The reference is not merely to his talent. Adam Craig Gilchrist is god's gift to Australian cricket and the game of cricket itself
 

When Adam Craig Gilchrist steps onto a cricket field, either as batsman or wicketkeeper, spectators and viewers brace themselves for something spectacular. It could be a scintillating square-cut off a fast bowler that clears the point boundary, it could be a booming sweep off a spin bowler that makes the watcher pity the cricket ball, it could be a one-handed catch down the leg-side that makes the batsman, who is already scanning the fine-leg boundary hoping to add four runs to his score, gape helplessly in horror. Or, as recent evidence suggests, it could be a 'walk' to the pavilion without waiting for the umpire's decision. Whatever Gilchrist does, the cricketing world laps up and applauds.

 The greatest wicketkeeper-batsman in the history of the sport made his first-class debut for New South Wales in Australia's Sheffield Shield Competition in the 1992-93 season. Despite some impressive performances both behind and in front of the stumps, it was a good four years before he got the opportunity to take the next step. Ian Healy, Australia's legendary wicketkeeper who stood in more than a 100 Tests, was not going to yield his place without a fight. Gilchrist first did duty for Australia on Indian soil, in the triangular Titan Cup tournament against the hosts and South Africa. Although his team failed to reach the final, he impressed with his neat glovework in the two games that he got as Healy's replacement. It was a few months later, on the tour of South Africa, that Gilchrist was considered good enough to cement his place as Australia's limited-overs wicketkeeper-batsman. It was not the first, and surely not the last instance of an Australian cricketer being promoted to the top grade only after undergoing the grind of the ultra-competitive domestic cricket in the land for a number of years. By the time Gilchrist made his international debut, he was ready for the big league, physically and mentally.

If his keeping was competent, his batting was sensational. Gilchrist's batting talent prompted the Australian think-tank to promote him to open the innings. It was one of the most inspired decisions in the history of limited-overs cricket. Gilchrist and the elegant assassin Mark Waugh made a dream opening pair in the late 90s. They put many an opposition bowler through the shredder in a fashion that was quite breathtaking, even for supporters of the opposing team! The difference between a 'good' and 'great' cricketer can be judged in terms of the respect and adulation he commands from followers of his opponents, and Gilchrist did not take too long to enter that exclusive club, which in the late 90s was home to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Chris Cairns.

It was after Australia's World Cup win in 1999 and a succession of blazing innings at the top of the order that Healy began to feel the heat. After a series loss in Sri Lanka and a win in a one-off Test in Zimbabwe, Healy was shown the door and Gilchrist his Baggy Green Cap. The rest, as they say, is history.

The first 15 Tests that Gilchrist played produced results. Australia won all of them, in the process establishing a world record for the maximum number of consecutive Test wins - 16. Gilchrist did not merely contribute to this wining streak. He made a tremendous difference to the team with his astounding batting and outstanding catching. His unbeaten 149 against Pakistan at Hobart and unbelievable sixth-wicket stand of 238 with Justin Langer enabled Australia to overhaul a monumental target of 369. It was only his second Test, and Australia's third successive win since the triumph in Zimbabwe. A year later, he stunned the Indians with a swashbuckling 122 in Australia's 'Victory no. 16' and his 15th, at Mumbai. By then, he was Australia's vice- captain, the selectors having elevated him at the expense of Shane Warne, who was under fire for some alleged off-the-field misdemeanours.

At that stage, Gilchrist could have been forgiven for thinking that all the good things had happened to him too soon. He got a rude shock when the Indians ended Australia's winning sequence with amazing wins in the two Tests that followed the Mumbai game. Gilchrist, the hero at Mumbai, became a 'zero' in the next Test at Kolkata, quite literally, as he got a king's pair. This loss of form was only momentary, and he returned to his prolific ways in mid-2001 when the Australians made mincemeat of England for the umpteenth time.

Even as he continued to butcher bowlers the world over, he retained his brilliance behind the stumps. Considering that cricket has always been a batsman's game and the keepers are noticed only when they make mistakes, it was not very surprising that his batting has overshadowed his wicketkeeping. Gilchrist inadvertently pushed his keeping abilities further into the background with his double hundred against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2001-02. He took only 212 balls to complete his double, at that point the fastest-ever in the history of Test cricket.

 The 2003 World Cup will be remembered as much for Australia's total domination, as for Gilchrist's 'walk' in the semi-final against Sri Lanka, after the umpire turning down an uncertain appeal for a catch. But Gilchrist knew the truth, and he walked! Barry Richards, who was doing commentary at the time, was lost for words. He had lost count of the number of times he had narrated the old joke that the only time an Australian 'walked' was when 'his car ran out of petrol'. Thanks to Gilchrist, it was no longer a joke!
 

The reluctance of the Australian selectors to foist extra responsibility on the shoulders of their most valuable player prompted them to appoint Ricky Ponting as Test captain when Steve Waugh called it a day. Gilchrist remained vice-captain, and took over when Ponting broke a thumb on the eve of the tour of India in 2004-05. He led in the first three games of the four-Test series, two of which Australia won to beat India in India for the first time since 1969-70. Ponting returned for the final Test, but was content to let his deputy hog all the limelight, and deservedly so.

Adam Gilchrist is a wonderful advertisement of all that is great about cricket, at a time when the ICC has declared its intent to popularize the game all over the world. They cannot and will not get a better Brand Ambassador should they look for one. A man who plays the game as it ought to be played, and brings a big smile on the faces of every single human being who loves cricket.

As far as this writer is concerned, there is one incident that best encapsulates the man. It happened at Mumbai in the first Test of the 2001 series. The match finished on the third day, the Aussies coasting to a comprehensive ten-wicket win, and in the process, silencing the hordes of Indian supporters in the stadium. There was one section of the crowd however, which was at its vociferous best. These were men and women who had travelled all the way from Australia. They were sitting, or rather, screaming from the North Stand, situated bang opposite the dressing-rooms. They were through with all the shouting and flag-waving and were getting ready to leave, when something unexpected happened. There was Adam Gilchrist, sprinting from sight-screen to sight-screen, from the dressing-rooms at the Garware Pavilion End to the Tata End, going as close as he could to his team's supporters, and acknowledging their cheers with a big smile and a pumped fist.

The cheering continued, only it was much louder this time.
 

- By Devendra Prabhudesai