Australia have plenty in reserve, says Gilchrist

ADAM GILCHRIST is confident Australia will retain their status as the world’s best Test side even though several of their great players are approaching the end of their careers.

Australia’s brilliant wicketkeeper-batsman, who hit the second fastest Test century during the previous Test in Perth, has witnessed the panic Down Under at the prospect of Shane Warne’s impending retirement.

The departure of the greatest leg-spinner in history was always bound to be felt, but Australia’s star-studded line-up could also lose several other key players, with 36-year-old seamer Glenn McGrath strongly tipped to also retire at the end of the series.

With others also likely to consider their futures — including 35-year-olds

Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, and 36-year-old Justin Langer — Australia may have a new-look line-up for their next Test in India at the end of 2007.

Whatever personnel changes are made, Gilchrist believes Australia have enough strength in depth to ensure their stay on top of the world rankings continues for some time.

“I think it is possible to remain the number one team in the world but it is going to be extremely difficult to maintain the playing style or types of standards we’ve hit under the guidance of Warne and McGrath, whenever they’re both not there together,” admitted Gilchrist.

“We’ve been without them before, though, and still been able to win. Maybe it’s not been quite so comprehensive or more of a fight, but that’s just natural because they’ve got 1,200 wickets between them and they are the best ever.

“They will be tough shoes to fill but I do feel we can maintain our standards of being one of the most competitive teams in the world, if not maintain that number one position.”

At the heart of Australia’s concerns are memories of how hard their cricket was hit by the simultaneous retirement of Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh in 1984.

That left them in the doldrums for some time until they put their faith in young players like Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and David Boon to guide them into a new era.

It is a similar situation this time and one Australia needs to address by perhaps persuading their leading players to stagger their retirement dates, only months after several critics — including England legend Ian Botham — had labelled them “Dad’s Army”.

“Australian cricket is in a much stronger position collectively by way of the talent that is ready to fill those positions than what perhaps we were in the mid-80s. Having learned from that experience has enabled us to brace ourselves for the transition, whether it happens over six weeks or a six to 12-month period,” said Gilchrist.

He certainly does not have any plans to retire in the immediate future, particularly with a World Cup just around the corner, although he admits several members of Australia’s dressing room have been weighing up their options.

He said: “It’s fair to say there is probably a group of us who have been considering where we are at and what further part we’ve got to play in cricket, or what further part cricket has got to play in our lives, but not to the point where it is a real sit-down, decision-making time.