Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist has weighed in on the greatest all-rounder debate, challenging Ricky Ponting’s assertion that Jacques Kallis is the best cricketer of all time. While Ponting recently hailed Kallis for his staggering numbers with both bat and ball, Gilchrist believes statistics alone don’t define greatness and instead placed the late Shane Warne at the top of cricket’s all-time elite. “I understand where Ricky is coming from—statistically, the runs, wickets, and catches—but there is more to it than just numbers,” Gilchrist said in an interview with news.com.au. “I personally think Shane Warne is the greatest to have played.”

Ponting had earlier named Kallis as the cricketing GOAT, citing his 13,289 Test runs, 45 centuries, and 292 wickets as unparalleled achievements. However, Gilchrist insisted that Warne’s impact on the game, both as a bowler and a tactician, was unmatched.

“For Warnie to achieve what he did, especially living the way he did and still managing to perform at that level, it shows he was a true champion,” Gilchrist said. “Beyond his bowling, he was also an incredible batsman. He just left way too many runs out there when he played. I don’t even think he knew his own batting talent. When it comes down to pure cricketing genius—batting, bowling, catching, and tactical brilliance—Warnie is No.1 for me.”

Gilchrist’s comments come amid Australia’s dominance in world cricket, which has led to criticism from England supporters. After Australia completed a 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka, England’s Barmy Army accused them of “stat-padding” by selecting weaker opponents to boost their records.

The Barmy Army’s post, “Keep stat-padding, Aussies,” implied that Australia was playing against a Sri Lankan side ranked below them to make their numbers look better. However, Gilchrist was quick to fire back.

“It’ll be interesting to see what excuse they come up with if Australia lifts the Champions Trophy at Lord’s in June,” he quipped. “I bet they will struggle with that one. I absolutely can’t wait for that and the rivalry of the Ashes next year.”

With Australia holding every major bilateral trophy and preparing for another World Test Championship final, Gilchrist believes the team is silencing its critics in the best way possible—by winning.

Away from the international cricketing debates, Gilchrist is also preparing to return to the field for a special charity T20 match in Lismore this weekend. The match is being held to support the region’s recovery from the devastating 2022 floods, which were among the worst natural disasters in Australia’s history.

Set to be played on Saturday, the game will feature a host of cricketing greats, including Dan Christian, Steve O’Keefe, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, and several WBBL and local stars.

Gilchrist, who grew up in Lismore and captained Kadina High School’s cricket team, remains a beloved figure in the region. He admitted that stepping back onto the field is always a nerve-racking experience.

“It’s always nerve-racking to get back out in the middle. Every year, it is tougher to play the game,” Gilchrist said. “You worry about your hamstring going and then facing bowlers, but it’s good fun. That’s what it’s all about—getting back out there with people you’ve traveled the world with and celebrating such a resilient community in the process.”

Former Australian batter Adam Gilchrist hailed star batter Steve Smith on completing 10,000 Test runs, calling him a “master craftsman” and expressing admiration for his journey from a leg spinner to a top-class batter. Smith made history on Wednesday, scoring his 35th Test century and also becoming only the fourth Australia batter to touch the 10,000 run mark in Tests during the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. Reaching the 10,000 Test run mark is a memorable chapter of Smith’s illustrious Test career, which saw him turn into an epitome of determination, grind and consistency, from the days of being rated as a successor to late leg-spinner Shane Warne.

Speaking as quoted by Fox Cricket, Gilchrist expressed wonder at this same journey and hailed the veteran for evolving his game so well.

“I think part of what is so amazing is how it started and how he got into the team at number eight or nine bowling leg spin, when we were still in the hunt for a replacement for Warnie, and (there were questions as to) where he was going to be that option? That is what I find quite stunning about his career, how it started,” Gilchrist said.

“The way he evolved his own game and worked at that, it was completely different to everyone else, and that speaks volumes.”

Gilchrist went on to hail Smith as “one of the greatest” batters for Australia.

