Gilchrist safe as opener - Ponting

Australia's selectors have no plans to drop Adam Gilchrist to No. 7 when he returns from a week off. Trevor Hohns denied on Sydney radio last night a report in the Sydney Morning Herald that said Australia's wicketkeeper would be demoted for Thursday's match against Sri Lanka at Adelaide.

Ricky Ponting also defended his out-of-form team-mate, who has been rested for two VB Series matches. "He'll go back into the opening position," Ponting told Fox Sports. "I just love having Gilly at the top of the order in my side. Looking back over the years he has won us so many games. Even if he makes only 30 or 40 he generally gets them pretty quickly.

"He really gets the momentum of games going in our favour. He is really important for us at the top of the innings. I would love for him to play the rest of his one-day cricket there."

Gilchrist has been struggling for runs in both forms of the game and concerns have been raised that wicketkeeping and opening the batting have taken their toll. "Gilly is just going through one of those trots at the moment as a batsman that everyone goes through," Ponting said. "It's just taken Gilly a lot longer than most to go through it at international level."