Nathan Bracken - Brains over Brawn

Nathen Bracken showed today what a little bit of extra thought in evaluating the weather, the pitch could do. He read the pitch picture-perfect today and executed the plan to perfection. Slower balls was the call for the day and he had every Sri Lankan who took guard trying to pick up the pace of the wicket.

Overcast conditions and the pitch under covers led to a slow pace on the wicket. Where Jayasuriya failed, Gilchrist came out well. Adjusting and showing patience. But it was Bracken who played with his brains today. He made it count and worked on the batsmen, led them to mistakes and went on to his career best 5 for 47.

It was a day to celebrate the brains of cricket rather than sheer power. A day to celebrate Steve Waugh, Javed Miandad, Stephen Fleming, ...

Adam Gilchrist - The Last Hurrah

Adam Gilchrist, the Australian wicket-keeper batsman, just announced his retirement from both Tests and ODIs after the upcoming one-day series. A good time to comment on a great cricketing career.

The guy who renamed the role of a wicket-keeper and brought in another kind of an all-rounder to the game who was the "wicket-keeper batsman". Gone are the days when a team is looking for a guy who can just keep wickets and bat at 7 or 8 after the one off all-rounder. Gilly got in the game and brought in the explosive style of batting at the top in ODIs and a similar nature in the middle-order in Tests. He was the man to have in any World XI.

At the retirement of Ian Healy, one of the greatest wicket-keepers himself, the Aussies were looking for the next flag bearer. Least did we expect that the flag bearer would not only take it from Healy but also make it more brighter along the way. This guy is an crucial member of the Aussie Dream Team which won 16 tests in a row twice and a series of World Cups. The recent Aussie team spells domination of World Cricket for over a decade now.

Well-defined behind the stumps and the "Here-she-comes-there-she-goes attitude" while batting made him an essential member of the Aussie Rule. Played vice-captain for a little while in his career as well and many would have loved to see him as captain as well but he has done it all besides achieving that. A well-accomplished career which deserves a salute to another great who played his part in revolutionizing the game.