Warne farewells Gilchrist with faint praise

Legendary Australian spin bowler Shane Warne acknowledged the retirement of former teammate Adam Gilchrist from test cricket with qualified praise in a regular newspaper column Tuesday.

While most of Gilchrist’s contemporaries have remembered him as one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batsmen to play test cricket and a player who revolutionized the game, Warne has chosen his words more cautiously.

“Gilly would like to be remembered for his all-around skill with the gloves behind the stumps and the bat,” Warne said.

“He is the world record-holder for dismissals but 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 the game and conducted himself.”

Warne refers to Gilchrist, who retired from tests Monday after 96 consecutive matches, as “a solid citizen” and “good family man who rarely did anything wrong.”

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

“It was a pleasure playing with a once-in-a-generation type player. He was a special talent and his skill on the field will be missed by us all.” Warne alludes to personality differences with Gilchrist during their long, overlapping careers in the Australian team.

“As men we did not always see eye to eye on things but that does not mean, as I have said before, that we disliked each other,” Warne said.

“We had a mutual respect for each other and our positions in the team. “He is a guy who was everyone’s friend and Gilly will be missed around the changerooms a lot, for his input and common sense.”

ADELAIDE, Australia Tuesday (AP)