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Resting Gilly to lead cup assault

Source: The Australian - January 19, 2006

As Adam Gilchrist cools his heels and his temper in Perth after the most frustrating summer of his remarkable international career, speculation mounts as to his long-term role as an opening batsman in Australia's one-day team.

But as captain Ricky Ponting has indicated, the limited-overs champions cannot conceivably enter next year's World Cup without the blazing left-hander at the top of the order.

Regardless of his recent one-day failures in which time he has not reached 20 in his past five international innings, Gilchrist remains one of the most potent opening batsmen in the abbreviated game.

A comparative study of his 10 latest one-day innings shows he is the equal of the one-day game's best even though he is 34 years of age and continues to combine batting and wicketkeeping duties in Test, 50-over and now 20-over competitions.

Gilchrist continues to score his runs at the remarkable rate of more than 100 per 100 balls faced. Of his contemporaries, only India opener Virender Sehwag (a strike rate of 113 from his past 10 matches) is scoring at a comparable rate.

West Indian Chris Gayle, Sehwag's opening partner for the World XI in the recent Super Series one-day matches against Australia, scores at a more sedate rate of 93 runs per 100 balls faced.

And former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury, has battled poor form of late and has seen his scoring rate drop to a modest 89.45.

Once regarded alongside Gilchrist as the most damaging opener in the one-day arena, Jayasuriya recently lost his Test place and is trying to retain his limited-overs berth for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

At 36, Jayasuriya's once mighty ball-striking powers seem to have deserted him. In his past 10 matches, the left-hander has just one score in excess of 50.

By contrast, Gilchrist posted centuries against England (at The Oval) and the World XI (a remarkable 103 off 79 balls at Telstra Dome) before his recent run of outs began.

And his ability to carve up new-ball attacks remains vastly superior to that of his two former one-day opening partners Mark Waugh and Matthew Hayden in the twilight of their respective tenures in the Australian team.

Waugh's average of just 23 over his final 10 international innings showed that even his batting powers had become diminished against the seaming, swinging white ball.

Hayden, who still holds out hopes of a recall for next year's World Cup, was scoring consistently before being axed after last year's Ashes tour.

But the rate at which he was scoring, just 73.50 runs per 100 balls faced, convinced selectors to promote Simon Katich to partner Gilchrist at the head of the order.

"Katich has done a pretty good job there in the last half a dozen games that he's played, since the first Super Series game," Ponting said.

"That doesn't surprise anybody, we knew he could do a job there because he's done it for New South Wales in the past."

But the new pairing has been far from an overwhelming success, and, coupled with Gilchrist's lack of productivity of late, it has prompted some critics to suggest it was time for the keeper-batsman to move to a middle-order role.

However, the notion of having Gilchrist in a one-day team and not giving him the opportunity to bat for an entire innings seems absurd in light of his brilliant career record and the whirlwind knock he played against the world's best bowlers at Telstra Dome last October.

Should selectors wish to trial NSW opener Phil Jaques before the World Cup, it would make sense to bat him alongside Gilchrist rather than in place of the West Australian.

"As we've seen, he's been the outstanding one-day domestic player for this season, and probably for the last two seasons in Australia," Ponting said of Jaques.

- ANDREW RAMSEY