I've mentioned it dozens of times already, but one of the major ways I've gotten into this wonderful world of cricket is watching old YouTube videos.
If there's one person, who I just can't get enough of, it's Adam Gilchrist.
Even a few years after his Australian career finished, Gilly can still smash cricket balls around as amazingly as anyone, as evidenced by his 106 off of 55 balls in the IPL the other night.
Adam Gilchrist does seem like everything you want in not just a cricketer, but an athlete in general. Fantastic at what he does, entertaining as fuck to watch, and by many accounts, a great guy.
If you watched old Gilly videos, you might not actually be able to tell which format it actually is. Some of the shots he plays in his World Cup Final 149 look similar to his 2002 Test 204*.
The afformentioned 204 is absolutely wonderful. For him to go on that long hitting shots like that, is....incredible. The guy has a fucking test strike rate of 82(!!!).
The story of Rod Marsh and the first time he ever kept wicket, is golden too.
A couple entries ago, I may have bemoaned the IPL, but as long as Gilly is playing, its got my attention.
He's a beast mate! Gilly was an incredible guy who transformed the way a Wicket Keeper went about his batting. Now you will most Keepers are expected to either be versatile in the batting or an ability to bat with aggression.
ReplyDeleteThe way he could go on hitting with raw power was wild. And then of course his Keeping was pretty solid as well. A reason for his retirement was he felt his reflexes were slowing down at the test level.
Three epic moments (some of which you pointed out):
1 - His century at the WACA in the 2006/07 Ashes series where he hit the 2nd fastest century. Our boys went on to win 5-0 in that Ashes series.
2 - 149 in the final of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Monstrous batting!
3 - His 204* not out against South Africa was special for so many reasons.
He's a legend bro and glad you have recognised the Gillfy X Factor.