Let the record show - I hate the Australian cricket team. Not because they've beaten everyone black and blue over the last 11 years. Not because they've pummeled every comer who has tried to steal their crown. That's their job. There's just one reason for the hatred - they've started reflecting their ancestors too much, the original settlers on the island of Australia. Especially that upstart-turned-mafia-boss captain of theirs, Ricardo Ponting. Yes, he's been Bradmanesque over the last 6 years or so with his batting... Yes, he's the undisputed leader of a team of champions, but to call his off the field demeanour 'loathsome' would be a compliment.
Quite the contrary is the man who, while Ponting was figuring out his off-stump from his leg, was drafted into the national side to take the place of Ian Healy, the then leading wicketkeeper of all time. Not only did he surpass his predecessor, he set the benchmark for wicketkeeper-batsmen for posterity. And he didn't have to open his mouth to do so...
149 off 104 balls in the ongoing World Cup Final in Barbados bears testimony to the man who, in this Ponting-Graeme Smith generation of cricketers, is one of the few 'gentlemen' still around - one who threatened to stage a coup by 'walking' when HE felt he was out, in a world where batsman with clear edges stand their ground and shake their heads. The man who at 35 years of age flies about trying to pouch catches which people 10 years his juniors would be proud to take.
Sometimes, he gets overshadowed by the 'flair' guys in his team - Warnie being a case in point. Thats because he keeps his mouth shut. In modern cricket thats a rarity. Then he comes out to bat and scores test cricket's fastest double hundred. Talk about flair...
Tonight's Final is looking like another Aussie triumph - 281/4 at the end of their innings; whether Jayasuriya fires or not will be the key for Sri Lanka.
But regardless of the outcome, ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner already. Raise a toast to him - his name is Adam Craig Gilchrist.
