Kumar Sangakkara

St George’s: Wicketkeepers have had a demanding World Cup. With games played on uncharacteristically slow Caribbean pitches, many are being forced to stand up to the wicket even against pace bowling.

Wicketkeepers have traditionally only stood or crouched right up to the stumps when they are fielding slow spin bowling or, occasionally, medium pace.

With batsmen advancing further down the track to take on pacemen, however, they are shifting forward from the accustomed position alongside the slips several yards (metres) behind the stumps.

While the World Cup isn’t the first time wicketkeepers have done this, the number of games in such a short period of time has made the switch more apparent.

Tuesday’s semi-final in Jamaica brings together two of the finest exponents of the new tactic — Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum.

The pair occupies the top two places in the list of tournament dismissals with 15 and 14 respectively.

“Wicketkeepers and captains have no option other than to have them standing up because of the fact that wickets are getting better,” Sangakkara said. “If you’re bowling at under 140 kph (87 mph), batsmen will take it upon themselves to walk up the track and take it at length.”

In a way, Sangakkara is a victim of his own team’s success.

In 1996, Sri Lanka revolutionised one-day cricket on its way to a shock World Cup win by attacking bowlers from the start. Hitting the ball over the top of the fielding circle, Sri Lanka made totals of 300 commonplace.

That forced other teams to adapt and take a similar approach, leading to batsmen taking more risks against pace bowlers.

By standing up to the wicket, Sangakkara, McCullum and other wicketkeepers are putting pressure back onto the batsmen because they know that if they miss their shot, there is someone right behind them ready to carry out a stumping.

“That’s the way the fielding side can support their bowlers,” Sangakkara said. “To challenge themselves a bit more and take on the burden of making a batsman feel really uncomfortable and closed in.”

Sangakkara, who has taken 11 catches and four stumpings at the World Cup, said the tracks in the Caribbean have helped him to do this.

“It was pretty easy for a wicketkeeper to step up to the stumps and keep to a medium or fast bowler because it was a pretty slow track,” he said. “It doesn’t matter so long as you train with that in mind. You’ve got the helmet and you’ve got the pads, so all you need to do is hone your skills.”