Fast, faster and fastest

Did you know? After that jangling semifinal, Gilchrist and his team sat quietly in the dressing room fo...

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Did you know?

After that jangling semifinal, Gilchrist and his team sat quietly in the dressing room for 15 minutes, trying to get their heartbeats back into rhythm. For a moment, a surge of adrenaline gripped Gilchrist again who thought he needed to have a momento for himself — a stump or a ball — to preserve this victory. Then he realised that the ball all along was ensconced in his glove which he hadn’t taken off.

Gilchrist won the International Cricketer of the Year award, voted upon by his fellow players, from the Federation of International Cricketers Association in London on Wednesday. Gilchrist beat Matthew Hayden, Muralitharan and Jaywardene.

Gilchrist is quite simply one of the best one-day players of his generation. He started off his career more as a middle-order batsman, who could keep wickets a bit, at a time when even the Australians were not sure about his filling in the shoes of Ian Healy. However, within 20 matches, the 31-year-old was opening the innings and had made the wicketkeeping position his own.

Gilchrist’s versatility in performing two specialist roles with distinction gives Australia a vital edge over its opponents. Interestingly, the world’s best wicket-keeper batsmen currently are openers in the modern day version of cricket. And Gilchrist stands tall among his tribe that includes Romesh Kaluwitharna, and Andy Flower.

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Along with Hayden or Damien Martyn — with whom he was well on the way to break the record of Don Bradman and John Fingleton for the highest opening wicket stand in Tests — Gilchrist is also capable of deciding the course of the match in the first 15 overs itself. And he is no green horn with the gloves either.

Greatest WC moment

Definitely the 1999 World Cup, Gilchrist reserved his best for the last — the final at Lord’s against Pakistan. Having limited the opposition to just 132 runs, Gilchrist’s cameo knock of 54 was single-handedly responsible to take the game away from a bowling line-up that comprised Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq and Saqlain Mushtaq. The knock grew in significance considering that the rain threat loomed large and none would have preferred the complicated Duckworth and Lewis method to come into play.

HEAD TO HEAD

Australia’s foremost strokeplayer has the potential to destroy the best bowling side in the world. Needless to say, they will all be cautious against him.

INDIA
Against the Indians, Gilchrist has managed a personal best of 92 in the Carlton and United series in 2000. And Kumble’s analysis was the worst among the bowlers — 71 runs conceded in ten overs. The only consolation for Kumble was the wicket of Gilchrist who fell to a mistimed slog sweep.

PAKISTAN
If Pakistan has to get past Australia past the league match, they will have to rely on its pace duo of Akram and Shoaib Akhtar. Out of the 18 times he has been dismissed, ten of those have been accounted by the pair. And Akram enjoys more advantage snaring up Gilchrist six times.

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ZIMBABWE
Gilchrist has not scored much against the Zimbabwe bowlers. And the prime reason for that is Heath Streak who can be very stiffling with his economy average. If Australia does not boycott its match there, Gilchrist will need coach John Buchanan’s help to figure out breaking Streak’s shackles.