Does a wicketkeepers fielding skill matter? I think that Wicketkeeping is the only really important skill for a wicketkeeper but I am not sure. My wicketkeeper is strong but the mofo keeps giving up too many byes (some of which are the four run kind that are killers).
No, his fielding skill does not matter. I would imagine his stamina would factor in though. IRL, wicketkeeper is a tiring job, stamina is very important in all positions in battrick IMO. The other good skill to have is batting, but that doesn't affect his w/k performance. Some of the byes you are conceding will be more due to the quality (or lack of) of your bowlers. A wayward bowler is gonna give away byes no matter the skill of the w/k.
Ahh - thanks. My team is built around batters and my pitch is hard and fast which I felt could have something to do with it. He has competent stamina so not sure how much that plays into the equation.
With competent stamina for your w/k, it makes me lean more towards the quality of your bowling attack. If you look at the commentary of your match (ball by ball) you should be able to determine which bowlers are giving away the byes, wides, etc.
Competent concentration - at this point I will caulk it up to my bowlers. I will go through and see who I need to beat this evening.
I've got a WK w/ good fielding and I think I see better defensive play from him as a result. Just a gut feeling though.