“From a mental capacity and the psychology of his batting, I find that the most fascinating to watch. He is a master craftsman and he is one of our greatest,” he concluded.

Smith ended the first day of the Galle Test unbeaten at 104* in 188 balls, with 10 fours and a six, involved in a 195-run partnership with Usman Khawaja (147* in 210 balls, with 10 fours and a six). Earlier, Australia had opted to bat first after winning the toss. Travis Head (57 in 40 balls, with 10 fours and a six) opened the innings with Khawaja and had a 92-run opening stand. Marnus Labuschagne (20 in 50 balls, with two fours) also contributed some runs before Smith and Khawaja joined forces and took Australia to 330/2 at the end of day one.

In 115 Tests and 205 innings, Smith has scored 10,103 runs at an average of 56.44. He has scored 35 centuries and 41 fifties, with the best score of 239.

He is the fourth Australian after Ricky Ponting (13,378), Allan Border (11,174) and Steve Waugh (10,927) to reach the 10,000 run mark and overall 15th player ever.

With 35 Test centuries, Smith has overtaken the likes of Younis Khan (Pakistan), Brian Lara (West Indies), Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) and Sunil Gavaskar (India), who all have 34 Tests each.

In the ongoing ICC World Test Championship, Smith has scored 1,156 runs at an average of 38.53, with four centuries and four fifties in 34 innings. His best score is 140. He is the seventh-highest run-getter so far in the competition and Australia’s top run-getter.

File photo of Rohit Sharma© AFP

Former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed his frustration with the inconsistent batting form of Indian batter Shubman Gill while Australia’s wicketkeeper-batting legend Adam Gilchrist had a witty remark for the stylish cricketer. Vaughan and Gilchrist were speaking on the Club Prairie Fire podcast hosted by them. They assessed performances during the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Gill had a poor series, scoring just 93 runs in five innings at an average of 18.60 with best score of 31. It was a huge downgrade from his Test debut in Australia in 2020-21 BGT, where he made 259 runs in three matches at an average of 51.80 with two fifties, with his iconic knock of 91 during the run chase of 328 at Brisbane being his best score.

Speaking on the podcast, Vaughan said about Gill that though he is “elegant”, he needs to get bigger scores.

“4/10 (Gill’s performance rating), He [Gill] frustrates me. He has got to get bigger scores. He is one that wonderful, the elegant one as how we call him,” he said.

Gilchrist said: “I was gonna give Gill a three maybe but I would give him a 4/10, no player in world cricket have better hair than when they take their helmet off. As soon as that helmet comes off is… it is perfect.”

Since that iconic knock at Brisbane in 2021, Gill’s willow has been silent in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) conditions, having made just 255 runs in eight Tests and 15 innings at an average of 17.00, with best score of 36. He has often failed to capitalise on his steady starts. His overall away numbers are disappointing, with just 649 runs in 13 matches and 24 innings at an average of 29.50, with a century and two fifties to his name and best score of 110.

His numbers at home are way better, having made 1,177 runs in 17 Tests and 31 innings at an average of 42.03, with four centuries and five fifties. His best score is 128.

In 32 Tests, Gill has scored 1,893 runs at a rather underwhelming average of 35.05, with five tons and seven fifties in 59 innings and best score of 128.

File image of Rohit Sharma.© AFP

File image of Australia cricket team in the India vs Australia 2nd Test.© AFP

Former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist has weighed in on Marnus Labuschagne’s recent dip in form, attributing it to challenging conditions and strong opposition rather than technical flaws as per Nine’s Wide World of Sports. Gilchrist emphasized that Labuschagne remains a “class act” despite his current struggles. “I’m sure the people around him are already doing this but he needs to be reminded that he is a class act,” said Gilchrist in a discussion with Nine’s Wide World of Sports,

“He’s got a game that has been able to tolerate and withstand everything that the cricketing world has presented, and he’s dominated for a number of years,” he added.

Gilchrist pointed out that Labuschagne might be overthinking his approach, leading to a more defensive style of play. He noted that this mental shift is common among cricketers facing a rough patch.

