The case for Fozzie

Geraint Jones. Chris Read. Paul Nixon. Matt Prior. Tim Ambrose.

Spot a name missing from that list of those vying for the England wicket-keeper's job in recent years? Yes, that's right, James Foster, just about the only contender who hasn't been given a crack at the job since Alec Stewart retired from behind the stumps in 2003.

Essex fans have been banging on about the credentials of James Foster as England wicket-keeper for some time and there's a growing feeling in the game that he's the man for the job. But Fozzie hasn't had a look-in since his last Test in 2002 after he broke his arm in a freak training accident.

Many were left bewildered by his continued exclusion from any England squad after his excellent form last season. But Foster has just kept his head down and gone about his job in his usual efficient and effective way.

I happened to be in the Essex press box earlier this season when the topic of debate was the England keeper's job. The man from The Times said that England selector Geoff Miller had tasked Stewart's predecessor in the job, Jack Russell, with travelling round the counties last season to find out who was the best wickie. His answer was Foster. But still he wasn't picked.

No-one has cemented the gloveman's position since Stewart's retirement and the main reason seems to be that England want a wicket-keeper who is a also a big run scorer. This is all very well when you have the likes of an Adam Gilchrist or Brendon McCullum at your disposal. But England don't. Those kind of wicket-keeper batsmen don't come along very often.

Yet surely we shouldn't have to be relying on a keeper scoring runs all the time if our top order is performing properly. And thereby lies the real problem - it hasn't been recently. Out of our top five batsmen, it's rare that more than one has got a big score in an innings recently. And so the onus goes on to the wicket-keeper to make a lot of runs.

But an excellent wicket-keeper who bats well can contribute as much (if not more) to a team than a reasonably decent wickie who scores more runs. The old maxim that catches win matches isn't a hollow one.

Anyhow, it seems to me that Foster has proven himself in the last two seasons on both the batting and keeping fronts. By all accounts, he's improved immeasurably as a wicket-keeper since his last outing for the national side.

I've watched him at Essex many a time and he was impressive again against Lancashire Lightning in the Friends Provident Trophy today. He was an imposing presence behind the stumps, taking two catches and a brilliant, sharp stumping of du Plessis standing up to the pace bowling of David Masters. He also showed his quick hands and a quick mind in the run out of Sajid Mahmood after some good work in the field from Varun Chopra.

Essex made hard work of overhauling Lancashire's total at times and, as has so often been the case in the last year, Foster came to the crease to see his side over the line. In both the long and short form of the game, Foster has shown his prowess with the bat repeatedly. He's a shrewd rather than an extravagant operator with the bat, adapting readily to match situations and doing what's needed for the sake of the team.

Former Essex team-mate and England team director Andy Flower, who kept wicket for Zimbabwe as well as being their top batsmen, knows Foster's virtues well. The current holder of the England keeper's gloves Matt Prior had mixed fortunes in the Caribbean but acquitted himself reasonably well in the First Test against the West Indies last week. But with Foster now called up to the England Twenty20 side, he'll know that the Essex man must be figuring large in Flower's mind as the Ashes draws ever nearer.