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Cited and rested: a tough day for Gilchrist
Source: smh.com.au - January 17, 2006
Australian selectors hope Adam Gilchrist's form trough is exclusively fatigue-related and not the result of the deeper, psychological concerns that dogged him in the Ashes series.
On the same day as Gilchrist was cited for dissent, chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns announced the opening batsman would be rested for Australia's next two limited-overs matches.
Brad Haddin has been called into the Australian one-day squad in his place for the matches against South Africa and Sri Lanka in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.
The decision to rest Gilchrist was unrelated to the dissent charge levelled against him after Australia's tense five-wicket loss to South Africa on Sunday night. He will front the match referee, Jeff Crowe, on his return to the Australian team in Adelaide.
For Gilchrist, these are troubling times. With scores of 3, 8, 0, 13 and 0 in his past five one-day innings - including a first-ball duck against the South Africans on Sunday - the once indomitable force atop Australia's order is lately appearing anything but.
Hohns, for his part, was hopeful that an extended break would help Gilchrist rediscover the kind of hard-hitting form that once struck fear into the hearts of opposition bowling attacks.
"We are as concerned [about his form] as he is," Hohns said yesterday. "He is a player we look to preserve at all costs. He is an absolute matchwinner, and that is something we would like to continue for as long as possible."
Former Test wicketkeepers Ian Healy and Tim Zoehrer both believe Gilchrist's form slump is due to fatigue, with the demands of keeping and opening the batting for the one-day side taking their toll on his 34-year-old frame, particularly after the selectors were overruled in their bid to rest him from the recent one-day tour of New Zealand.
Those around the Australian team must hope Healy and Zoehrer are correct because, if that isn't the case, Australia's greatest keeper-batsman is in serious decline or, at the very least, still struggling to overcome the mental scars inflicted by Andrew Flintoff during the Ashes. Gilchrist has conceded that Flintoff, with his tight and aggressive line from around the wicket, was "having his fun with me" throughout the unsuccessful tour of England.
This prompted Gilchrist to ponder "questions in my own mind about my mindsets and techniques; do I go more attacking, ultra-defensive or stay the same".
- ALEX BROWN