Adam Gilchrist Biography

Adam Craig Gilchrist (born 14 November 1971), nicknamed Gilly or Church,[1] is a retired Australian international cricketer.[2] He is an aggressive left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who re-defined the role for the Australian national team. He is considered to be one of the best wicket-keeper-batsmen in the history of the game.[3][4] He holds the world record for the most dismissals by a wicket keeper in One Day International cricket and the most by an Australian in Test cricket.[5][6] His strike rate is amongst the highest in the history of both One-day and Test cricket and he currently holds the record for the second fastest century in Test match cricket.[7] He is the only player to have hit 100 sixes in Test cricket.[8] His 17 Test and 16 ODI centuries are the most by a wicket-keeper.[9][10] He holds the unique record of scoring at least 50 runs in successive World Cup finals (in 1999, 2003 and 2007)[11]and is one of only three players to have won three titles.[12] Gilchrist is renowned for walking when he considers himself to be out, sometimes contrary to the decision of the umpire.[13] He made his first-class debut in 1992, his first One-Day International appearance in 1996 in India (TITAN CUP) and his Test debut in 1999.[2] During his career, he played for Australia in 96 Test matches and over 270 One-day internationals. He was Australia's vice-captain in both forms of the game, captaining the team when regular captains Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting were unavailable.[14][15] He announced his retirement from international cricket on 26 January 2008 (effective in early March 2008), during the final test match of the summer against India at Adelaide, one day after he broke the world record for the most dismissals by a wicket keeper.[16] However, he continues to play cricket for the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition and was recently named the skipper of the side after VVS Laxman was stripped of the captaincy.[17]

Adam Gilchrist