The SquizLog

Not Long Now, Mr Gilly

"Gilly, Gilly, Gilly", shouts an adoring fan in pursuit. Gilchrist escapes to the safety of a taxi, hoping for a quick getaway. But the slumbering driver informs him that they must wait for the engine to warm up! Meanwhile a throng of adoring fans swarm around the taxi.

"Not long now, Mr Gilly", the taxi driver reassures his famous passenger.

In case you haven't seen it, the above is from a television advertisement featuring Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist on the sub-continent. It not only reflects his popularity but also his batting style. He bats in a hurry, too.

Last night I had the privilege to watch Gilchrist turn the Second Test against Sri Lanka on its head. Before Gilchrist came into bat, the match had been dominated to a large degree by the home town favourite, Muttiah Muralitharan (who followed up his four wickets with a dashing 43 runs at number eleven). Oh, and Shane Warne had picked up five wickets too.

Shortly after Gilchrist had arrived at the crease, Australia were in trouble in their second innings at 2 for 26, still 65 runs in arrears. Batting at first drop, in place of his injured captain, the left-hander proceeded to maul the Sri Lankan bowling with cleanly struck drives, cuts and sweeps. He is such an exciting presence at the crease. In contrast to his Western Australian batting partner, Damien Martyn who was playing some exquisitely timed drives through cover of the back foot, Gilchrist wasn't just timing the ball. He was murdering it!

And given the fact that he had scored just four runs in his previous three Test innnings, an observer could have been forgiven for thinking that Gilchrist would pay Murali more respect. Not a bit of it. One shot in particular stands out in my memory. Gilchrist advanced down the wicket to another testing Muralitharan delivery. Was it the off-break? Or perhaps the doosra? The answer was inconsequential as Gilchrist struck the ball cleanly and effortlessly way over the long-on boundary into the top deck of the grandstand.

By the time bad light forced a premature end to the second day's play at Kandy, Australia was in a commanding position at 2 for 221. With three days play remaining it is hard to imagine the Aussies letting the home side slip from their grasp.

As I write this, Gilchrist will most likely be enjoying a deep sleep, dreaming of resuming his innings on 140 not out. Perhaps with visions of his taxi driver telling him, "Not long now, Mr Gilly".

Posted to Australia, Cricket, People, Personal by Keith Pitty