Eclipse
Well-known member
To those who got the wrong impresion about wether he actualy walked and also some interesting stuff about his views on Hussain and Vaughan.
Gilchrist: Why I walked
March 19, 2003
ENGLAND batsmen Nasser Hussein and Michael Vaughan can take some credit for Adam Gilchrist's decision to "walk" in the World Cup semi-final.
The Australian vice-captain says it was frustration at watching the Englishmen stand their ground during the recent Ashes series that got him thinking about walking.
Gilchrist had the cricket world rubbing its eyes in amazement when he decided to head for the pavilion even though the umpire gave him not out to a catch behind against Sri Lanka in the Cup semi-final.
It defied all recent convention but Gilchrist said later he wasn't on a mission to have batsmen start walking whenever they knew they were out.
He said his conscience had been stirred by Hussain's refusal to accept a catch by Jason Gillespie in the Boxing Day Test that "stood out like dog's balls," as the Australian fast bowler described it at the time.
He also recalled another no-walk incident in the Adelaide Test involving Vaughan.
"I've smashed it and I thought 'I should walk off'," Gilchrist explained.
"Hussain and Vaughan had me thinking a lot about walking or times when players have blatantly nicked the ball, know they have and whether they should walk.
"I'm not on a crusade to try and get it back to the old days of gentlemen's behaviour but a lot of the time I was thinking, `I wonder if I'll ever be in a scenario where I'm the batsman and I have to make that decision?'
"Today that situation came up and something inside me said 'walk' so I went.
"I saw (umpire) Rudi (Koertzen) give me not out and shake his head, so I just went."
The Australians were livid when Hussain didn't accept Gillespie's claim to a fair catch in the Boxing Day Test despite the fact they rarely, if ever, give themselves up unless a dismissal is blatantly obvious.
But now Gilchrist has joined West Indian Brian Lara as batsmen who go without waiting for the verdict.
"I remember vividly the Boxing Day Test when Nasser Hussain didn't go when Dizzy (Gillespie) claimed to have caught him," said Gilchrist.
"I remember thinking and saying to a few people that there was the perfect opportunity for a player to make a statement.
"Maybe because it's been in my mind I reacted that way. I don't want to have headlines around the world saying I'm making a stand that players should walk but that's my feelings on the scenario and how I can play the game, hopefully."
Video replays are used nowadays to clarify catches but camera angles often give an inaccurate or misleading representation.
Hussain was allowed to keep batting in Melbourne because inconclusive replays suggested the ball might have shaved the grass as Gillespie caught it.
"The feeling about the third umpire and the catches carrying, a lot of players around the world think it would be nice ... to go back to the players, but again, for that to happen, we've got to take responsibility," Gilchrist said.
"There have been times before in my career where I've hit the ball and known it, been given not out and not walked.
"I'm not totally sure why today, in a World Cup semifinal, I've decided to do otherwise but it sits comfortably with me.
"Hopefully we can move on in a positive fashion."
Gilchrist: Why I walked
March 19, 2003
ENGLAND batsmen Nasser Hussein and Michael Vaughan can take some credit for Adam Gilchrist's decision to "walk" in the World Cup semi-final.
The Australian vice-captain says it was frustration at watching the Englishmen stand their ground during the recent Ashes series that got him thinking about walking.
Gilchrist had the cricket world rubbing its eyes in amazement when he decided to head for the pavilion even though the umpire gave him not out to a catch behind against Sri Lanka in the Cup semi-final.
It defied all recent convention but Gilchrist said later he wasn't on a mission to have batsmen start walking whenever they knew they were out.
He said his conscience had been stirred by Hussain's refusal to accept a catch by Jason Gillespie in the Boxing Day Test that "stood out like dog's balls," as the Australian fast bowler described it at the time.
He also recalled another no-walk incident in the Adelaide Test involving Vaughan.
"I've smashed it and I thought 'I should walk off'," Gilchrist explained.
"Hussain and Vaughan had me thinking a lot about walking or times when players have blatantly nicked the ball, know they have and whether they should walk.
"I'm not on a crusade to try and get it back to the old days of gentlemen's behaviour but a lot of the time I was thinking, `I wonder if I'll ever be in a scenario where I'm the batsman and I have to make that decision?'
"Today that situation came up and something inside me said 'walk' so I went.
"I saw (umpire) Rudi (Koertzen) give me not out and shake his head, so I just went."
The Australians were livid when Hussain didn't accept Gillespie's claim to a fair catch in the Boxing Day Test despite the fact they rarely, if ever, give themselves up unless a dismissal is blatantly obvious.
But now Gilchrist has joined West Indian Brian Lara as batsmen who go without waiting for the verdict.
"I remember vividly the Boxing Day Test when Nasser Hussain didn't go when Dizzy (Gillespie) claimed to have caught him," said Gilchrist.
"I remember thinking and saying to a few people that there was the perfect opportunity for a player to make a statement.
"Maybe because it's been in my mind I reacted that way. I don't want to have headlines around the world saying I'm making a stand that players should walk but that's my feelings on the scenario and how I can play the game, hopefully."
Video replays are used nowadays to clarify catches but camera angles often give an inaccurate or misleading representation.
Hussain was allowed to keep batting in Melbourne because inconclusive replays suggested the ball might have shaved the grass as Gillespie caught it.
"The feeling about the third umpire and the catches carrying, a lot of players around the world think it would be nice ... to go back to the players, but again, for that to happen, we've got to take responsibility," Gilchrist said.
"There have been times before in my career where I've hit the ball and known it, been given not out and not walked.
"I'm not totally sure why today, in a World Cup semifinal, I've decided to do otherwise but it sits comfortably with me.
"Hopefully we can move on in a positive fashion."
