The land down under has produced athletes of thunder (Part 3)
Nevertheless, this was not a defining moment for Adam Gilchrist in the World Cup.
It was an incident that took place in the semi-final. An appeal was made against him by an English bowler and he was given not out by the umpire. Either way, the crowd and the opposing team saw good old Gilly walking towards the pavilion, knowing that he
had in fact edged the ball.
This was when Gilchrist earned enormous respect from players and was praised for his honesty by many. It was a moment that many still remember. Soon, Gilchrist became perhaps the only player to walk off the field. If the wicket keeper thought that he was
out, irrespective of what decision the on field umpires had in store for him, he would quietly leave the crease. His honesty was not appreciated by many, including some of his own teammates. However, Gilchrist continued to stick to his own principles.
Australia by late 2006 had become the toughest team to beat in the world and streamed through the 2007 World Cup without any difficulty. They made it to the final in which Adam became the individual to score the highest score ever in a World Cup final by
thrashing something just short of a hundred and fifty runs in just 105 deliveries. His knock ensured his teammates a successful encounter.
His reliable and furious style of batting made him a cricketer with a record of significant achievements. His winning attitude made him a wicket keeper/batsman who was thriving on individual greatness.
Gilchrist earned numerous awards included the top ODI player award for his country for two consecutive years, He was voted as the World’s most dangerous player amongst a list of great bowlers like Wasim Akram believed, and for good reason too. A magnificent
on side player, who could just flick the ball of his legs out of the stadium, Gilchrist would leave many bowlers baffled. He has smashed the highest number of sixes hit by any individual in Test match history. Gilly on one occasion thrashed a century with
a strike rate of nearly two hundred.
As for his spectacular work behind the stumps, he is up there with legends like Ian Healy, having the highest number of dismissals by a wicket keeper. Adding to his list of personal successes, he had, and still bears a complete monopoly over the number of
centuries scored by a wicket keeper with an unbeaten 17 hundreds in the longest format of the game.
His retirement was announced by him in early 2008. He was a spectacle to watch and a nightmare for the opposing side. One thing is for sure, a large number of players must have taken a deep breath of relief once they had heard the news of Gilly’s retirement.
The nightmare was over for many opening bowlers as one of the most devastating openers in the history of opening batsmen had stepped out of the competition. He made a spectacular exit by scoring one last hundred in his last and final international game -
a dream many players fail to turn into reality. His calibre will always be remembered and discussed for many years to come.
Next in the list was a man from New South Wales, largely known to be simply the most fascinating, naturally gifted, exceptional sports icon in the history of all games. Sir Donald Bradman was a batsman for the Australian international side in the early nineteenth
century. The standard created by him till date is an achievement that no one has been able to meet.
Bradman had played plenty of first-class cricket with a sensational record. In his first-class career, Don created a record of scoring four hundred and sixty odd runs, only using around four hours and seventeen minutes to do so. This was something that had
never been seen before.
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