When Gilchrist was finally capped at the age of 27 it was widely observed that he might already have played 100 Tests for any other country or at any other time.

It is a mark of the left-hander's impact that it now looks an error to have retained Ian Healy, considered by some to be the greatest wicketkeeper ever, at his expense for so long.

Gilchrist has proven the most influential cricketer of the modern Test era, driving more than any other player the heightened scoring rates which have changed every aspect of the game in recent years.

Gilchrist once summed up his batting philosophy thus: "Just hit the ball" and he has stayed true to that maxim in accumulating an enormous average at an unprecedented strike rate.

A savage striker of the loose ball, he is also capable of working hard for his runs on the rare occasions that bowling cannot be simply overpowered by his talent.

The New South Welshman signalled his arrival in his second Test against Pakistan at the Bellerive Oval in 1999, making an unbeaten 149 to turn defeat into victory.

In a crowded and distinguished field this remains his most revered innings though a top score of 204 at almost a run a ball in Johannesburg in 2002 will not easily be forgotten by those who saw it.

His wicketkeeping by contrast is mostly of the quietly efficient and unremarkable type but his consistency means he is still considered a world-class gloveman.

A proud and outspoken `walker', Ricky Ponting's vice-captain can be expected to continue rewriting the record books against England this summer but it is the style rather than the stats that really impress.

Quite simply, nobody has ever done it quite like this before.