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A Tribute To Adam Gilchrist

Perm

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
http://nz.cricinfo.com/ausvind/content/current/story/333484.html

Adam Gilchrist, one of the most dazzling entertainers that the game of cricket has seen, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Undoubtedly my favourite cricketer, and sportsman, ever. Loved the way he played the game, with so much passion and determination, yet was also one of the most well-spoken, humble and genuine people you will meet. A legend, in all senses of the word.

EDIT: I'm no longer a staff member, but I'll be writing a personal tribute when I get the time.
 

burr

State Vice-Captain
Well done Perm - glad you made it. I'll have to think about my Gilly highlights bf posting more.
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
http://nz.cricinfo.com/ausvind/content/current/story/333484.html

Adam Gilchrist, one of the most dazzling entertainers that the game of cricket has seen, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Undoubtedly my favourite cricketer, and sportsman, ever. Loved the way he played the game, with so much passion and determination, yet was also one of the most well-spoken, humble and genuine people you will meet. A legend, in all senses of the word.

EDIT: I'm no longer a staff member, but I'll be writing a personal tribute when I get the time.

Where did you meet him?
 

ColdSnow

School Boy/Girl Captain
I have never been a big fan of Australian players but Gilchrist (and Lee) are exceptions. Gilly has been one of my faves ever since his dream debut. He could have had a much longer career if only he had been brought in more quicky.

He made a late debut but he did exceptionally well. He revolutionized the position of wicketkeeper-batsmen and I am sure he will be part of any world XI team.

Very sad to see him go. I wish he stayed but all good things should come to an end...good in ya Gilly, you're such a champ.
 

mavric41

State Vice-Captain
I was shocked when the news came through. :blink:

All plaudits to Gilly. A very exciting and talented cricketer who did it his way. And that way changed the face of cricket forever.
 

Flem274*

123/5
Great career ans a great player. He's entertained us all for a long time (if its against us I thouroughly hate him however:dry: ) and has served his country with excellence.
 

Debris

International 12th Man
He was one of those rare players who changed how cricket was played.

A credit to cricket both on and off the field.
 

Laurrz

International Debutant
is also one of my favorite players ... i think it will truly sink in tomorrow

best timer of the ball definately

he was like holding a sword when he bats... and coming in at #7 how many times has he changed the flow of the game? he was one of the reasons for us turning the knife on opponents
 
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Craig

World Traveller
Greatest Test knocks?

For mine (in no order): His first Test ton in Hobart 1999, the then-fastest double ton in Jo'burg and then the next Test in Cape Town was pretty good to watch, of course his century in Mumbai in 2001 was a joy to watch as Australia were 5/99, the first start of a brilliant Test series, and the other I can't forget is his second fastest ton against England, just too bad I was so tired and passed out asleep, man I was pissed when I found out he had done that.

I've obviously missed some more in there.
 

Barney Rubble

International Coach
Wow. Shock to the system. Very sad to see the retirement of a man who genuinely revolutionised his art - a truly, truly great player. As much as he terrorised England over the years, it was great to watch - thanks for the memories, Gilly.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
Wow - passing of an alltime great of the game. Unquestionably the greatest keeper-batsman of all time, and also easily one of the five most valuable cricketers of all time as well, IMO. Absolute legend, and one of my all time favourites players.

I think he's timed this perfectly and am glad he's leaving on his terms, and will get to spend time with his kids and wife now. Glad he got the record (even though Boucher will probably break it). All we need now is for a trademark 100 in even time in this innings.

Might write more when I've had a chance to think about it and digest the news.
 

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Brilliant player, revolutionised the role of the keeper-batsman really. Seems a fitting time to go as well. Thanks for the memories!
 

sideshowtim

Banned
One of my favourite sportsmen ever. Just an absolute legend of the game. He butchered attacks like no other batsman could. He made some captains shove their fielders to the boundary before he'd even faced a ball. He scared the hell out of most bowlers in the world. He performed some magnificent services for this cricket team over the last 10 years and I think we're all just so luck to have seen him play.

Easily the greatest keeper-batsman of all time. It's phenomenal that someone can average 48 batting at number 7. I'll always love you Gilly.
 

Smudge

Hall of Fame Member
Wow - passing of an alltime great of the game.
He's retiring because he's dead? :ph34r:

He wasn't my favourite cricketer, but one couldn't help but be impressed by the way he carried himself and the way he approached the game. The highlights of his ton against England at Perth are something that take my breath away every time I watch them. Which, obviously isn't often, or I'd suffocate.
 

irfan

State Captain
Without sounding like a broken record, Gilchrist was an absolute legend - swashbuckling with the bat, extremely good keeper and without a shadow of a doubt the best there is in combining the two.

Easily my favourite Australian player (Huss comes close), conducted himself wonderfully on the field and very humble off it. Truly a great ambassador to Australian sport with his strong moral values and attitude towards the game.

