Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist was born in 1971 at Bellingen Hospital, in Bellingen, New South Wales. He and his family lived in Dorrigo, Junee and then Deniliquin where, playing for his school, Deniliquin South Public School, he won the Brian Taber Shield (named after New South Wales cricketer Brian Taber). At the age of 13, his parents, Stan and June, moved the family to Lismore where Gilchrist captained the Kadina High School cricket team.[19] Gilchrist was selected for the state under-17 team,[20] and in 1989 he was offered a scholarship by London-based Richmond Cricket Club,[21] a scheme he now supports himself.[21] He moved to Sydney and joined the Gordon Club in Sydney Grade Cricket, later moving to Northern Districts.[22]
He is married to his high school sweetheart Melinda (Mel) Gilchrist (née Sharpe), a dietitian, and they have two sons, Harrison and Archie, and a daughter, Annie Jean. Gilchrist’s personal life became newsworthy early in 2007,[23] as his youngest child was due to be born around the scheduled start of the2007 Cricket World Cup, and this threatened Gilchrist's presence in the early stages of the tournament in March. Archie’s early arrival (in February) meant that Gilchrist was able to declare himself available for the whole competition
Gilchrist was called up for the Australian One Day International (ODI) team in 1996, his debut coming against South Africa at Faridabad on 25 October 1996 as the 129th Australian ODI cap,[2][45][46] after an injury to incumbent Ian Healy.[29] While not particularly impressive with the bat on his debut, scoring 18 before being bowled by Allan Donald, Gilchrist took his first catch as an international wicketkeeper, Hansie Cronje departing for a golden duck from the bowling of Paul Reiffel.[46] He was run out for a duck in his only other ODI on the tour.[20] Healy resumed his place during the 1996–97 season. Gilchrist replaced Healy for the first two ODIs in the1997 Australian tour of South Africa, after Healy was suspended for dissent. When Healy returned Gilchrist maintained his position in the team as a specialist batsman after Mark Waugh sustained a hand injury.[47][48] It was during this series that Gilchrist made his first ODI half-century, with an innings of 77 in Durban.[49] He totalled 127 runs at 31.75 for the series.[20] Gilchrist went on to play in the Texaco Trophy later in 1997 in the 3–0 series loss against England, scoring 53 and 33 in two innings
Gilchrist won a silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, the only time cricket has been in the Commonwealth Games. The matches did not have ODI status, and after winning their first four fixtures, Australia lost the final to South Africa, Gilchrist making 15.[20][61] He then scored 103 and ended with 190 runs at 63.33 as Australia took a rare 3–0 whitewash on Pakistani soil.[20]
Gilchrist was in fine form ahead of the 1999 Cricket World Cup with a productive individual performance in the Carlton & United Series in January and February 1999 against Sri Lanka and England. He finished with 525 runs at a batting average of 43.75 with two centuries—both against Sri Lanka—and a fifty, and a total of 27 dismissals in 12 matches.[62][63] His 131 helped Australia set a new record for a successful run-chase at the SCG,[citation needed] and he followed this with 154 at the MCG, a new Australian record ODI score.[20][citation needed]
The 1999 tour of the West Indies was Australia’s last campaign before the World Cup and continued to prove Gilchrist's ability as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Gilchrist, with a batting average of 28.71 and a strike rate of nearly 90.00, and seven fielding dismissals in a seven-match series which ended 3–3 with one tie
Gilchrist was one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 2002,[199] and Australia's One-day International Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004.[2] He was awarded the Allan Border Medal in 2003,[200] and was the only Australian cricketer currently playing to have been named in "Richie Benaud's Greatest XI" in 2004.[201] He was selected in the ICC World XI for the charity series against theACC Asian XI, 2004–05,[202] was voted as "World's Scariest Batsman" in a poll of international bowlers,[203] and was named as wicket-keeper and opening batsman in Australia's "greatest ever ODIteam."[204] In a poll of over ten thousand people hosted in 2007 by Cricinfo, he was voted the ninth greatest all-rounder of the last one hundred years.[205] A panel of prominent cricket writers selected him in Australia’s all-time best XI for Cricinfo.
you are the best cricketer!
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