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In face of change, Gilly remains steady

Source: The Australian - February 23, 2006

Should Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist require proof that he is one of the few remaining pillars of a team undergoing a major restructure, he need look no further than his surrounds.

It is just less than three years since Gilchrist and his skipper, Ricky Ponting, led a 15-man squad into Johannesburg to begin a tumultuous, but ultimately triumphant, campaign that netted them the 2003 World Cup.

With the defence of that trophy now squarely in their sights, the Australians have remodelled their one-day team to the extent that just six members of that original World Cup squad returned to South Africa on Monday. Along with Gilchrist and Ponting, the other survivors of that undefeated campaign are Damien Martyn, Brad Hogg, Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee.

All-rounder Shane Watson was in the initial squad but was forced to withdraw with a back injury before the touring party left Australia.

Left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken was called in as a mid-tournament replacement for the injured Jason Gillespie but did not play a match.

As the Australians prepared to launch their six-week tour of South Africa with a 20-over frolic against a barely recognisable Proteas line-up at Wanderers Stadium on Saturday morning (AEDT), Gilchrist reflected on the team's changing face.

With Glenn McGrath out of the limited-overs games and still in doubt for the Test matches and Shane Warne's retirement from the one-day arena ongoing, the picture of life beyond Australia's two bowling lynchpins of the past decade is becoming increasingly clearer.

Gilchrist claimed yesterday that he did not share the dread of many critics who fear that the most recent golden era of Australian cricket will fade into the past along with the inevitable retirement of McGrath and Warne.

"We feel like we're pretty well covered in most positions with bat and ball," Gilchrist said.

"It's a changing of the guard a little bit but we would also still like to think we are picking our best possible team and that's still right up there in the rankings of the world teams.

"The inexperience and enthusiasm (of the new faces) is something that will naturally keep everyone quite buoyant.

"I'm enjoying moving into this phase of my career where I am definitely an older, senior member of the team, which creates the challenge of how you try to convey to the newer guys what the requirements are. That's not just to perform but also just being part of a team like this.

"Everyone has the opportunity now to be a part of the team moving forward, that's the great thing about it. The challenge is there for them to try to take it up."

The new guard has learned the hard way that, after a decade of unsurpassed success, the Australian public's expectations have been raised to such a level that there is little time or scope to ease into new roles.

Even though his batting average has crept steadily higher since being installed as Gilchrist's opening partner, Simon Katich has endured endless criticism based largely on the fact that he does not play in the same style as his explosive batting sidekick.

The fact that 32 matches into his one-day international career, Katich boasts a better record (954 runs at 36.69) than his predecessors Matthew Hayden and Mark Waugh did over the same period has been lost on those calling for Phil Jaques' immediate inclusion.

And, when the reigning world champions lost the opening final of the recent triangular one-day series in Australia to Sri Lanka, it was the failure of the bowlers in McGrath's absence that prompted the most scrutiny.

After Australia's series-clinching win in Brisbane last week, Gilchrist cited the criticism levelled at a number of players, including himself, as a source of motivation for a team that continues to slowly evolve with the next World Cup a year away.

"When we lost that first (VB Series) final in Adelaide, we were getting absolutely hammered by our own crowds (with) serious abuse, so you've got to just put it in perspective and trust what you are doing is right," Gilchrist said. "That's where the collective team outfit falls together and helps each other out."

- ANDREW RAMSEY