A loss, but not of honour

Full marks to Adam Gilchrist.

Sure, he might have been in charge, the man with whom the buck stopped as England reversed a humiliating run of defeats and produced its remarkable six wicket victory over Australia at Headingley.

Sure, he might have effected a declaration that turned out to be a miscalculation from his own team's point of view.

Sure, he might have carved an unfortunate place in Ashes history for himself by becoming the first Australian captain to lose a Test after making an early target-setting closure.

Sure, he might have paved the way for some in England to decry his tactics as arrogant.

But a less impassioned reading of the circumstances surrounding this Fourth Test would suggest that he is to be lauded for his enterprise.

Had he been a more frugal captain, an inflexible man, or a character imbued with a meanness of spirit, Gilchrist could have chosen to kill England's chances of victory in this Test. At a number of junctures. Instead, he risked a real possibility of defeat in the pursuit of a glorious win.

It is no accident that Australia has not drawn a Test match in two years: it is because its captains and its players bring imagination and daring to the game. Its extraordinary success over recent times is not only due to the talent of its players. It also owes much to an attacking philosophy, a frame of mind which says that Test cricketers of this age should play with more freedom and instinct than has traditionally marked the game.

All who seek to paint Gilchrist's decision to set England a target of 315 to win as contemptuous would do well to consider his move in a far broader light.

He had little control over weather on the fourth day that severely hampered Australia's chances of establishing a more commanding position. He was as aware as anyone that the prospect of a 5-0 series 'greenwash' was a dream craved by all of his players and the team's supporters. He was not to know how an eminently unpredictable Headingley pitch would play after the new ball lost its shine on the last day. He was not to imagine that his bowlers would produce their most disappointing display of the series. He was also not to know that Mark Butcher would construct an innings of extraordinary quality.

In voicing their censure, maybe such critics failed to lift their eyes toward Headingley's banks of filled seats, to allow their ears to hear the rousing and delighted cheers that continually greeted England's progress toward victory, or to tilt their noses far enough to discern the scent of a struggle between two teams locked in an intriguing battle.

Gilchrist is a great wicketkeeper-batsman, arguably one of the best of all time. He made a decision which ultimately did not conjure another victory for his team but, as a captain, he also shows some wonderful qualities. One of them is knowing how to play cricket in exactly the right spirit. It is doubtful that 15,000 fans will disagree; what is more likely is that they will remember this day for the rest of their lives.