Just recently there has been speculation in the Australian newspapers about how long the Aussie wicket keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist will continue playing. The general consensus of opinion is that he will give away One Day Internationals and only play Test cricket for a while. This got me thinking about Sanath Jayasuriya and what he might have in mind for his future. What an incredible servant of Sri Lankan cricket he has been. Like Gilchrist he has played a brand of cricket that has captivated all of us. Commentators like everyone else love a snack or coffee, some even have a drink at some stage during a days play. We all need to visit the toilet from time to time but never when Gilchrist or Jayasuriya is batting.
Impeccable behaviour
These two brilliant attacking batsmen have delighted crowds all over the world with their crisp stroke play and it’s sad to think that someday relatively soon they will move on.
Apart from their terrific batting they have both also played crucial roles in the field — Gilchrist with the gloves and Jayasuriya with the ball. Put simply they are both splendid all-rounders.
What I also love about these two fantastic players is the impeccable way they have behaved. They are two of the nicest guys playing the game and set the sort of example we want sportsmen to set for our children.
Walker
Gilchrist has actually gone one step further. The umpires are being made fools of by the modern technology being used to cover the game for television. This is happening despite the fact that the umpires these days are every bit as good and almost certainly better that their predecessors. You would have thought that players would have been eager to help the umpires, who like the players, are also trying their level best to do a good job. After all, these days there is plenty of talk about the importance of the spirit of cricket. Gilchrist is different because unlike the rest of the Australian team, and for that matter most of the top players in the world, he is a walker. In other words if he thinks he is out he doesn’t hang around waiting for the umpire to tell him so - he just walks. Imagine how much easier it would be to umpire if there were more Gilchrists around.
For me, it’s been an absolute pleasure, to sit in the commentary boxes around the world, watching these two great players play the game. If I were asked to pick my best ever one day team the names of Adam Gilchrist and Sanath Jayasuriya would be pencilled in first.
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