Adam Gilchrist

He can open an innings and dampen the hopes of the opponents at the very start of the day or he can come like a messiah towards the end of the same and ruin the expectations of the rivals hoping to run away with the game. He is one the best in his game, and having played almost all forms of cricket, he can hardly be set aside as just another player. Adam Craig Gilchrist, a.k.a. Gilly, is one of the best wicket keeper batsman in the cricketing world; and he has an equally impressive record to back his stance on the world stage. Born in New South Wales in Australia, this top notch Australian cricketer made his debut at Faridabad in 1995 against South Africa; and in more ways than one, he has been the force which led the Australian team from being powerful to the overpowering. His philosophy of batting is Just hit the ball, and he does a good job with it, a fact made obvious by his unbeaten innings of 149 against Pakistan at Hobart, his breath taking 57-ball century in Ashes at Perth and the like.

He debuted at a late age of 25 and peaked at around 30. Nevertheless, he is a powerful player and one of the best wicket keeper batsman in business. He is closing on Healy’s record of 395 Test dismissals and already owns the most centuries of anyone to combine both roles. He had been given a major job on his hands during Australia’s tour to India, he was assigned to lead his team a as fill-in captain. Visiting the subcontinent is itself was a cumbersome thing to do and now he had to be the skipper as well. But Gilly was able to come through at the top, leading Australia to the first series win in India for 35 years in 2004-05. Other than being a terrific batsman and a sly wicket-keeper, he always tries to keep the spirits high in the field whenever they are out to bowl.

His appetite for runs can be said to have reduced in the last 2-3 years with a few centuries after long intervals and difficulty in playing a certain shots well. He would definitely like to forget his 2006-07 Ashes series in which he saw 3 single digit scores coming to his name. But his stats speak otherwise; his strike rate still remains as one of the highest in both forms of the game. In One Days he possesses a staggering strike rate of 96.29 and in Tests he has been able to keep it at 82.29.These figures would make even the greats such as Viv-Richards look like amateurs.

Despite the intermittent hiccups, Adam Gilchrist remains one of the best known and powerful players of the present day. He is still capable of demolishing the attack early on in the game. His impeccable sense of timing and ability to find the smallest of gaps between fielders to score a boundary has wowed the crowed many times over.

His ability to keep wickets effectively and bat at the same time has earned him laurels galore. His greatest of all achievements can be considered as the title of “One Day International Player of The Year” for two years running of 2003 and 2004. A devoted family man and a proud father of three, Gilchrist looks forward with utmost awe and excitement at the World Cup 2007 which will probably be his last. He will definitely want to make his mark this one last time, to make sure that his name lives on in the game of cricket.