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Gilly will be remembered for the way he played: Warne

— Photo: AP

Lethal combination: Shane Warne, who has had a good association with Adam Gilchrist, feels the wicketkeeper will be remembered for the way he played and conducted himself.

Melbourne: Australian spin great Shane Warne joined the chorus in hailing retiring Adam Gilchrist and feels the departing stumper would be remembered more for the magic he created with his willow than gloves.

“Gilly is the world-record holder for Test dismissals, but he will be remembered for the way he played the game, and, to me, this is the most important thing.

“Not the statistics or averages, but the way he played and conducted himself,” Warne wrote in his column for Herald Sun on Tuesday.

Warne backed Gilchrist decision to call it quits as he felt the timing was perfect for this.

“I’m not sure what Gilly’s plans are now, but I wish him and his family all the best. And for what it’s worth, I reckon the time was right for his retirement. I think he got it spot-on,” Warne said.

Warne while showering encomiums on Gilchrist reiterated that his relations with the wicket-keeper batsman were never strained.

“On his day he could take apart any attack, and his unpredictability is what charmed us all. As men, we did not always see eye to eye, but that does not mean, as I have said before, that we disliked each other. We stood next to each other for eight years and talked about many things.”

While taking a dig at John Buchanan, Warne said the former coach owes the extension of his job to Gilchrist apart from skipper Ricky Ponting.

“When John Buchanan was in charge . . . let me tell you, we needed as much common sense around as we could, because I believe the coach had none.

“Speaking of the ex-coach, he should thank Gilly and the captain Ricky Ponting for an extension of his contract, because they were the only two who wanted him to stay,” Warne wrote.

Warne praised the left-handed batsman for his commitment both on and off the field.

“Gilly is one of those solid citizens and a very good family man who rarely does anything wrong.

“I can only remember him once missing the start of training. Not bad for eight years,” Warne wrote.

In a lighter vein, Warne said the departure of one of the most dangerous batsmen would bring relief for bowlers.

“I’m sure there are some players and bowlers who will think, “Wow, I can relax a bit now that I don’t have to bowl against Gilly.”

“He had an aura about him that helped the Australian cricket team, and his type is what every team in the world is looking for now: a guy who can keep wickets and bat like a specialist batsman,” he said. — PTI

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