Another of the golden greats has called it a day.
Adam Gilchrist, arguably the best wicketkeeper-batsman to have ever played the game, has announced his retirement from international cricket.
Last year it was the turn of Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Glen McGrath and Inzamam ul Haq, some of the finest players to have ever graced the game, to hang up their boots.
Now, Gilchrist, at the end of the day he created a world record for highest dismissals by a wicket keeper in Test matches, has said the ongoing India-Australia Test at Adelaide is going to be his last and at the end of the forthcoming one-day tri-series involving Australia, Sri Lanka and India, he is going to retire from all forms of the game.
One can quibble over the finer differences between “among the best” and “the best ever”, but when it comes to Gilchrist few would argue that he is indeed “the best ever” wicket keeper batsman the game has ever seen.
When you sit down to select the game’s all-time great playing eleven, among the first names you have to pencil in is Gilchrist at the number seven slot. He is not just the best ever wicket keeper batsman to have played the game, he is quite easily the most destructive batsman to have played Test cricket at the number seven position.
Statistics rarely tell the whole story. But in Gilchrist’s case, over 5500 Test runs at an average close to 50 and 17 magnificent hundreds in 96 Tests tell the story of a batsman who at his best decimated the best bowling attacks and put the fear of God in opposition bowlers. Save one, all his Test hundreds featured, and were often instrumental, in Australian victories.
It is not just the runs he has scored but the manner in which he has scored them sets him apart from others. He scored his Test runs at a faster clip than most accomplished batsmen scored in one-day cricket. Gilchrist's Test strike rate of 81.97 is not just the fastest (by a long way, at that) among all his contemporaries, but is faster than the one-day strike rate of such acknowledged masters as Ricky Ponting or Brian Lara.
Another thing that set him apart from other members of the Australian side was his “gentlemanly conduct”. No one ever said Gilchrist didn't play his cricket hard, but he always played it fair too. One of the genuine "walkers" in the game, Gilchrist was known to walk without bothering to wait for the umpire's reaction, when he thought he had nicked one. At a time when Australian cricketers have been under intense media and public scrutiny for their on and off-field behaviour, Gilchrist has been a shining exception.
He could have walked into any international side, Test or one-day, purely as a specialist batsman.or a wicket keeper. That he performed both the roles with such distinction made him such a standout player in an Australian side that is acknowledged as one of the greatest Test and one-day sides to have ever taken the field.
In a team that has contained some of cricket's all-time greats, opening bat Matt Hayden, the combative Steve Waugh, his stylish twin Mark, the inimitable Ricky Ponting, the legendary Shane Warne and the incomparable Glen McGrath, Gilchrist walked as tall as the tallest of them and held more than his own in that elite company.
Savage with his cutting and driving, Gilchrist's signature shot was, however, the pickup from the leg stump that would be nonchalantly deposited in the square leg region or beyond. Blessed with a phenomenal batspeed, and hand-eye co-ordination, Gilchrist's shot making was a combination of immaculate timing allied with brute power.
It is difficult to recollect, offhand, a forward defensive shot from Gilchrist. The man simply has no defensive bone in his cricketing body. He has been, from the outset, part of a very powerful Aussie side, and played a significant role both behind and in front of the stumps to ensure the continuance of Australian dominance.
Given his naturally attacking style of batting, it is hardly surprising that Gilchrist broke into the Australian one day team before he made it to the Test side. With an astonishing career one-day strike rate of 96, he has made a reputation as one of the game’s hardest hitters. Not surprisingly, he was once voted as “the scariest batsman in one-day cricket”.
Realising his penchant for big-hitting, the Australian team management quickly promoted him to the opening slot in one-dayers where he formed a rather durable and, I dare say, very destructive partnership with the more classically inclined Mark Waugh.
Gilchrist’s entry into Test cricket was delayed because of the presence of the classy Ian Healy in the Australian side. Most purists conceded Healy was the better gloveman of the two. But the plucky Healy was simply no match as a batsman for the devastating Gilchrist. Thus it was only a matter of time before Gilchrist replaced Healy in the Australian Test side.
