KEY POINTS:
I'll bet Kumar Sangakkara has never regretted handing in his wicketkeeping gloves.
The Sri Lankan has not looked back since becoming a specialist batsman, and he's a perfect example of the numbers telling the story.
The lefthander's 47 tests while playing as a wicketkeeper-batsman brought a batting average
of 41.24. His 16 tests as a specialist batter before this test have produced a stunning average of 75.29, with three double centuries. Yesterday's hundred will only help.
It's a remarkable statistic and I reckon that, with Australia's Adam Gilchrist, it points to a future when wicketkeepers will be expected to make more substantial contributions with the bat.
Sangakkara was not a great wicketkeeper by any stretch. I suspect he was always a transitional keeper as his country waited for a decent specialist gloveman to come along.
And now he's batting as if he's been let off a leash. What's more, just like Gilchrist, he doesn't mess about.
I played a few tests as a specialist batsman and found it difficult to adjust. Sangakkara clearly hasn't had that problem.
His strike rate is excellent, he's entertaining to watch and he's obviously thriving.
Sangakkara invariably batted high in the order when also keeping. That's not as physically demanding as it might seem.
In pure physical terms, batting in the top four is fine for a keeper. Mentally it is difficult. The body's batteries are recharged by a night's sleep; freshening the mind is the taxing part.
Think of the game's best batsmen right now and Ricky Ponting and Mohammad Yousuf are at the top. Sangakkara is not far behind.
Gilchrist would rate himself first and foremost a wicketkeeper who happens to be a terrific batsman. Sangakkara certainly would not, and to be fair, throughout his career behind the stumps he's had to cope with Muttiah Muralitharan, a most demanding job for a keeper.
In years to come Gilchrist and Sangakkara will be looked upon as the trendsetters. Wicketkeepers who enjoy long careers will be expected to contribute 10, 12 even 14 hundreds over time.
I'd expect Brendon McCullum eventually to be in that category.
Gilchrist, who has lost his best form right now, and Sangakkara are examples of a new breed of batsmen - Ponting is a prime example too - who cannot be contained by bowlers.
They have the game to dictate terms to the bowlers. These are batsmen who will score at a smart clip or they'll be out. Tying them down won't be an option for bowlers.
* I have sympathy for Daniel Vettori's plea for pitches to take spinners into consideration, but I fear it's simply tough luck.
Vettori is unhappy that New Zealand pitches don't encourage spinners to develop their craft. Part of the problem is the climate.
Vettori would be lucky to get more than a handful of overs in a pre-Christmas test, even though he's one of the world's best spinners. The pitches are generally damper and seamer- friendly at that time.
His best success on home pitches has usually come in February-March when they've dried out and will assist the slow bowlers. I know he's had some good days at the Basin Reserve and Eden Park in that latter stage of the season.
But the increasing encroachment of Super 14 rugby into that time slot won't help his chances of getting more opportunities.
Spinners get plenty of work overseas, particularly in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. But Vettori's point that New Zealand spinners need to get more opportunities to hone their art at home is valid.
Unfortunately I doubt the situation is going to improve any time soon.
