With Australian cricket possibly at the beginning of a historic downturn, this is a good time for a memory from the glory years. When I went to Edgbaston in 2001, it was the second time (of three to date) that I was setting out to follow an entire Ashes series, Test by Test and day by day. But, arriving at the ground, I couldn't help remembering the first occasion in 1997, when by lunch-time on the first day England had Australia in deepest golonkeys at 92 for 8. Having a strong tendency to fear the worst in sport, I was concerned now, four years later, that there should be no repetition. I needn't have worried. England were bowled out on the first day, and though a century partnership for the tenth wicket between Stewart and Caddick boosted England's innings total to 294, Australia comfortably exceeded this with 576, going on to win the match by an innings and 118 runs.
There were three Australian centurions in Australia's only innings: Steve Waugh, Damian Martyn and Adam Gilchrist; and it is the closing stage of Gilchrist's innings that was particularly memorable. Australia had just subsided from the solid prosperity of 500 for 5 to the disappointingly meagre-looking 513 for 9 when Glenn McGrath joined Gilchrist, who still needed seven runs for his hundred. Not at all troubled by the task of getting those few runs, Gilchrist simply laid about him, passing the hundred mark and heading for his 150 at speed, while McGrath enjoyed the spectacle from the other end. The 50 partnership between the two of them came up in 29 minutes, with McGrath's share of these runs being... zero.
Gilchrist, 93 when joined by last man McGrath, reached his hundred in 118 balls by anticipating Caddick's bouncer, stooping and scooping it inventively over the wicket-keeper for four. Then he went into overdrive, upping his boundary tally to 20 fours and five sixes, including 22 runs off Butcher, which equalled the most expensive over in Ashes history. By the time Gilchrist was caught at long-on for 152 off 143 balls, the last wicket had added 63. McGrath's contribution was a single. - Wisden 2002
Adam Gilchrist peppered the crowd and the boundary boards like a left-handed Gilbert Jessop. - Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Men for All Seasons
This was clean hitting at its best by Gilly. He has already scored three great Test hundreds, all made at a run-rate of a run-a-ball or less. In time, I reckon, he will rewrite the history books on keeper/batsman and redefine the role for future generations. - Steve Waugh, Ashes Diary 2001
At Edgbaston, where there have been many fine Test innings over the years, Gilchrist batted as well as anybody ever has done... To describe the aesthetic of the innings is less simple. Gilchrist is not a beautiful stroke player, nor is he merely a bludgeoning slogger. Yes, he hits the ball very hard and very accurately, and he uses his feet to give himself room to have a full swing of the bat. But he is also very correct in defence and blessed with an ability to concentrate for long periods which may well be the legacy of his wicket-keeping... He also has the great advantage of coming in at number seven behind six of the world's best batsmen. - Jonathan Rice, The Fight for the Ashes 2001
Five years and a few months later I was to see another spectacular Gilchrist hundred, at the WACA in Perth. Good days.
[For links to the other posts in this series, see here.]