AC Gilchrist of Australia

Full Name:

Adam Craig Gilchrist

DoB:

Sunday, November 14, 1971

Birthplace:

Bellingen

Teams:

WA

Test Debut:

v Pakistan at Brisbane ('Gabba'), 1999

ODI Debut:

v South Africa at Faridabad, 1996

Bats:

LH

Bowls:

n/a (w/k)

Player Record:

link to stats

Wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist has probably done more than any other man to change the way Test cricket is played with his phenomenal feats of fast scoring from the late middle-order.

It's all very well having a strike rate of more than 83, something most batsmen would die for in ODIs never mind Tests, but the amazing thing is that his average of 55.64, prior to the Ashes, compares favourably with almost any batsman in history.

s His high grip gives him leverage with his steely wrist power and he claims to follow a simple philosophy of "just hit the ball". Concealed behind that philosophy is one of the sharpest brains in cricket, a shrewd observer of the flawed techniques of opposition batsmen from behind the stumps.

Gilchrist didn't even make his debut until he was 27 because the great Ian Healy blocked his path. But he gave a glimpse of what was to come with 81, five catches and a stumping on debut.

The Gilchrist legend was really born, however, in his 2nd Test, at Hobart where he blasted 149* as Australia racked up 369-6 in the fourth innings to win.

He is now 33 but still at the peak of his game as his recent prolific performances show. His last four innings prior to the England Tests were 113 against Pakistan at Sydney; and then against New Zealand: 121 at Christchurch, 162 at Wellington, and 60* at Auckland.

His wicket-keeping is often forgotten but he is an efficient keeper who doesn't miss much, even if he is not in the same class as Healy.

The phenomenal Adam Gilchrist is such a pivotal player that, if he has a bad tour, Australia will struggle in the Test matches.

The pressure is on England to get him early in his innings because he can transform a game in a session with an aggressive hundred off a hundred balls.

We didn't see the best of him early in the ODIs and I think that's because he starts a little more slowly now on tours. He's very family-orientated and is starting to question just how much longer he wants to live the cricketing lifestyle.

England got him a number of times by cramping his strokes from around the wicket and he will face similar bowling all summer. What he must do to combat the tactic is to straighten up his game and hit to cover rather than point.

He appeared to be getting to grips with the England tactics in the last ODI of the summer with a brilliant hundred at The Oval and went into the Ashes series full of confidence,

His wicket-keeping gets forgotten because of his dynamic batting, but he barely misses anything, and he's fantastic at cheering the team on and keeping spirits high.