'Adam deserves it'

Ian Healy believes the man who takes over the gloves from Adam Gilchrist will need to be a man of dual talents. "Our next wicketkeeper will first have to be as good a keeper as him and then as good a batsman," Healy said soon after Gilchrist equalled his own Australian Test record for most career dismissals. Having caught Zaheer Khan off Brett Lee, Gilchrist's tally rose to 395, the number of dismissals his predecessor Healy ended his career with in 1999.
Healy said he knew his record would be broken but didn't know whether it would be Gilchrist or anyone else. In fact, Mark Boucher broke Healy's record during South Africa's tour of Pakistan earlier this year. Boucher has 404 victims so far and according to Healy, Gilchrist and Boucher share the top wicketkeeping spot on Thursday.
Gilchrist caught the eye first thing in the morning with his pink gloves and black armband -- the first in support of Glenn McGrath's breast cancer foundation, the second as a mark of respect to a close friend who'd been beaten to death with his own cricket bat in a gruesome encounter on Christmas Day. Equalling Healy's record, however, was the most memorable Gilchrist moment.
"He deserves it," Healy said. "He's played an important part in a very successful team and has done it spectacularly more than in a silent way."
"Gilchrist has had an extraordinary career, he hasn't missed a Test. To do what he's done in one-dayers and Tests with bat and with the gloves without getting injured is just amazing," said Healy, who was forced to retire after the selectors dropped him. At that time the decision to replace Healy with Gilchrist was seen as a knee-jerk move. But Healy is proud that his successor has consistently kept the critics at bay.
Talking on Gilchrist's evolution as a keeper, Healy said: "From the time he took over as a one-day wicketkeeper, he matured extremely well until he took gloves in the Tests. He's had no problems with (Shane) Warne and Brett Lee and he's taken some classic, as well as some extraordinary, catches."
Healy refuses to believe that Gilchrist is an old hand at 35 and feels he has a long way to go. "He's not that old. He could go on a lot longer if he wants to."
Gilchrist, who recently reached a record 100 sixes in Tests and, with 401 catches and 53 stumpings, holds the record for the most ODI dismissals, has simultaneously carried out keeping and batting duties with ease. Healy said it took Gilchrist a while to grapple with the dual responsibility but he has shaped up well over the years to become one of the best. "He's become more a wicketkeeper now. In the early years he was finding himself coming in at No. 5 for not many (runs) so he was outstanding to get the team out of trouble."
Even though Gilchrist recently talked about reconsidering his decision to retire, Healy strongly believes it won't affect the side as Warne's departure did. "(Brad) Haddin is going to be a walking replacement for Gilly whenever he decides to go. There's a good group of young kids a yard behind Haddin, like Luke Ronchi (Western Australia), Mathew Wade (Victoria) and Chris Hartley (Queensland)."
For decades the wicketkeeper has been a symbolic presence in the victorious Australian teams and his longevity, Healy says, formed a catalyst in the team's success. "It's a very proud tradition Australians have got that the wicketkeepers are there for long. It's the sign of the strength of Australian cricket and also the sign of the fitness levels and durability of their keepers."