5 best oldest wicket-keepers in the history of cricket

Wicket-keepers have a thankless and literally back-breaking job. Very often, good glovework behind the stumps goes unnoticed while the mistakes never fail to catch the eye. Considering the fact that good wicket-keepers also double up as specialist batsmen, it is not strange that that their careers have a shelf life at the end of the day.Yet strangely, there have been legendary keepers in the history of the sport who defied the odds and played on till a ripe age. In this article, we look at the best keepers who played on till late and retired at a very advanced age.If MS Dhoni would retire soon in the days to come, he would not make it to this list. But two legendary Indian wicket-keepers are on the list.

#5 Ridley Jacobs

Jacobs keeping against England

Ridley Jacobs did not have a long career as he started pretty late. He made his debut at the age of 31 and served his country for six years. In those six years, he turned out to be a prolific wicket-keeper. He played in 65 Tests in those six years and took 200 catches becoming only the second West Indian keeper after Jeff Dujon to achieve this remarkable feat.

He has played in 147 ODIs besides the 65 Tests and was one of the best wicket-keepers that the West Indies ever had. As a batsman, he was more gutsy than brilliant though he has more than 2000 Test runs in his kitty. With Courtney Browne and Carlton Baugh pushing for a place in the side, Jacobs last appeared in the West Indian colours in 2004, at the ripe age of 37.

#4 Farokh Engineer

Engineer is regarded as one of the best keepers in the history of the game

Widely considered to be India's first great and perhaps the most charismatic wicket-keeper, Farokh Engineer kept with ease to the Indian spin quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan. Though the number of matches played back in those days were considerably less, he remained Indian's first choice keeper for a long time from 1961 to 1975.

Following a disastrous series against the mighty West Indies in where India were thrashed 0-5, Engineer lost his place in 1962 for a period of almost three years. He made his comeback against New Zealand and scored a brilliant 90 batting at no. 9.

His lucky break came in the third Test against the West Indies at Chepauk in 1966 when he opened the batting and tore into the famous West Indian bowling attack scoring a brilliant century. Engineer became an instant household name but never got a fixed position in the batting order. He had opened the batting but had also batted at numbers 7, 8 and 9, managing to score over 2500 Test runs.

He played his last Test against the West Indies at Wankhede in 1975 when he was 37. Engineer scored a pair and India lost the match by 201 runs. Things could not have ended in a worse manner for a true Indian legend.

#3 Syed Kirmani

Kirmani was brilliant behind the stumps for India

For many veteran cricket lovers who have watched him play, there will never be another wicket-keeper like Syed Kirmani. Widely considered as India's best keeper purely in terms of glove-work, Kirmani replaced the legendary Farokh Engineer and went on to be a stalwart behind the stumps.

There are endless legends about him coming from the decade when he quietly dominated cricket matches from behind the stumps. Having kept to the legendary Indian spin quartet and then later Kapil Dev, Kirmani stood tall not conceding a bye for three consecutive Tests against England in 1981-82.

On another occasion, a fast delivery from Chandrasekhar that bamboozled the legendary Viv Richards - Richards said it was as fast as a delivery from Jeff Thomson - did not hoodwink Kirmani. He was a useful batsman having scored over 2000 Test run and two hundreds one of which came when he was sent in as a night-watchman at the fall of Gavaskar's wicket.

In the 1983 World Cup, he pitched in with the bat whenever it was necessary and was unarguably the best keeper in the tournament. He lost his place to the younger Kiran More, playing his last Test in 1986 at the age of 37. His subsequent efforts to make a comeback eventually proved to be futile.

#2 Adam Gilchrist

Gilchrist is one of the most popular modern day cricketers

Widely considered one of the best wicket-keepers in cricketing history to have ever played the game, Adam Gilchrist redefined batting for many. As a wicket-keeper, he set really high standards. But it was as a batsman that he revolutionised the game.

Prior to him, quite a few good wicket-keepers knew how to bat. But Gilchrist changed the perception completely -- after him, it became unthinkable to pick a keeper who was also not a specialist batsman.

As a batsman, he was aggressive and unstoppable. In Tests, he used to bat at number six, leading the counter-attack and always trying to score some quick runs. In ODIs, he started going after the bowlers to score the maximum possible runs during the overs of fielding restrictions.

Gilchrist played in 96 Tests and 287 ODIs for his country, enjoying averages of 47.60 and 35.89 respectively. He retired in 2008 at the age of 37 having served Australia well. He was a part of the Australian invincibles and won three consecutive world cup trophies in 1999, 2003 and 2007.

He also captained the Deccan Charges to victory in the second season of the IPL and was the Player of the Tournament in that season. He is truly an evergreen genius.

#1 Alec Stewart

Stewart retired at the age of 40

Alec Stewart was one of the best and most capped wicket-keepers to serve the Three Lions. When he first made it to the team, a lot of doubters believed that he would not last long and had made it to the team in the first place because his father was a coach.

A flamboyant keeper and a classy Test batsman, Stewart played 133 Tests and 170 ODIs for England. With over 8000 Test runs, he could have easily made it to the team as a pure batsman. Added to that was the fact that he was always a reassuring presence behind the stumps.

Even before he passed Graham Hooch's record of 119 Test appearances for England, there were wide-ranging cries for him to retire. A few kept saying that he had overstayed and should have made way for youngsters much earlier. But he kept playing with grit and determination, announcing his retirement at the ripe age of 40. Few wicket-keepers last so long!