Watling catching up with cricket’s best keepers
Amid the storm of wickets at the Basin Reserve on the third day of the second test, stood the eye . . . wicketkeeper Bradley-John Watling.
The captain of the cordon coaxed and cajoled his teammates, keeping the cadence of the side upbeat from beneath his sweat-and-toil-encrusted black cap as the contemporary New Zealand cricketing juggernaut rolls on.
The Black Caps now have a pioneering moment at the summit of the test rankings within sight this summer.
Four wickets are required to wrap a 2-0 win against the West Indies, with fine weather forecast in Wellington for the fourth and fifth days.
Watling has been a metronome as the test game in this country transformed from more erratic times to the stability seen today, playing 63 of his 71 tests as the designated wicketkeeper.
He debuted as an opener in 2009, playing six tests before getting reinvented as a gloveman by coach John Wright against Zimbabwe in 2012.
Now, after pouching catches off Joshua Da Silva and Shamarh Brooks, he has moved into the top 10 on the all-time wicketkeeping dismissal charts with 242.
The routine of crouching, catching and flicking of the ball to his fellow slippers remains instinctive, punctuated by dashes to the stumps for return throws and a clipped stride between ends to sustain the over rate tempo.
Watling’s pedigree from 119 innings behind the stumps can be measured by the names ahead of him on the list: Mark Boucher (555 from 281 innings), Adam Gilchrist (416 from 191), Ian Healy ( 395 from 224), Rod Marsh (355 from 182), MS Dhoni (294 from 166), Brad Haddin (270 from 128), Jeff Dujon (270 from 150), Alan Knott (269 from 174) and Matt Prior ( 256 from 146).
Only Gilchrist (2.178) and Haddin (2.109) have better dismissals per innings records than Watling’s 2.033.
Of the 28 designated wicketkeepers in New Zealand’s test history, none can claim a better ratio than the 35-year-old. He’s also a partner in the country’s three highest catching combinations courtesy of 71 from Tim
Southee (two as a fielder), 52 off Trent Boult and 50 via Neil Wagner (one as a fielder).
However, those numbers don’t capture the extent of his mana within the team. The players revere him. For example, when it came to selecting Gary Stead as Mike Hesson’s Black Caps coaching successor, Watling was entrusted as their representative on the appointment panel.
No pretentious strands appear to blot his DNA. “Loyalty”, “honesty” and “selflessness” are his watchwords, so much so that the initials “LHS” are tattooed on his left bicep.
The inspiration for the mantra came from his Hamilton Boys’ High School first XI coach and former New Zealand test all-rounder Chris Kuggeleijn.
“The sheriff has been doing what he does for a long time,” Boult said post-stumps. “He’s a man passionate about the hat on his head and team he’s surrounded by. He deserves all the accolades that come his way.”