When he finally broke into the Australian Test squad, he was quick to make an impact. While his glove work was neat, it was his spectacular batting that caught the eye and the imagination of the cricketing public.
In only his second Test, against Pakistan in Hobart in 1999-2000, Gilchrist came in to bat when Australia was precariously placed at 126 for five, chasing an improbable 369 to win. Only Justin Langer remained among the recognised batsmen, and the Pakistan bowling attack boasted of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. No one gave the Australians a ghost of a chance when Gilchrist walked in with his broadsword of a bat.
Over the next 59 overs, he combined with Langer for 238 runs. At the end of an astonishing run chase, Gilchrist remained undefeated on 149, off just 163 deliveries. It was the first of many times that Gilchrist would turn a game on its head
Last year at Perth, he scored a 57-ball Test hundred against the hapless Englishmen. Only Viv Richards has scored a quicker century (in 56 deliveries) in the 128-year-old history of Test cricket. Ever the gentleman, Gilchrist was to later say: "I am glad that the record is still Viv's. He deserves it more than I do."
In a glittering career, Gilchrist's only notable lack of success was in a World Cup final. He had missed out both in 1999 and 2003. Last year against the Sri Lankans, he wasn't to be denied. In a match curtailed because of rain to just 38 overs, Gilchrist scored at a rate that many thought he would get to a double hundred. Eventually he finished with 149, off just 129 deliveries, reducing the final to a completely one-sided contest.
Paying tribute to Gilchrist, Peter Roebuck wrote : "He changed the role of the wicketkeeper, changed the way batting orders were constructed. Previously keepers had been little, cheeky fellows built along the lines of jockeys who advanced their tallies with with idiosyncratic strokes sent into improbable places. By and large they did not alter the course of an innings. Gilchrist was having none of that. Instead he became two cricketers, a dashing and dangerous batsman and a polished gloveman. Throughout his career Australia has been playing with 12 men."
Spare a thought for the man who will be asked to fill Gilly's giant-sized shoes!
Adam Gilchrist, arguably the best wicketkeeper-batsman to have ever played the game, has announced his retirement from international cricket.
Last year it was the turn of Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Glen McGrath and Inzamam ul Haq, some of the finest players to have ever graced the game, to hang up their boots.
Now, Gilchrist, at the end of the day he created a world record for highest dismissals by a wicket keeper in Test matches, has said the ongoing India-Australia Test at Adelaide is going to be his last and at the end of the forthcoming one-day tri-series involving Australia, Sri Lanka and India, he is going to retire from all forms of the game.
One can quibble over the finer differences between “among the best” and “the best ever”, but when it comes to Gilchrist few would argue that he is indeed “the best ever” wicket keeper batsman the game has ever seen.
When you sit down to select the game’s all-time great playing eleven, among the first names you have to pencil in is Gilchrist at the number seven slot. He is not just the best ever wicket keeper batsman to have played the game, he is quite easily the most destructive batsman to have played Test cricket at the number seven position.
Statistics rarely tell the whole story. But in Gilchrist’s case, over 5500 Test runs at an average close to 50 and 17 magnificent hundreds in 96 Tests tell the story of a batsman who at his best decimated the best bowling attacks and put the fear of God in opposition bowlers. Save one, all his Test hundreds featured, and were often instrumental, in Australian victories.
It is not just the runs he has scored but the manner in which he has scored them sets him apart from others. He scored his Test runs at a faster clip than most accomplished batsmen scored in one-day cricket. Gilchrist's Test strike rate of 81.97 is not just the fastest (by a long way, at that) among all his contemporaries, but is faster than the one-day strike rate of such acknowledged masters as Ricky Ponting or Brian Lara.
Another thing that set him apart from other members of the Australian side was his “gentlemanly conduct”. No one ever said Gilchrist didn't play his cricket hard, but he always played it fair too. One of the genuine "walkers" in the game, Gilchrist was known to walk without bothering to wait for the umpire's reaction, when he thought he had nicked one. At a time when Australian cricketers have been under intense media and public scrutiny for their on and off-field behaviour, Gilchrist has been a shining exception.
