Adam Gilchrist slaps down Barmy Army’s ‘stat-padding’ sledge amid huge call on Shane Warne
Adam Gilchrist has hit out at England’s ‘Barmy Army’ after they attempted to downplay Australia’s series win over Sri Lanka.
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Adam Gilchrist has hit back at England supporters who claimed Australia’s all-conquering cricket team has been ‘stat-padding’. After knocking over India earlier in the Aussie summer, Pat Cummins’ men now hold every bilateral trophy, have retained the Ashes since 2017 and are preparing for a second consecutive appearance in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
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However, after Australia dominated the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, the Poms went looking for any thread to hang onto as the official Barmy Army social media account – with more than 477,000 followers on X - accused Australia of hand-picking their opponents in order to boost their career stats.
“Keep statpadding, Aussies,” the post read, as Australia took command of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
The inference was that this Aussie team is beefing up its stats on a flat pitch against a Sri Lankan team that is currently fifth on the WTC table.
Ironically though, Sri Lanka are still a place higher than England in the world rankings.
And Gilchrist took the chance to dig the knife into the suffering English fans in an exclusive interview with news.com.au.
“It’ll be interesting to see what excuse they come up with and what they say if Australia lifts the Champions Trophy at Lords (in June),” Gilchrist told news.com.au.
“I bet they will struggle with that one. I absolutely can’t wait for that and the rivalry of the Ashes next year.
“It’s all in good fun with Australia’s longest rival but yeah I can’t wait for that series.”
Australia will first attempt to defend their World Test Championship title in the final against South Africa in June before they turn their attentions towards the Ashes in November.
Australia is a very unhappy hunting ground for the Poms, who have failed to win a single Test match in its past 15 attempts down under.
Adam Gilchrist makes huge Shane Warne claim
As one of Australia’s greatest wicketkeepers prepares to grace the pitch once again at the Legends of Cricket Twenty20 match this weekend in support of the Lismore community following the devastating floods there in 2022, Gilchrist opened up about how he believes the late-great Shane Warne is the greatest cricketer to ever play the game.
Last week, former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting said South African Jacques Kallis is the ‘cricket GOAT’ but Gilly disagrees.
“Jacques Kallis is the best cricketer that’s ever played. I don’t care about all the others,” Ponting said on the Howie Games podcast.
“Full stop. 13,000 runs, 44 or 45 Test hundreds and 300 wickets, either one of those careers is outstanding.”
However, Gilchrist says stats simply don’t tell the whole story and pointed to Warnie as the greatest talent to grace the cricket pitch.
“I understand where Ricky is coming from, statistically the runs, wickets and catches, but there is more to it than just statistics,” Gilchrist told news.com.
“I personally think Shane Warne is the greatest to have played.
“Away from his wickets, Warnie 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 batting and bowling talent, catching and just all around brilliant cricket brain, I think Warnie is No.1.
“For Warnie to achieve what he did and especially living the way he did and still managed to achieve it all, it shows he is a true champion.”
Adam Gilchrist returns to the cricket pitch this weekend
Gilly is set to pull on the pads again this weekend in Lismore alongside Dan Christian, Steve O’Keefe, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Jimmy Marr and several WBBL and local stars.
Gilchrist is a hero to many in Lismore, with the cricket great captaining the Kadina High School cricket team and being a regular contributor to the community so it’s no surprise he is heading back to his old stomping ground to put on a show.
Saturday afternoon’s T20 exhibition game is set to celebrate the Lismore community’s resilience and efforts in bouncing back from the tragic 2022 floods, which is widely considered as one of Australia’s worst natural disasters. Tickets can be purchased at visitlismore.com.au.
And Gilchrist can’t wait to get back out there although he admits he’s a little nervous.
“It’s always nerve-racking to get back out in the middle. Every year, it is tougher to get in and play the game,” Gilchrist said.
“You worry about your hamstring going and then facing bowlers, but it’s good fun, and that’s what it is all about and getting back out there with the people you have travelled the world with and celebrating such a resilient community in the process.”
Originally published as Adam Gilchrist slaps down Barmy Army’s ‘stat-padding’ sledge amid huge call on Shane Warne
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