The Maverick-Gentleman calls it a day...

Adam Gilchrist, souvenir stump in hand, leaves Test cricket behind

There is only one person in world cricket who can be a called a Maverick as well as a Gentleman. It is none other than Adam Gilchrist who has announced his retirement from International cricket. Though I do not like the Australian team in general, the only exception had to be Gilly. There cannot be anybody who does not like this champion cricketer. There are few cricketers for whom people go miles to watch and Gilly is definitely one of those.




Wicketkeepers were never thought of as matchwinners. They used to be just somebody who caught everything behind the wicket and held their end up with the bat. But the emergence of Gilly changed all that. The world of wicketkeeping was revolutionized. Here was a guy who not only caught everything behind the wicket but came in at no.7 and won matches single handedly with the bat. His batting won Australia many a test match and was feared by most opponents. Though he began his career in the ODIs it was in test matches that his brilliance came to the fore. Just when teams took 5 australian wickets and thought they could run through the side, Gilly would bound to the crease and counter-attack in a way that only he could and the match would be changed in a matter of minutes.


The grip that he used was not a very common one, he held the bat at the very top and was able to produce crisp shots with awesome timing. He was particularly good square of the wicket and the most important thing was that he never ever looked ugly while batting. Steve Waugh gave him the opportunity to open the innings in the ODIs and he did not look back. When Gilly got going at the top of the order it was mostly curtains for the other side. He made 17 test centuries and Australia invariably won most of those matches.Such was the impact that Gilly had on the game.


Though his batting stole the limelight his keeping was not far behind. He rarely dropped any catches but for the last few months and was extremely acrobatic behind the stumps. One often got to see him flying down the leg side to pouch a one-handed stunner. His keeping to Warne on the 4th and 5th days of test-matches deserves special mention. But then his batting was so out of the world that nobody really talked about his keeping.

Another important reason why this cricketer was loved by one and all is the way he played the game. Playing in an Australian team which plays hard and aggressive cricket, with the 'any means to win' attitude, Gilly walked when he nicked a ball without ever waiting for the umpire's decision. His way of coming out to bat and going back after being dismissed were very interesting too. He would definitely be the quickest to reach the middle and the same was true for the walk back too!! His conduct on and off the field made him a wonderful ambassador of cricket around the world.

His retirement is a big blow to Australia who will find that he cannot really be replaced. The world of cricket will miss one of its finest entertainers of all time.

Thanks Gilly!!!

A sample of Gilly's best: