It is time for the return of the longstop!!

In our Over 60’s cricket matches, there has been some need for a longstop. The bowling can be a bit astray, seeing as eight bowlers in each team must roll their arm over in each innings – and this can be damned hard if you were never a bowler in the first place

And the wicketkeepers are not as flexible and agile as in their golden days – oops, we are supposed to be in our golden years now.

Anyway, a person patrolling directly behind the stumps, but on the boundary, does now have a roll to play. This fielder, if fast enough, can also perform third man and fine leg duties.

Now thinking of the top class cricket, particularly 20/20 matches, to me there seems to be a glaring need for the return of the long stop. With the emergence of the over the head Scoop Shot, many boundaries are easily scored. Not only will a long stop restrict the flow of runs, it will be an attacking catching position. Protection of the boundaries might even be enhanced as a fast running long stop could cut off leg glances and snicks thru the slips. Further, it can allow the keeper to stand on the stumps to keep the batsmen in his crease, as well make stumpings, without worrying about he can’t take balls as he is unsighted or there are balls that are too wide for him.

In the past, the positioning of a long stop has been as an insult to the wicketkeeper. It should not be so now. The long stop should now be a strategic weapon to help the bowlers counter the outrageous aggressiveness they face from batsmen, especially in the 20/20 game.

Tags: 20/20 cricket, cricket tragic, fielding positions, long stop, Over Sixties Cricket