The joy of six

Australian players are currently breaking a lot of records and Adam Gilchrist is on the verge of adding to his impressive collection. Fresh from a 57-ball century against England in Perth, Gilchrist is only three sixes away from becoming the first to hit 100 in Tests.

Brian Lara is his nearest rival with 88 from 131 games while Gilchrist's 97, which include four in his second innings at the WACA, have come in 88 matches. Gilchrist told The Australian his most memorable strike came off Muttiah Muralitharan when he was batting at No. 3 due to a Ricky Ponting back injury in Kandy in 2004. Muralitharan was "on song" and Gilchrist didn't have the confidence to charge down the wicket.

"I didn't leave my crease because I thought he was going to spin one past me," he told the paper. "Then finally I saw him throw up a big doosra. For the first time I was absolutely, 100% sure it was a doosra so I ran down, took a great, big swing, and donged it straight back over his head. That's the most hard-fought, keenly contested battle I've had with anyone."

During a training camp at the Academy when he was in an under-17 squad Gilchrist was singled out because he hit too many boundaries. "One of the coaches dissected an innings that each of us played during a match and the feedback I got was that they were disappointed because I hit 24 with six fours," he told The Australian. "The impression I got was that they were disappointed I didn't rotate the strike and pick up ones and build an innings. I've never forgotten that.

"I didn't do it to spite them but I just thought 'I want to keep my aggressive side rather than restricting it'. It's worked many times, and many times it has brought my downfall."

While Gilchrist has a personal record to aim for, he will also become an even more important figure for Australia with the upcoming retirements of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Gilchrist said Australia can remain the world's best team without the two bowlers.

"It's going to be extremely difficult to maintain that playing style or types of standards we've hit under the guidance of Warne and McGrath," he told AAP. "But we've been without them before - and at the same time - and we've still been able to win, but maybe it's not been quite as comprehensive, it's been more of a fight. They'll be very tough shoes to fill but I do think we can maintain our standards as being one of the most competitive teams in the world if not retain that No. 1 position."

Gilchrist, 35, does not feel like the end of his career is near. "It's fair to say there's probably a group of us considering where we're at and what further part cricket's got to play in our lives, but not to the point where it's a real sit-down decision-making time," he said. "The time comes to you and it will really reveal itself when it is the right time, and I certainly don't feel that's the case at the moment.

"Physically I feel exactly the same as I've felt for five or six years, so that's pretty much most of my Test career. Probably starting late has allowed me to remain pretty fresh."