Don't go Gilly!

Arguably the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the history of the game – Adam Gilchrist announced his retirement from all forms of cricket during the final test match in the ongoing test series between Australia & India. He had been under a bit of pressure from media under recent times with a barrage of dropped catches and missed stumpings. But his decision stunned us all. Just a couple of days back he said he wanted to play for one more year. What really happened is a mystery – Gilchrist has not spoken on it. He intends to do so after the finish of the ongoing match.

Victim of his own standards?

He has been a victim of his own high standards. And as former Australian player Ian Healy said, “You’re only judged on your mistakes. He could have a perfect game and catch everything that comes his way, and everyone says, ‘You’re expected to do that’. He’s got to somehow take some speccy catches so that people notice him in a positive sense – so it’s a hard thing to do.“

Instinctive & non-traditional player

There have been and will be batsman who plunder runs and bowlers who take wickets but what makes Adam Gilchrist different from many others who play cricket is the fact that he changed the way game is played. He has redefined the role of a wicketkeeper-batsman with his swashbuckling style and candor. Players like Gilchrist, Jayasuriya, Crowe, Viv Richards, Slater (and Sehwag if I may add) have defied tradition to set new benchmarks. People like him have made the game of cricket more richer (and popular) than ever.

Gilchrist has always been a instinctive player as opposite to being a thoughtful one like maybe Healy. But it is his audacity with the bat and clean work behind the stumps that made him so popular. He was a walker and famously walked in the semifinals of the WC 2003 against SriLanka even after being given not out.

As a tribute to this fantastic cricketer and a very fine human being below is an excerpt from his book WALKING TO VICTORY where he describes his emotions on that particular day:

“I was going well on 22 off 19 balls, seeing it like a football, when he (Aravinda D’Silva) came in for the second ball of his first over. He pitched it up and I went for an aggressive sweep, trying to hit it behind square leg. I got a thick, loud bottom edge. It bounced off my pad and I had no idea where it went.

“Catch it! Catch it!” I heard. I stood and turned to see that [Kumar] Sangakkara had it. I knew I was done. It was so obvious.

Then, to see the umpire shaking his head, meaning, “Not out”, gave me the strangest feeling. I don’t recall what my exact thoughts were, but somewhere in the back of my mind, all that history from the Ashes series was swirling around. Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain and other batsmen, both in my team and against us, who had stood their ground in those “close” catching incidents were definitely a factor in what happened in the following seconds. I had spent all summer wondering if it was possible to take ownership of these incidents and still be successful. I had wondered what I would do. I was about to find out.

The voice in my head was emphatic.

Go.

Walk.

And I did.

It was a really weird sensation to go against the grain of what 99 per cent of cricketers do these days, and what we’ve been doing for our whole careers. I was annoyed because I felt like I was batting well and had the chance to lay the foundation for a big team score – and it was me taking that away from myself.”

Go on Gilly, may you have a great life ahead with your family. We’ll miss you!

Image Credits: Wikipedia