Craig Kieswetter Specials

By Nishant Joshi

Born in South Africa, wicket-keeper Craig Kieswetter qualified to play for England this past Tuesday, and performed outstandingly well in Abu Dhabi for England Lions. Scores of 31, 40no, 77no, 50 and 81 for the aggressive opener made for an outstanding tour, and it really seems just a matter of time before he is promoted to the full side.

His match-winning 81 off 66 in the final match against a full England side was breath-taking, and was notable for how well-paced and mature his knock was. Despite a sedate start, he accelerated at the right time and showed his full repertoire of strokes.

My gripes with the England selectors have been well-aired previously, but I'm sure that the clamour for Kieswetter to be promoted to the full side will not die down any time soon. Incumbent keeper Matt Prior has a distinctly average record in T20 and ODI cricket, despite being a clear first choice for the Test side. There is even the possibility of Kieswetter playing as a specialist opening batsman, a position which England have been notoriously inconsistent with selection in T20's.

Despite not being in the full England squad to play Pakistan over the next few days, Kieswetter can justifiably think that he's the best man for the job, in terms of being a wicket-keeper batsman in the shorter forms for England.

England's current T20 squad to play Pakistan is as follows:

England: P Collingwood (c), J Denly, J Trott, K Pietersen, M Prior (wkt), L Wright, S Broad, J Tredwell, G Swann, R Sidebottom, L Plunkett, T Bresnan, A Cook, A Shahzad, E Morgan.

It is likely that any two of Denly, Wright and Cook will open the batting, but all three players have failed to impress in the shorter forms. Playing Denly and Cook together would be kamikaze, as their respective scoring rates simply won't be enough to give England a good start. Wright can free his arms and clear the ropes but his most effective position is clearly as a lower-order biffer. Jonathon Trott has been touted as a T20I opener but is better suited at no 3 or 4.

Kieswetter has been consistently excellent when opening for Somerset in the limited overs matches, and his fast scoring and excellent temperament mean that on paper, he's got more than enough attributes to pip both Denly and Cook to seal an opening berth in the near future, simply as a specialist batsman. The fact that he is a wicket-keeper means that if England drop Prior, they will become a much more effective and flexible side.

Sky Bet offer specials on whether Kieswetter will play for England this year, and given the evidence, it is surely a no-brainer. There are holes at the top of the order, and England have been crying out for an aggressive opener since Marcus Trescothick retired. In the shorter format, he should already be a shoo-in for second place at least, and there is a strong chance he'll play as a specialist opener at some point this year. At worst, an injury to Matt Prior would all but seal a berth in the first team. We'll take what we can get.

If England don't select Kieswetter this year, it would confound and bewilder anybody who has seen the young man play.

NJ's Bets:

Kieswetter to be selected in the T20 World Cup squad - Yes - 5pts @ 1.83 Sky Bet

Kieswetter to play in the ODI side any time in 2010 - Yes - 5pts @ 2.25 Sky Bet

Nishant Joshi