12 Facts about Adam Gilchrist: The Legendary Wicket-Keeper Batsman

12 Facts about Adam Gilchrist: The Legendary Wicket-Keeper Batsman: Tearing apart bowling attacks was simply a pass time hobby for Adam Gilchrist. Voted ‘World’s Scariest Batsman’ by international bowlers.

Let’s take a look at 12 Facts about Adam Gilchrist: The Legendary Wicket-Keeper Batsman:

1. Birth

Adam Gilchrist, fondly known as ‘Gilly’ was born in Bellingen, New South Wales, Australia on the 14th of November, 1971.

2. Early career

Adam Gilchrist and his family lived in Deniliquin, where he played for Deniliquin South Public School, and won the prestigious Brian Taber Shield (named after the famous New South Wales cricketer Brian Taber). After moving later on to Lismore, Gilchrist captained the Kadina High School cricket team. Following his brilliant performances at the Inter-School level, he was selected for the state under-17 team. Also during that time he was offered a sports scholarship by Richmond Cricket Club of London

3. First class debut

Adam Gilchrist was selected for his First Class debut with New South Wales in the 1992-93 season after his great batting performances representing the state Colts. Although he was a specialist wicketkeeper-batsman, he played for New South Wales only as a pure batsman, and averaged at 30.44 runs with a 75 being his highest of his scores during the tournament. In his first season itself at NSW, Gilly won the prestigious Sheffield Shield. At that time, New South Wales were a strong outfit and getting a permanent first team place was not guaranteed. Hence, in a bid to gain more number of opportunities to showcase his talent, Adam Gilchrist joined Western Australia at the start of the 1994-95 season. He shined in his first season there too at Western Australia, bagging 55 first-class dismissals, the most by any Australian wicket-keeper in a season.

4. International debut

Adam Gilchirst received his first international call up for the ODI team in 1996 after a successful domestic season in the previous year. Adam Gilchrist was awarded the 129^th Australian ODI cap and played his first match representing Australia against South Africa at Faridabad on the 25^th of October, 1996.

5. First World Cup (England 1999)

Fine form in the Carlton and United Series in early 1999 sealed Adam Glichrist’s spot for 1999 World Cup in the United Kingdom. He played every match of the World Cup for Australia, but suffered a poor string of performances averaging 6 in his first three games. Although a quick-fire 63 of 39 balls against Bangladesh in the final group stage match helped Australia seal a Super Six berth.

Adam Gilchrist had a poor outing in the 1999 World Cup averaging only about 21.54, with the highlight of the performances being a 54 in the final against Pakistan at Lord’s, which helped Australia clinch the title after an 8 wicket victory in the finals.

6. Test Debut

Adam Gilchrist made his test debut for Australia in November 1999, being the 381^st player to represent Australia in the test format of the game. A rapid 81 and 5 catches during the test match were the highlights of his Test debut.

7. First Ashes (2001)

It was during the 2001 Ashes that Adam Gilchrist truly rose to fame showing the world his true talent and mettle. He was in red-hot form in the tournaments prior to the Ashes, and he went on to carry forward this form, scoring 340 runs and averaging 68 throughout the tournament. Australia went on to win the series 4-1. An injury to Steve Waugh saw him captain the Australian side in the fourth test at Headingley.

8. The 2003 and 2007 ICC World Cups

Both the World Cups were highly successful for Adam Gilchrist, where time and again he proved his batting prowess. An impressive average of 40.80 runs in the 2003 World Cup, accompanied with 21 dismissals in the tournament made him the most successful wicketkeeper-batsman of the tournament. A consistent string of batting performances by him were crucial in the 2007 World Cup, which helped Australia win the World Cup for the third straight time.

9. Decline in Form and Resurgence

Although Adam Gilchrist was predominantly consistent in the ODI format of the game, he slumped to form in the Test format mainly during the 2004-05 season. This duration was the lowest recorded average in Gilchrist’s entire career, where he scored 253 runs in 11 innings at an average of 28.11.

Although there were signs of his resurgence in form, Gilchrist was highly inconsistent till 2005-06, where there were a few good knocks amidst many failures in the runs department

10. Retirement

Adam Gilchrist announced his retirement on the 26^th of January 2008, in the 2007-08 series against India. A back injury to Ricky Ponting during the test match allowed Gilchrist to captain the Australian side on the final two days of his international career, thus concluding an inspirational career. Post retirement Adam Gilchrist participated in the IPL leading the Deccan Chargers to their maiden IPL title in 2009.

11. Individual Honours and Achievements

Adam Gilchrist won the award for Australia’s ODI Player of the Year In 2003 as well as 2004. He was named in Richie Benaud’s Greatest XI as well as awarded the Allan Border Medal in 2003.

Adam Gilchrist was inducted into the Sport Australia’s Hall of Fame in 2012 and subsequently inducted by the ICC’s prestigious Hall Of Fame in 2013.

12. Life outside of Cricket

Adam Gilchrist had an amazing personality, both on and off the field. He’s the ambassador for World Vision in India, and also is the chairperson of National Australia Day Council since 2008. Adam Gilchrist is also the ambassador for Amway Australia, and has participated in several charity events, donating 20,000$ towards kids with disabilities.