His legacy will always remain with every country trying to find their own Gilly. It's a futile exercise - there is the just the one, the only Adam Gilchrist.
 

burr

State Vice-Captain
Will be very weird to have an Aus team without him. And I think it will be an enormous blow to Australian test cricket – on a Warne scale. The security he gave the batting @ 7 and the ability to bail the team out of trouble or score quick runs when needed. I remember Tim Lane saying ages ago that he didn’t think Gilchrist would end up with a +50 average b/c of the way he batted for the team and that is how it turned out. He wasn’t my fav in terms of style but he was just the sort of cricketer – as an Australian – you’d think, I’m so glad he’s in my side. I think the one I’ll always remember is his Jo’burg double ton and the Pak Hobart performance. Massive departure, will be sorely missed.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
Will be very weird to have an Aus team without him. And I think it will be an enormous blow to Australian test cricket – on a Warne scale. The security he gave the batting @ 7 and the ability to bail the team out of trouble or score quick runs when needed. I remember Tim Lane saying ages ago that he didn’t think Gilchrist would end up with a +50 average b/c of the way he batted for the team and that is how it turned out. He wasn’t my fav in terms of style but he was just the sort of cricketer – as an Australian – you’d think, I’m so glad he’s in my side. I think the one I’ll always remember is his Jo’burg double ton and the Pak Hobart performance. Massive departure, will be sorely missed.
Strangely enough, I think because of Gilly's timing of this decision, and the quality of Haddin as a replacement, it won't be too much of a blow to the team. Don't get me wrong, Haddin has yet to show anything to suggest he's half the player Gilchrist was, but I think Gilly has been honest enough to say to himself that he's no longer consistently playing at the level he would like to be.

If this sounds like a knock on Gilchrist, it's not. I see his humility, common sense, and honesty in making this call now as just another example of what an exceptional team man, and general sportsman, Gilchrist is.
 

Captain Cricket

State Vice-Captain
Warne, McGrath, Martyn and Langer upset me but this is devastating. A true champion leaving the cricket scene. I wish him luck with whatever he decides to pursue in the future.
 

Burgey

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Had to report on today's play and I put this in the piece (couldn't resist). It prety much sums him up for me:

It was somehow appropriate that one of the game's greatest ever entertainers should announce his retirement on a day where only 260 runs were scored and purists were taken back to a different era. For Gilchrist, as much as any player has embodied the modern cricketer and the current era. Capable of tearing any attack apart, Gilchrist's high grip on the bat and extended, languid swing of the blade was at once mesmerising yet simultaneously terrifying for opposition bowlers, fielders and captains. Richie Benaud says he has never seen a cleaner striker of a cricket ball - Monty Panesar may well agree. Peter Roebuck wrote a few years back that an argument could be made that he was the third greatest cricketer of all time, such has been his influence on the way the game has been played. In any event, we have not seen his like before.

Before Gilchrist, wicket keepers were 'keepers first, and if they could bat so much the better. He changed all that, and it took him all of two test matches to do it. Who could forget Gilchrist's assured debut 81 against Pakistan, at the home ground of his predecessor Ian Healy? An innings which took Gilchrist from Gabba villain at replacing a local legend, to Gabba hero in about two-and-a-half hours. Certainly no keen student of the game will ever forget his century in only his second test, where he and Justin Langer guided Australia to a most unlikely 369 for victory on a cool Hobart day in 1999. These were but two of innumerable memorable innings from the greatest keeper-batsman ever to play the game - a man whose contributions helped take a team which was already world's best to a different level entirely. He was not perhaps the "pure" 'keeper that Healy was, but his glovework was sound and his work to Warne was as tidy as could be expected from anyone. Indeed, so high have Gilchrist's standards been that a few recent blemishes have seemed to stand out all the more. For all the attention to his batting, he has been a wonderful, wonderful wicket keeper for his country.

It is also true that Gilchrist's manner of play sometimes meant he got out in seemingly embarrassing style or didn't handle the moving ball as well as some others, but this was a large part of the Gilchrist charm. There can never have been a more selfless player at the crease. Not for Gilchrist the poring over statistics, individual records or even the slightest care for one's average. Rather, to the end there has been a child-like naivety in his approach - just get out there and give the ball a good old whack. And herein lies the joyous conundrum of trying to analyse his mark on the sport. For in changing the game with his aggression and unbridled skill at number seven, Gilchrist also took us back to a more carefree time. A time when cricket was for the enjoyment, for the love of the exercise - and if you got out, well, you got out. It's an old-world attitude befitting a pre-war English amateur, yet it's refreshing in these modern, professional times. This is the enigma of Gilchrist – in taking cricket forward, he revived memories of its happier, simpler past. The game is richer for his having been here, and his place in its history is assured.
 
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