Gilchrist best since 2000, says Steve Waugh

Sport360 staff 16:39 22/10/2016
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  • Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist celebrate after a Test win in 1999

    Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has selected former teammate Adam Gilchrist as the best cricketer of the 21st century. Waugh and Gilchrist played in a number of international matches together and were crucial members of the team which lifted the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1999.

    Gilchrist is credited for revolutionising the way teams look at the role of a wicket-keeper in the game of cricket. Since his emergence, nearly all international teams have banked on a wicket-keeper’s batting abilities as one of the main criteria for selection.

    In the pre-Gilchrist days, wicket-keepers tended not to be world-class batsmen. We now see modern-day wicket-keepers like MS Dhoni, Quinton de Kock and Joe Buttler, who could get into their respective teams on their batting alone and that is largely down to the impact Gilchrist left on the game.

    When asked about the best cricketer since the turn of the millennium on cricket.com.au’s The Unplayable Podcast, Waugh said: “I think the guy who’s changed the game the most you would have to say is Adam Gilchrist.

    “I was lucky enough to be his captain. He definitely changed how keepers are perceived now and if you do that that means you’ve had a big impact on the game.”

    The Bellingen-born cricketer is widely considered as the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman in the history of the game. In 96 Tests, he scored 5570 runs at an average of 47.60 as well as being involved in 416 dismissals from behind the stumps.

    Gilchrist was as influential in Australia’s dominance in ODIs in the noughties, with 9619 runs to his name at an average of 35.89 and a strike rate of 96.94. He played in three World Cups – 1999, 2003, 2007 – helping Australia win the trophy each time.

    “He’s (Gilchrist) put a lot more pressure on keepers because they’ve got to be great batsmen now so they probably all hate him. To do that is pretty incredible,” Waugh added.

    Coming from one of the most acclaimed cricket captains in recent history, this is a huge compliment for Gilchrist – having beaten the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, etc. to get Waugh’s vote.

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