Adam Craig Gilchrist (born 14 November 1971), nicknamed Gilly or Church,is a retired Australian international cricketer. 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.
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. 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. He is the only player to have hit 100 sixes in Test cricket. His 17 Test and 16 ODI centuries are the most by a wicket-keeper. He holds the unique record of scoring at least 50 runs in successive World Cup finals (in 1999, 2003 and 2007)and is one of only three players to have won three titles.
Gilchrist is renowned for walking when he considers himself to be out, sometimes contrary to the decision of the umpire.
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. 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.
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. However, he continues to play cricket in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition.
Early and personal life
Adam Gilchrist was born in 1971 at Bellingen Hospital, in Bellingen, New South Wales. He and his family lived in Dorrigo, Junee and then Deniliquin where, playing for his school, Deniliquin South Public School, he won the Brian Taber Shield (named after New South Wales cricketer Brian Taber). At the age of 13, his parents, Stan and June, moved the family to Lismore where Gilchrist captained the Kadina High School cricket team. In 1989 Gilchrist was offered a scholarship by London-based Richmond Cricket Club, a scheme he now supports himself.
He is married to his high school sweetheart Melinda (Mel) Gilchrist (née Sharpe), a dietitian, and they have two sons, Harrison and Archie, and a daughter, Annie Jean. Gilchrist’s personal life became newsworthy early in 2007, as his youngest child was due to be born around the scheduled start of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, and this threatened Gilchrist's presence in the early stages of the tournament in March. Archie’s early arrival (in February) meant that Gilchrist was able to declare himself available for the whole competition.
Outside cricket, Gilchrist is an ambassador for the charity World Vision in India, a country in which he is popular due to his cricketing achievements.In 2006 Gilchrist sponsored Mangesh Rathod, an underprivileged child from Andheri, Mumbai who had lost his father to tuberculosis. Mangesh's mother works as a house-maid for a paltry salary of Rs 500 per month. Gilchrist bears his cost of education. He was approached in early 2005 by the US baseball franchise, the Boston Red Sox, with a view to him playing for them when his cricket career ended. However, he was selected for the 2007 Cricket World Cup and announced his retirement from Test and One-Day cricket in early 2008
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