Adam Gilchrist is one of the modern day cricket's greatest exponents. Be it his excellent glovework or the breathtaking pace with which he collected runs, Gilly has enriched the game with several memorable performances. However, one of such moments was quite Un-Australian, as few would say. Walking, after being legitimately dismissed, is something that you won't associate with an Australian batsman but Gilchrist took it upon himself to disprove the myth. That particular incident, while not going down well with few of his team-mates, enhanced his reputation by several notches in the heart of a common cricket lover. And not just because of its nature, but also because of the fact that it came on cricket's biggest stage - the semifinal of the 2003 ICC World Cup in South Africa.
Australia were batting first against Sri Lanka. Gilchrist along with fellow opener Matthew Hayden was tasked with providing a sound start to the innings. Chaminda Vaas began a testing first over, not letting easy runs on a Port Elizabeth pitch where batting was not an easy task. Gilchrist played and missed some from the Lankan left-arm medium pacer but found his groove back against Pulasthi Gunaratne, whom he hit for a four and a six, in the second over.
Soon the scorecard read 34/0 after five overs and it was then when captain Sanath Jayasuriya introduced Aravinda de Silva into the attack. Gilly was batting on 21 off 17 deliveries and he went for a sweep. Gilchirst got a thick, bottom edge that flew to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara. 'Catch it' was the call and Sanga responded. The Sri Lankans went up in unison. All eyes, including Gilchrist's fixated on umpire Rudi Koertzen. The left-hander knew what had happened and was waiting for the umpire to raise his finger. But the appeal was promptly ignored, meaning Koertzen had ruled that the ball popped out after hitting Gilchrist's pads and not his bat.
To everyone's surprise, Gilchrist turned back and started walking back to the dressing room even though the decision was delivered in his favour. As fair as it may look, it was an incident that left everyone astonished on several counts. Coming from an Australian, in such an important game, at such a crucial juncture, it was something very hard to believe. But Gilly had set an example. Australia wobbled after his dismissal and he might have been forced to rethink his decision sitting in the dressing room. However, the defending champions eventually emerged victorious in the rain-affected game. They later went on to dismantle India in a one-sided final, sealing a second straight world title.
Ask any Australian which walk he considers to be the most famous Neil Armstrong's giant leap for mankind, Michael Jackson's moonwalk or Gilchrist's walk at the World Cup? The answer should not surprise you.
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