What was i doing being teary eyed if a cricketer whom i have only watched on TV and admired for the last decade decides to hang up his boots? Valid question if you have my mom's view of things..but then she doesnt know what it means for us sports crazy mortals to see their gods fade away?
Strangley i felt this in my bones when Adam Gilchrist for the first time in my memory..dropped a catch..thats right dropped the most straightforward catch you will see..and then he turned around and looked at Mathew Hayden (or was it Ponting?)..almost as if he couldnt bare to look at the bowler or his mates and the moment was frozen ..and then on the day before the series ended the news was out..gilly had had enough..
My sportsnut friend couldnt quite comprehend why..when he is still aeons ahead of anyone else..and it just flashed in my head..the look on his face..and i knew it..i told him..its because he failed himself..not just us..his fans..or his mates..his country..but himself..thats the standard that the great ones set for themselves..but too many have not been able to accept it when it drops..too many have hung on..for pride..for the stakes..
But in Gillys eyes for him to be good enough means to be good all the time..once he sees it drop..he didnt wait for anyone to label him ..the media..the selectors..or even us..
Just as he would walk if he nicked one when even the umpire was in doubt(in the world cup semifinal..no less)..he walked when he thought he wasnt good enough..thats when he is to my mind the greatest allround and natural cricketer since Gary Sobers..
For all his incandescent brilliance his parting shot was the greatest..
I could write on and on just to justify why i had tears in my eyes last morning when he waved the baggy green one last time to all who watched..but the 3G banner on the boundary said it all..
Thanks Gilly
