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Gilchrist keeps on keeping on

Source: smh.com.au - August 12, 2006

Anyone waiting for Adam Gilchrist to retire might have to wait a bit longer to get their mitts on those gloves.

It's February 2008. The harsh Pakistani sun beats down on Australia's cricketers as they take the field for the first Test, resplendent, as ever, in their baggy green caps. The wicketkeeper charges ahead of his teammates for this eagerly anticipated Test, Australia's first in Pakistan for almost a decade, and scoops the ball from the ground.

But wait a minute. That bloke with the gloves? That's not Brad Haddin. Or Chris Hartley. It's, it's … Adam Gilchrist.

That scene seemed more a fanciful dream than a likely outcome at the end of Australia's tour to Bangladesh. Exhausted after a year of near non-stop cricket, the 34-year-old keeper-batsman headed home to Perth and wondered how much longer he could maintain this pace, this schedule, this life.

In the preceding 12 months, his passport had accrued more stamps than a Riverdance matinee. He could have bought Richard Branson's air fleet just with frequent flyer miles. And if, upon returning home, he wandered to the breakfast table, plonked down the keys and, in a trance-like state, murmured, "Gilchrist, checking out of room 1431," his family would have understood.

Few, then, would have been surprised if Gilchrist had elected to end his Test career after the Ashes, and one-day career after the World Cup - the grandest prizes in Australian cricket. But now, refreshed from a three-month break in which the term "cricket" has seldom passed his lips, Australia's vice-captain has given every indication that he will play on after the World Cup.

"If you had sat me down after Bangladesh and asked me how much time I had left in the game, you probably would have gotten a different answer to now," Gilchrist said. "I'm not keen on making any big statements, but right now I am looking to keep playing.

"I have voiced the opinion that I think there is too much cricket being played at the moment but, after a three-month break, I am dead keen for the summer to start and the Champions Trophy, the Ashes and the World Cup to begin. Beyond that, you never know if your physical game or the skills are still going to be there but, if they are, I can't see why I would stop. The schedule is pretty clear for a while after the World Cup."

Aside from Haddin and Hartley, who could now be forgiven for exploring all Geraint Jones-type avenues, Gilchrist's statement should be cause for cartwheels among cricket followers.

First, his wicketkeeping. Though it probably shouldn't surprise, given that his career has been an exercise in defying convention, the fact that Gilchrist's glovework is at career-best levels at an age when his reflexes should be slowing and his knees wearing is astounding.

Whether standing up to Shane Warne on a Mumbai turner, or backing up to Brett Lee on a Perth tarmac, Gilchrist's eyes, hands and gloves have worked in unison this past year. But it's the endurance, particularly during acute periods of concentrated cricket, that is most astonishing.

Since making his debut in 1999, Gilchrist has not missed a Test. Factor in his heavy batting workload, particularly in the one-day arena, and you begin to wonder why the National Museum hasn't mounted a framed MRI of Gilchrist's cruciate ligaments alongside Phar Lap's heart.

Gilchrist requires 41 more dismissals to usurp Ian Healy at the top of Australia's Test wicketkeeping list - he is currently tied for second with Rod Marsh on 355. Injury permitting, Gilchrist may become the first keeper in history to claim 400 dismissals by next summer, having now announced his intention to play on post-World Cup.

"I will go to my grave saying that my job is to keep wickets," Gilchrist said. "The keeping has been really pleasing lately. There is still plenty of motivation for me to keep playing. I can't see any value in playing just one form of the game, either."

If Gilchrist has shown any signs of mortality in the past 12 months, it has been in his batting. Since Flintoff unveiled his highly effective around-the-wicket, at-the-body line throughout last year's Ashes series, Gilchrist has averaged 26.88; in line with the career marks of Healy and Marsh but well below his own Test average of 48.80.

That has created the odd tremor in the Australian camp, which for years has been spoilt by the presence of a batsman capable of averaging around 50 often with tailenders as company. The criticism has stung, although with time has come perspective.

"I take it as a sort of a compliment now," he said. "I might have fallen short of my own standards with the bat, but I still am doing quite well compared to the other keepers over the course of history. That's not to say that I won't be working hard to get the batting right. My century [144 against Bangladesh in Fatullah] recently was one of my better ones, and has given me a lot of confidence.

"I'm thinking about facing [Flintoff] again the same way I thought of it in the Superseries. I am just really looking forward to getting back out there against the likes of Flintoff and Harmison and enjoying the challenge."

Still, statistics aren't the best measure of Gilchrist's impact on the game. That comes when analysing other sides, most of whom now favour playing a hard-hitting keeper-batsman than a technically correct glovesman. Jones is the latest example, dropped by England for his failures with the bat, despite his keeping improving.

Few players can claim to have redefined their role in this centuries-old game in such a manner.

- ALEX BROWN