Adam Gilchrist says the 2007 World Cup will likely be his last cricket series for Australia.
The 33-year-old Gilchrist, the world’s premier wicketkeeper-batsman, told Inside Cricket magazine that he won’t be playing for Australia in three years’ time, domestic media reported on Tuesday.
Gilchrist said he wants to spend more time with his wife and two young children.
”The big question which I find myself pondering on an almost daily basis lately is how much longer this can last,” Gilchrist was quoted as saying. ”That’s why my battle to survive in cricket these next few years is going to be a mental battle more than a physical one.
”It seems I’m always questioning myself now as to whether I should be away and how good it would be to be at home. It’s been that way since I had children.”
Gilchrist has been the mainstay of Australia’s middle-order since his belated inclusion in the Test line-up in November 1999. He scored 81 in his debut innings and claimed six catches in his first Test against Pakistan.
He averages 55,65 from 68 Test matches, scoring 4 452 runs — including 15 centuries and 20 half-centuries — at a strike rate of 83,26.
As a fast-starting opening batsman, he’s been instrumental in Australia’s World Cup wins in 1999 and 2003, the highlights of his limited-overs career.
In 209 one-day internationals since October 1996, he has scored 6 969 runs at an average of 35,55 and a strike rate of 94,98.
Gilchrist said a World Cup in the West Indies, where Australia will be bidding for a third consecutive title, is the lure to keep him playing.
”World Cup 2007 is the carrot,” Gilchrist said. ”That’s providing I still warrant a place in the one-day team.”
Australia’s next tour, featuring a limited-overs series and five Test matches in the Ashes series against England, starts in June. — Sapa-AP