He could have walked into any international side, Test or one-day, purely as a specialist batsman.or a wicket keeper. That he performed both the roles with such distinction made him such a standout player in an Australian side that is acknowledged as one of the greatest Test and one-day sides to have ever taken the field.
In a team that has contained some of cricket's all-time greats, opening bat Matt Hayden, the combative Steve Waugh, his stylish twin Mark, the inimitable Ricky Ponting, the legendary Shane Warne and the incomparable Glen McGrath, Gilchrist walked as tall as the tallest of them and held more than his own in that elite company.
Savage with his cutting and driving, Gilchrist's signature shot was, however, the pickup from the leg stump that would be nonchalantly deposited in the square leg region or beyond. Blessed with a phenomenal batspeed, and hand-eye co-ordination, Gilchrist's shot making was a combination of immaculate timing allied with brute power.
It is difficult to recollect, offhand, a forward defensive shot from Gilchrist. The man simply has no defensive bone in his cricketing body. He has been, from the outset, part of a very powerful Aussie side, and played a significant role both behind and in front of the stumps to ensure the continuance of Australian dominance.
Given his naturally attacking style of batting, it is hardly surprising that Gilchrist broke into the Australian one day team before he made it to the Test side. With an astonishing career one-day strike rate of 96, he has made a reputation as one of the game’s hardest hitters. Not surprisingly, he was once voted as “the scariest batsman in one-day cricket”.
Realising his penchant for big-hitting, the Australian team management quickly promoted him to the opening slot in one-dayers where he formed a rather durable and, I dare say, very destructive partnership with the more classically inclined Mark Waugh.
Gilchrist’s entry into Test cricket was delayed because of the presence of the classy Ian Healy in the Australian side. Most purists conceded Healy was the better gloveman of the two. But the plucky Healy was simply no match as a batsman for the devastating Gilchrist. Thus it was only a matter of time before Gilchrist replaced Healy in the Australian Test side.
When he finally broke into the Australian Test squad, he was quick to make an impact. While his glove work was neat, it was his spectacular batting that caught the eye and the imagination of the cricketing public.
In only his second Test, against Pakistan in Hobart in 1999-2000, Gilchrist came in to bat when Australia was precariously placed at 126 for five, chasing an improbable 369 to win. Only Justin Langer remained among the recognised batsmen, and the Pakistan bowling attack boasted of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. No one gave the Australians a ghost of a chance when Gilchrist walked in with his broadsword of a bat.
Over the next 59 overs, he combined with Langer for 238 runs. At the end of an astonishing run chase, Gilchrist remained undefeated on 149, off just 163 deliveries. It was the first of many times that Gilchrist would turn a game on its head
Last year at Perth, he scored a 57-ball Test hundred against the hapless Englishmen. Only Viv Richards has scored a quicker century (in 56 deliveries) in the 128-year-old history of Test cricket. Ever the gentleman, Gilchrist was to later say: "I am glad that the record is still Viv's. He deserves it more than I do."
In a glittering career, Gilchrist's only notable lack of success was in a World Cup final. He had missed out both in 1999 and 2003. Last year against the Sri Lankans, he wasn't to be denied. In a match curtailed because of rain to just 38 overs, Gilchrist scored at a rate that many thought he would get to a double hundred. Eventually he finished with 149, off just 129 deliveries, reducing the final to a completely one-sided contest.
Paying tribute to Gilchrist, Peter Roebuck wrote : "He changed the role of the wicketkeeper, changed the way batting orders were constructed. Previously keepers had been little, cheeky fellows built along the lines of jockeys who advanced their tallies with with idiosyncratic strokes sent into improbable places. By and large they did not alter the course of an innings. Gilchrist was having none of that. Instead he became two cricketers, a dashing and dangerous batsman and a polished gloveman. Throughout his career Australia has been playing with 12 men."
Spare a thought for the man who will be asked to fill Gilly's giant-sized shoes!
1 comment:
There's one thing i always hated while reading the newspaper. I need to hunt for articles/opinions! But now i guess i don't need to any more! I have one place where i can find a good lazy-sunday-afternoon readout!
Post a Comment