Adam Gilchrist

arguably the most devastating wicket-keeper batsman,he is doubtlessly the most dangerous batsman 2 hav ever walked on the pitch at no.7..dressed in whites or colors...every bowler dreaded running up frm his mark 2 bowl 2 him...afterall how many batsman hav scored an undefeated century at no.7 only in his 2nd test wen ur team faces a mammothian target of over 370 on a hostile 5th day WACA pitch...is 116/5 and yet wins the test against a pace battery of wasim akram, shoaib akhtar n waqar younis by 4 wickets..??he scored a double century in 216 balls..blasted the lankan attack in the 09 world cup final...single handedly crushed the delhi daredevils in IPL09 semis...etc.etc.etc..add to this...his immense value behind the stumps n u get a package hitherto unknown in the cricket arena..this man finds his name in ny dream-team...he was one of the players who found themselves in the coveted wisden's list of "players of the century"...who "walked" wen he knew he was out..even after the umpire had r uled him not out...dat too in a world cup semis...this man brought an honesty to the game..n more significantly...2 the aussie team..dat at his time was lacking...he became an icon for lesser models like me cuz of his savage batting...but created a place for himself in history cuz of his honesty...i v followed his entire career..n v never found him lacking in upholding the spirit of the game...he was a player par comparison...as teams found out yet again in the recently concluded IPL..sure..he does nt hav as many runs as ponting or sachin..the arrogance of hayden...the records like lara or a technique like dravid...but he made up for all these with the sheer confidence with whch he backed himself up...he was as invaluable as any in the history of the game..and wud hav found a place in ny team at ny gvn time...being a part of three consecutive world cup winning teams is no mean a task...n certainly not..wen u hav played a mercurial part as he did..sure..he had his own weaknesses..as flintoff bothered him wid the "just outside the off stump line frm round the wicket"...but he successfully covered it up by hoisting everythn over midwidket...wat he lacked in technique was made up with aggression...i m nt sure hw many coaches will actually train u 2 build ur batting like his...but m sure that none will ask u to alter it if u alrdy bat like him..2 hav a package like him happens once in a lifetime...n we are lucky enuf 2 witness it all in our generation...sure...great cricketers come in every generation...but there never was...nor will there ever be...another...Adam Craig Gilchrist!!