It is the last home match for Gilchrist, who will retire at the end of the ongoing Commonwealth Bank series.
Australian wicketkeeper-batsman will be playing his last game at Perth, his home ground
PERTH: Australia will have an added motivation when they take on Sri Lanka in the next one-dayer here on Friday with captain Ricky Ponting stating that his teammates would like to bid farewell to the retiring Adam Gilchrist on a winning note. It is the last home match for Gilchrist, who will retire at the end of the ongoing Commonwealth Bank series.
The Australians, who lost their last match to India at Melbourne would like to give a fitting farewell to the wicketkeeper at his homeground.
“It is a big motivation for us as the series goes on, we were disappointed with the way we played in Melbourne,” Ponting said. “So we want to make sure we do the right thing by Gilly and hopefully win enough games to make it through to the finals.” Gilchrist admitted this week he had been overwhelmed by the reception that his impending retirement had evoked. Ponting said the announcement had a similar effect on his teammates, particularly those who had played almost their entire careers with the talented wicketkeeper.
“It is hitting him game by game I think,” Ponting said. “He probably won’t like me saying this, but when I batted with him in Sydney in the second game against Sri Lanka. He looked at me and said ‘Geez I am going to miss this’. I think it is starting to hit him that it is all coming to an end. And the moment he made his announcement in Adelaide was a shock for a lot of us,” he added.
“And probably the guys that have been round with him through his international cricket career for 10 or 12 years it hit us hardest, myself and Matty Hayden.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene vowed to target Australian frailties as the tourists bid for top spot in the tri-series table. A win for Sri Lanka would see them top the standings, relegating the world champions to bottom place.
His own side’s confidence boosted by a much-needed win over India in Canberra on Tuesday, Jayawardene said the Australians were not as daunting as they had been over the past 10 years.
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