all of them are wonderful cricketers. actually, even rahul dravid, inzamam and sehwag deserve to be listed there.
among these giants, statistically, muralitharan and kallis achieved some milestones that will remain untouched, probably, forever. therefore it is very easy, and justifiable, to name one of them as the best cricketer of the era.
in terms of style and panache, warne and lara elevated their respective arts to a different plane that even other greats could reach only once or twice in their careers, if they are lucky. because of this box office quality, shane and brian are probably the strongest candidates in my opinion.
tendulkar remains a model of cricketing perfection and continues to inspire cricket enthusiasts with his longevity and consistency. he will probably win the poll if the entire world were to be involved in voting.
ambrose, mcgrath and akram could walk into any all time xi with ease. so could ponting and waqar. they won matches on their own again and again all over the globe.
but i choose adam gilchrist because he expressed himself on the cricket field with a force that was never before seen from a no.7 batsman. he continued for a good part of his long and uninterrupted career (96 tests on the trot from debut till retirement!) to win matches for his country with several late order gems that turned games around. he demoralised the opposition with his power hitting and helped his team reach its targets faster. he also chipped in when the stakes were down and rescued australia on several occasions with responsible batting.
gilly never allowed anything - opposion, match condition or his own form - to bog him down. pace or spin didnt make any difference. he came out with an intent to hit out and more often than not he did precisely that. he played the game at rocket pace but with pin point precision. there was a method to his madness that brought him hundreds against all the countries he played against.
of course, he was one of the greatest wicket keepers of all time. even if technically healy (and knott) was a better bet behind the stumps, gilly never let warne or mcgill down. standing up to their vicious leg spinners, he took edges that came his way and effected brilliant stumpings when the oppotunity presented itself. similarly standing back for mcgrath, lee and gillespie he pouched more catches than anybody before him had done.
for all round quality and non stop entertainment and certain victory for his side, every captain would love to have gilly in the team. he is definitely the third cricketer i would choose in my team (after bradman and sobers) for there was no one like him before he wore that baggy green and there will not be another one in my lifetime.
