The Aussie Legend: Adam Gilchrist

Former Australian wicketkeeper-cum-batsman Adam Gilchrist is one of the statesmen of the gentleman’s game. He conducted himself well both on and off the field.

A) Gilchrist was popularly known as Gilly. But he also had another nickname called “Churchy’ probably because of his chirpy nature behind the wicket.

B) Gilchrist was offered scholarship by London-based Richmond Cricket Club when he was just 18 years old and dreaming big of a career in international cricket. And now, he supports this scheme himself.

C) Gilly made his first-class debut with New South Wales in 1992-93, but played purely as a batsman. The team had a first-choice keeper in Phil Emery.

D) When Gilly moved to Western Australia, his selection was in doubt as they had a keeper in former Test player in Tim Zoehrer. However, a century in pre-season trial match saw Gilly edged past Zoehrer to bag the keeper’s slot.

E) Gilly’s first catch as a keeper in international cricket was that of former South African skipper Hansie Cronje off the bowling off Paul Reifel.

F) The first 15 Tests Adam Gilchrist played for Australia resulted in wins for the team. Australia’s 16-match winning streak was stopped by India in the Eden Gardens Test of 2001.

G) Gilly recorded a rare king pair in the Eden Gardens Test of 2001 against India. He was dismissed LBW for golden ducks in both the innings.

H) Gilly is the only player to score three scores of fifty or more in three World Cup finals. He scored 54 against Pakistan in 1999 World Cup final, 57 against India in 2003 World Cup final, and 149 against Sri Lanka in 2007 World Cup final.

I) Gilly has taken a wicket off the first ball he has bowled in IPL. He took the wicket of Harbhajan Singh of Mumbai Indians in 2013 IPL while playing for Kings XI Punjab.

J) Gilchrist was known for walking without waiting for umpire’s verdict. However, his teammates did not agree to his views. Gilchrist even mentioned this in his autobiography. He wrote that he “felt isolated and silently accused of betraying the team. Implicitly I was made to feel selfish, as if I was walking for the sake of my own clean image, thereby making everyone else look dishonest.”