His world-class numbers
day two boosted his tally to 184 dismissals (177 catches, seven stumpings), five clear of McCullum and 17 behind Adam Parore’s record of 201.
Some statistics posted by CricViz put an exclamation mark on Watling’s contribution.
He features in the top-three test partnership averages for New Zealand: 78.15 with Ross Taylor, 68.69 with Kane Williamson and 65.81 with McCullum. He joined the latter two in triple-century stands against Sri Lanka and India in Wellington that remain third and fourth on New Zealand’s all-time partnership list.
Since the start of 2015 Watling’s test average is 41.45, third out of designated wicketkeepers behind Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim (45.68) and England’s Jonny Bairstow (43.17). ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚
Of the world’s top-10 keepers for dismissals only Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower (53.70), Australia’s Adam Gilchrist (47.60) and England’s Matt Prior (40.18) averaged better than 40.
It places Watling (now ranked 20th on dismissals) in rarefied air, in one of cricket’s most demanding jobs.
For the latest on the third test go to stuff.co.nz
Leading New Zealand test wicketkeepers: Adam Parore: 67 tests, 2479 runs at 26.94, 2x100, 210 dismissals BJ Watling: 49 tests, 2619 runs at 40.92, 5x100, 184 dismissals* Brendon McCullum: 52 tests, 2803 runs at 34.18, 5x100, 179 dismissals Ian Smith: 63 tests, 1815 runs at 25.56, 2x100, 176 dismissals *As at the end of day two of the third test