, but, the selectors went with the experienced Matt Prior at the very last minute which had surprised a few former cricketers.