Going in first or seventh, wearing whites or coloureds, Adam Gilchrist is the symbolic heart of Australia’s steamrolling agenda and the most exhilarating cricketer of the modern age. He is simultaneously a cheerful throwback to more innocent times, a flap-eared country boy who has walked when given not out in a World Cup semi-final, and swatted his second ball for six while sitting on a Test pair. "Just hit the ball," is how he once described his philosophy on batting, and he seldom strays from it. Employing a high-on-the-handle grip, he pokes good balls into gaps and throttles all others, invariably with head straight, wrists soft and balance sublime. Only at the death does he jettison the textbook, whirling his bat like a hammer-thrower, caring only for the scoreboard and never his average. Still he manages 15 runs per innings more than any other keeper in history, at a tempo - 82 per 100 balls in Tests, 94 in one-dayers - that makes Viv Richards and Gilbert Jessop look like stick-in-the-muds. When he signed a record A$2million sponsorship deal with Puma last year, though Cheetah might have been more apt, few people questioned his value for money. Indeed it was arguably Gilchrist’s belated Test arrival that turned the present Australian XI from powerful to overpowering. He bludgeoned 81 on debut, pouched five catches and a stumping, and has barely paused for breath since. In Tests, two Gilchrist innings rank among the most amazing by Australians: his death-defying unbeaten 149 against Pakistan at Hobart when all seemed lost, and his savage and emotional 204 not out against South Africa at Johannesburg. In one-dayers, his 172 is one short of Mark Waugh’s Australian record and his overall number of one-day career dismissals might take decades to top. A family man and dedicated newspaper columnist, his 2003 World Cup diary - Walking To Victory - was miles superior to Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath’s meat-and-three-veg versions. As Australia’s 41st Test captain he found the extra burden tiring, and was happy for Ricky Ponting to step in. But as Ponting's fill-in he crossed the final frontier, leading Australia to their first series win in India for 35 years. As a wicketkeeper he lacks Rod Marsh’s acrobatics and Ian Healy’s finesse, and he probably peaked at 30 in 2002. But if he clutches few screamers he drops even fewer sitters. Eventually his jangling knees might tempt him to give up the gloves and move up the order as a specialist batsman - he owns the most centuries of anyone to combine both roles. But tomorrow can wait.

*Responsible for:
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<a href="http://fumbbl.com/FUMBBL.php?page=player&op=view&player_id=1196687">Tree Shadow - Hidden Dangers - RIP</a>