Sandy Strang: Labour of glove is the secret of success

THE GURU has spoken. Cue the keeper's gospel according to Colin. Following last week's piece on the current Scotland wicketkeeping scramble, legendary ex-Saltires keeper Colin Smith has contacted The Scotsman to offer his own typically trenchant tuppenceworth on the nature of the stumper's art. And it's genuinely iconoclastic stuff. The estimable ex-Aberdeenshire gloveman is also touting another heir to his throne.

"A wicketkeeper", insists Smith, "has long been considered a specialist, much the same as a batsman or bowler. The reality, though, is he's no more than a fielder specialising in a position, just as a gully or a slip is a specialist slot. Sure, the keeper is the most important fielding position, but nonetheless one which in essence requires the same skills as any other fielder. I've always believed a keeper need only have one natural ability - to catch a ball. The rest, such as technique, footwork and fitness, can be acquired with hard work.

"Any decent fielder with a fervour for the position, who can couple that with a feverish work ethic, can make himself into a decent keeper. I was the fittest player in the Scotland team until my last two years when the main focus was just getting on the park. But, even then, the only person outlasting me in the bleep test was another keeper, the equally hard-working Simon Smith."

Colin Smith is highly complimentary about the Saltires' current keeper Gregor Maiden. He said: "I've nothing but admiration for Gregor, who's been given an extraordinary opportunity on the back of others' failures. I hear third hand how hard he's working at his game. But runs are now considered the most important part of the keeper's job. If keeping is seen as a route into the team, then runs are what will keep you from being dropped just as swiftly. Both Gregor - and Omer Hussain, another emergent keeper - have had their moments for Scotland with the bat, and are capable of scoring hundreds. But, if they're going to cement their positions, they'll need to do so quickly because, for me, the elephant in the room is 18-year-old Matthew Cross. 'Crossy' is a quality batsman. As a student at Loughborough University, a UCCE elite squad member in his first year - no mean feat in itself - and contracted to the Nottinghamshire Academy, he currently has a great opportunity to play cricket at a very challenging level."

Only last week Cross made his English County Championship 2nd XI debut against Worcestershire, making an instant impression with a quickfire undefeated 57.

"Barring injury", insists Smith, "he should be keeping for Scotland in the next 12 months." You heard it here first. Smith has spoken.