Healy salutes Boucher's new wicketkeeping mark

Mark Boucher felt a bit sad breaking Ian Healy's Test dismissals mark this week, but the former record holder is now excited to see how far South Africa's wicketkeeper can take it. Healy, who held the prize until Wednesday with 395, said Boucher could add another 200 and achieve a tally that might never be passed.

"He has been a great, solid performer who is held in the utmost respect by his team-mates," Healy said in the Courier-Mail. "He has been a great competitor and now it will be interesting to see how far he can take it. That record may never be surpassed if they decrease the amount of Test cricket played."

Healy, who appeared in 119 Tests, had a bottle of champagne ready to give to Boucher, but the record "snuck up on me a bit". Instead he sent a note of congratulations via the umpire Simon Taufel, who is standing in the match in Karachi.

Boucher moved ahead of Healy when he stumped Umar Gul in Pakistan's first innings and had mixed emotions about the achievement. "In a way it's a great feeling, but it is also sad to break such a good keeper's record," he said.

"Ian Healy is someone I used to watch on television as a schoolboy and I used to love the way he kept." While Boucher is only 30, Adam Gilchrist, who is the closest current gloveman with 381 dismissals, is 35 and nearing the end of his wonderful career.