“Most players that have played long enough will have been in this situation at some point in time and it’s about not letting any self-doubt creep in and understanding you don’t lose that skill — you don’t lose that edge — [and] certainly not in a short space of time,” Gilchrist explained, as quoted by Nine’s Wide World of Sports.

Drawing from his own experience, Gilchrist offered straightforward advice to Labuschagne.

“Trust your training, get out there, see the ball and play it,” he said.

Labuschagne managed scores of 2 and 3 in the first Test against in Perth, as Australia crashed to a 295-run loss. It was the latest in a long line of lower scores for Labuschagne.

Having accumulated the third-most runs in the WTC 2021-23 cycle, the right-hand batter has managed just 658 runs in 13 Tests in the current cycle. He averages 13.66 across five Tests after his two half-centuries against Pakistan in early January this year.

The second Test, scheduled from December 6 to 10 at the Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under lights. The third Test will take place at The Gabba in Brisbane from December 14 to 18.

The iconic Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will run from December 26 to 30, marking the penultimate match of the series.

The fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, set for January 3 to 7, will bring the series to an exciting conclusion.

Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist said Josh Hazlewood’s comments post a crushing day three’s play for the hosts in the first Test against India have suggested to him that there is a likelihood of divide in the dressing room. In the post-day press conference after day three ended, Hazlewood was asked about how Australia would approach day four. His response to the query was, “You probably have to ask one of the batters that question. I’m sort of relaxing and trying to get a bit of physio and a bit of treatment, and I’m probably looking mostly towards the next Test and what plans we can do against these batters.”

“I guess the batters are just sticking to what they do, their preparation. They’ll have a hit in the morning and talk around plans of what happened in the first innings, how they can negate that and move forward and improve on that.”

During a discussion on day four’s play in the Perth Test, Gilchrist talked about it on Fox Sports and said, “That to me tells me there is potentially a divided change room. I don’t know if there is. I might be reading too much into that.”

He then asked former opener David Warner if there is more to read in Hazlewood’s comments. Warner said, “I think as a senior player you have a duty of care when you’re representing the team to have something the batters want to get across, all the batters are thinking about going out and batting.”

“There’s not a lot of runs in that changeroom at the moment, but to have the support from a senior bowler, those comments probably weren’t warranted. I don’t think there’s a divide in there, you probably see in great teams as well you could come off after a long day and start pointing fingers, but I don’t think there’s a divide.”

But former England skipper Michael Vaughan expressed his surprise over Hazlewood’s remarks. “Publicly, I’ve never heard an Australian come out and divide the camp into batters and bowlers. There’s 11 batters, that will never change, every player has to bat. There’s two days to go in the Test match, it’s a long shot for Australia to get anything out of this game.”

“But to publicly see a player say basically I’m thinking about the next game before this game is finished, I’ve been in many teams and I get it. You do get the batters and you do get the bowlers… but you can see there’s a bit of grumpiness there, but to publicly come out and say that, I have never seen that from an Australian.”

“Any player around the globe, but particularly an Australian… I always look at the small details in every team… the togetherness and the lack of spirit in the outfield, you don’t say that often about Australia.”

Former India player and head coach Ravi Shastri remarked Hazlewood’s comments suggested “mental cracks” have emerged in the Australia camp after being pushed on the backfoot by the visitors’ in the ongoing match at Perth Stadium.

“I don’t think there’s a divide in there, you probably see in great teams as well you could come off after a long day and start pointing fingers, but I don’t think there’s a divide What the Indian dressing room will be thinking when they hear something like that is we know there are some cracks on the pitch.”

“But there are some mental cracks as well in the opposition. Having come to Australia for 30-40 years, I think this is the first time an Indian team is feeling that, ‘you know what, we’re better than the opposition in their own backyard’. I don’t think an Indian team has ever thought that way. Quietly they will be thinking ‘we will have to lose it here’.”

File image of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.© AFP

Ben Duckett in action for England against Pakistan© AFP