The keeper's major function is to stop deliveries that pass the batsman (in order to prevent
runs being scored as 'byes'), but he can also attempt to
dismiss the batsman in various ways: • The most common dismissal effected by the keeper is for him to
catch a ball that has nicked the batsman's bat, called an
edge, before it bounces. Sometimes the keeper is also in the best position to catch a ball that has been hit high in the air. More catches are taken by wicket-keepers than by any other fielding position. • The keeper can
stump the batsman by using the ball to remove the
bails from the
stumps, if the batsman is out of his
crease after a delivery has passed the stumps into the keeper's hands. The keeper must then dislodge the bail(s) and the batsman is out if he is still outside the crease. • When the ball is hit into the outfield, the keeper moves close to the stumps to catch the return throw from a fielder and, if possible, to
run out a batsman by collecting the ball in his gloves and putting down the wicket. • If the batter and non-striker attempt to run a
bye following the batsman missing or not playing a shot the wicket-keeper can throw the ball at the stumps after he catches the delivery. In outfield cricket, it is a rare play due to the high chance of the non-striker being put out, but when it happens it is usually an important moment where the batting team is trying to desperately score a run to win or tie a game or to get the stronger batter in a partnership on strike so they can bat instead. This play is common during
indoor cricket games due to the shorter distance the non-striker has to run and penalty for a wicket being runs, not the loss of the batter themselves. It is common for indoor cricket wicket-keepers to only wear a single glove in order to make throws to the non-striker's end easier to hit with. • One of the only two instances of a
obstructing the field dismissal in Test cricket occurred when a batter attempted to hit the ball away from a catch being taken by the keeper. • The only instance of a
Hit the ball twice wicket during an international game occurred when the batsman failed his initial shot then knocked the ball away from the wicket-keeper to prevent the throwing out of the non-striker in a run-out. A keeper's position depends on the
bowler: for
fast bowling he will squat some distance from the stumps, in order to have time to react to edges from the batsman, while for slower bowling, he will come much nearer to the stumps (known as "standing up"), to pressure the batsman into remaining within the crease or risk being stumped. The more skilled the keeper, the faster the bowling to which he is able to "stand up", for instance
Godfrey Evans often stood up to
Alec Bedser. Like the other players on a cricket team the keepers will bat during the team's batting innings. At elite levels, wicket-keepers are generally expected to be proficient batters averaging considerably more than specialist bowlers. This
wicket-keeper-batsman form became popular in the 1990s as the Australian national team saw success when elevating
Adam Gilchrist to the team after the retirement of
Ian Healy. Healy averaged 27.39 and 4,356 runs total from his 119 Test matches, and is viewed as a specialist wicket-keeper who had improved his marginally effective batting toward the end of his career. Gilchrist on the other hand was a dominating, powerful batsman from the start, playing 96 Test matches with a 47.60 average with 5,570 total runs despite playing 23 fewer matches. Gilchrist's success effectively forced the specialist wicket-keeper into extinction at the top levels of the sport as teams could no long afford to pick a mediocre or poor batsman in the position as long as the player who was chosen could perform up to basic standards of the wicket-keeper position when fielding. == Legal specifications of wicket-keeping gloves ==