Without a wicketkeeper? Happening since 1800s
Worcestershire's tactic of ditching the wicketkeeper for an extra fielder is not a novel one - dating back to the early 1800s
09-Jun-2015
Writing for the Guardian, John Ashdown takes a look at the various instances when a wicketkeeper was not used, a list dating back to the early 1800s. Worcestershire ditched the keeper for an extra fielder - at the start of the 16th over, when Northamptonshire required 67 off 30 balls - in their Natwest T20 Blast match recently.
But there have been a few more recent precursors. In a John Player League game at Lord's in 1972 Warwickshire captain MJK Smith posted his wicketkeeper to the boundary for the final ball of a limited-overs game against Middlesex, who needed three runs to win. In 1979 England played a day-night game in Sydney against the West Indies, who ended up, like Middlesex, needing three to win off the final ball. So Mike Brearley, who had been in the Middlesex side denied by Smith's ingenuity seven years earlier, sent wicketkeeper David Bairstow to field as longstop.