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Gilchrist: the best of the best
by Lynn McConnell - November 13, 2003
Every Thursday, Wisden Cricinfo's writers in Australia and New Zealand
supply the Antipodean view on cricket. Here Lynn McConnell argues
that Adam Gilchrist is the best batsman-wicketkeeper there has ever
been.
Adam Gilchrist: 'you
couldn't ask for anything more' |
India have been the latest opponents to find out - although they
probably already knew it given the 1038 runs they have conceded
to him in 25 one-day internationals - that they are in the presence
of the most genuine cricket talent when playing against Adam Gilchrist.
It can now be said that he is the finest batsman-wicketkeeper to
have graced the game. A big call? Perhaps, but the facts speak for
themselves.
There may have been more graceful executioners behind the stumps,
there may have been more agile performers, although it is hard to
see how, and there may have been better wicketkeepers to spinners.
However, the fact of the matter is that there has not been such
a complete package to equal the qualities which Gilchrist brings
to the game.
Given the reputation of Australian wicketkeepers, he has had some
outstanding performers to emulate. Most recently the man he replaced,
Ian Healy, and before that Rod Marsh - a player just as competitive
but without the Gilchrist flourishes. You can go down through the
list of time and talk of players like Wally Grout, Barry Jarman,
Brian Taber and Bert Oldfield - and Don Tallon, whom Don Bradman
included in his Best-Ever XI - but in the long run, Gilchrist heads
them all.
It is the same on the world stage. Alec Stewart may rank behind
Healy and Marsh as the third-most successful keeper in terms of
dismissals, but he isn't even in the hunt. Jeffrey Dujon and Deryck
Murray from West Indies, Alan Knott and Godfrey Evans from England,
Wasim Bari, Rashid Latif and Moin Khan of Pakistan, Adam Parore
and Ian Smith of New Zealand, Syed Kirmani and Kiran More of India,
Mark Boucher, John Waite and Dave Richardson of South Africa, and
Andy Flower of Zimbabwe are all pale in comparison.
The only player who gets anywhere near Gilchrist's Test batting
average of 60.25 is Flower, with 51.54. Among the top ten career
dismissals, Gilchrist is at the moment in tenth place, despite having
played in only 47 matches.
Gilchrist has already scored nine Test centuries - the only wicketkeepers
to have scored more are Stewart (15) and Flower (12). Stewart scored
many of his when not combining the two roles, and because of the
fragile nature of the Zimbabwe side, Flower had many opportunities.
Gilchrist has had to make his mark batting at No. 6 or 7 in a strong
Australian line-up. The facts don't lie - Gilchrist is the greatest.
And that's even before adding the one-day factor into the equation.
He's already on top of the poll there with 65 dismissals, with only
Flower ahead of him in runs scored.
What adds to Gilchrist's portfolio is that he would make the side
as a batsman alone. Few players are capable of dismembering an opposition
attack in the manner that he can. He held the world record for the
fastest Test double-century, until it was beaten by Nathan Astle's
extraordinary innings for New Zealand against England at Christchurch
last year.
But it is Gilchrist's consistency which is his finest asset. Day
in, day out, no-one can ever discount him, and that is the mark
of a great player. The fact he walked against Sri Lanka in the World
Cup doesn't really come into the picture - if he hadn't, he would
still have been an outstanding player. To the cricket purist, however,
that is just another factor in his appeal: here is someone in touch
with the game and its spirit.
Such is the quality of Gilchrist's play that we can only wonder
what changes will have been wrought in the record books by the time
he has finished. One thing is for certain: his future will never
be as anonymous as his most recent Test century, scored in Matthew
Hayden's formidable shadow against Zimbabwe last month at Perth.
In the meantime, fans around the world might as well strap themselves
in and enjoy the ride. With Gilchrist at the helm there will never
be a dull moment. Achiever, entertainer, standard-setter ... you
couldn't ask for anything more.
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