Australia has a history of producing cricketing greats like DON BRADMAN, STEVE WAUGH, SHANE WARNE......the list is endless. For me, Adam Gilchrist tops the list. Such a great player I have not seen and...maybe won’t ever. I’m saying this because he has had a variety of roles to play; that of a batsman, wicketkeeper, captain.... and he’s performed superbly. He has risen to almost every occasion admirably and for me, he is the heart of AUSTRALIA.
Gilly’s arrival turned powerful OZ to overpowering. He smashed 81 on test debut, took 5 catches and a stumping, definitely a dream debut! There’s been no stopping him since, we’ve only seen him get better and better. One of my favourite Gilly innings was the 204 he scored against South Africa, Johannesburg. ’Just hit the ball’, is how he describes his philosophy on batting. He is a dedicated family man, a newspaper columnist and is the proud father of Harrison and Jean Anne. His 2003 world cup diary ’WALKING TO VICTORY’ was brilliant.
On-field, Gilly boasts of an excellent batting average, both in tests and ODIs, far ahead of the other keepers in the history of cricket. In batting, he averages 36.2 in one-dayers and a brilliant 50.18 in tests. He has scored 29 hundreds in both the forms of cricket, which is commendable for any cricketer. His strike rate is fast and furious; 94.35 in onedayers and almost 83 in tests. His total run tally comes to almost 5000 runs in tests and more than 8000 in ODIs.
He is also the most enthusiastic and entertaining wicketkeeper I have ever seen and a large number of his catches have been spectacular. He has dropped a few sitters in his time, he has made up by taking ’uncatchable’ ones. He has 646 catches and 75 stumpings in his pocket, which speaks a lot more than words can ever describe his wicketkeeping prowess.
Watching him play, you’d hardly guess he’s 34...I’d not call him a day over 28.. He had a bad run [rare occasion] in the Ashes, which only provided him incentive to perform well in the future, he says. He has never cared about his average, only about Australia’s scoreboard. His coming in at number 7 for OZ in tests has been a BIG blessing. The dashing left-hander shares a great rapport with the tail-enders, and manages to bring the OZ scoreboard to a good score, almost always.
The Australian vice-captain also shows a rare sense of fair play and sportsmanship. In the 2003 world cup semifinal, his walking on being given not-out, started a debate as to whether sportsmanship still exists.. He is one of the few guys today not involved in any controversy. His honesty, exuberance, positive attitude and talent brings a new light to the term ’SPORTSMAN’.