Adam Gilchrist announces his retirement

Adam Gilchrist, who revolutionised the role of the wicketkeeper-batsman, has retired from Tests barely 24 hours after taking the world record for dismissals. The shock news means Gilchrist will depart on a global high at the end of the fourth match against India on Monday and his last ODI appearances will come in the CB Series, which finishes in March.

Over the past couple of years Gilchrist, 36, has been worn down by the grind of international touring and has been desperate to spend more time with his wife Mel and their three children. Despite his family circumstances, Gilchrist's announcement at the end of the third day came as a surprise after he had spent much of the previous evening denying he was close to walking away.

"I'll let people know when I'm going to retire,"

he said on Friday,

"whether it's tomorrow or in 12 months. At the moment I'm going to keep focussing on giving everything I've got to this team."

He told his team-mates in the morning he was leaving and it was an emotional time.

"I've come to this decision after much thought and discussion with those most important to me,"

Gilchrist said before boarding the team bus.

"My family and I have been fortunate to have had an amazing journey full of rich experiences throughout my career."

Gilchrist played 96 Tests, the same number as Rod Marsh, and has collected 414 dismissals, currently one more than South Africa's Mark Boucher. However, his glovework, which has diminished over the past month, will not be why he is remembered as one of Australia's most significant players.

Matthew Hayden, who has been a team-mate of Gilchrist's for the past eight years, called it "massive news" and said he would be "deeply, deeply missed".

"He is one of the greatest to have ever played the game,"

Hayden said.

"He was incredibly positive and his flamboyant nature equals the greats of Viv Richards and other calypso characters over the years."

"He entertained everyone globally and has done it in a statesman-like way. He changed cricketers throughout the world and is a tremendous individual."

Gilchrist brought a limited-overs approach to Tests, becoming the first man to launch 100 sixes in the format, registering the most centuries by a wicketkeeper-batsman, and scoring at a phenomenal strike-rate in the low 80s. Apart from posting almost 6000 runs, he was also responsible for the more aggressive approach to a game where three runs an over was previously considered reckless.

Growing up in New South Wales, he moved to Western Australia to collect a first-class opportunity and made his Test debut to a chorus of boos after replacing Ian Healy in Brisbane. He scored 81 against Pakistan and brought up his first century in the following match in a miracle chase in Hobart. From 1999 the Australia team was never the same, winning 16 Tests in a row under Steve Waugh, a streak that was matched by Ricky Ponting's outfit over the past three years.

One of only three players to have won a trio of World Cup titles, Gilchrist was picked to open on a Waugh hunch over a bowl of ice-cream and quickly became one of the most threatening limited-overs players of all time. Others have tried to adopt his style but none has managed it for a decade, which is a tribute to the traits developed by a country boy from northern New South Wales.

"I am now ready and excited to move into the next phase of my life, which will include much more time with Mel, Harrison, Annie and Archie,"

Gilchrist said. He thanked his state and country associations and his team-mates for the

"most enjoyable, fun career anyone could hope for".

Brad Haddin, the New South Wales wicketkeeper, has spent the past couple of years with the limited-overs team and should get his first taste of Test action if the March tour to Pakistan goes ahead.

Two more wickets need to fall before Gilchrist will appear at Adelaide Oval and he will be celebrated like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer were last year. Adelaide has not been the normal place for farewells over the past decade, but Gilchrist has not been a traditional player.

Australia v India, 1st Test, Melbourne, 4th day

Australia 343 and 7 for 351 dec beat India 196 and 161 (Laxman 42, Johnson 3-21) by 337 runs

India needed a record score to win but instead Australia edged closer to a milestone of their own, posting their 15th consecutive Test victory as they wrapped up the Boxing Day Test within four days. Australia will now head into the Sydney Test that starts on Wednesday aiming to equal their own record of 16 straight Test wins and they will no doubt fancy their chances after India folded for 161 and crashed to a 337-run defeat at the MCG.

An extra day's rest will also be much appreciated by Australia's fast bowlers, who toiled hard in searing heat against a stonewalling India. Not only did India forget how to fight, they were outplayed in subcontinent-like conditions as Melbourne's temperature nudged 40 degrees. Ricky Ponting rotated his attack and they showed few signs of exhaustion with Mitchell Johnson picking up 3 for 21 and Brett Lee and Brad Hogg each grabbing two.

India, on the other hand, struggled in the conditions. Sourav Ganguly, who was the second-last man out when he departed for 40, had been at the crease for just over an hour when he slumped on the ground after running a two. He needed attention from the team physio and batted on in the sweltering conditions, but his team-mates kept falling around him.

The end came quickly for India, who had five wickets in hand at tea but survived barely an hour after the break. MS Dhoni attempted a lavish cover-drive against Johnson and edged behind to Adam Gilchrist, who finished with eight dismissals for the match and not only passed Ian Healy's Australian Test wicketkeeping record of 395 victims but also earned $144,000 for Glenn McGrath's cancer charity - he wore pink gloves and his sponsors offered $18,000 per dismissal.

Once the established batsmen were gone and Australia could sniff a day off it all became rather a procession. Anil Kumble edged a Johnson leg-cutter behind to Gilchrist, Harbhajan Singh was run out without facing a ball and Ganguly prodded Hogg to silly mid-off. By that stage the result was no longer in doubt and perhaps India were not upset to also enjoy a free Sunday, as Johnson finished the carnage by bowling RP Singh for 2.

The finale was flatter than last season's new-year champagne after India promised so much fizz with their bowling efforts on the first day. Back then it looked like Australia might be seriously challenged for the first time in a home Test since India last visited, in 2003-04. But that spark was gradually extinguished over the next three days and India's batsmen must find some way to reverse their fortunes before the Sydney Test.

Theirs is a batting line-up full of stars but none of them shone as they chased a whopping 499 for victory. Ganguly was at least willing to attack, as was Sachin Tendulkar, but no batsman reached a half-century in their second innings. Yuvraj Singh's place might not be certain after India rejigged their batting order to retain him at No. 6. He departed for 5 shortly before tea, missing a straighter ball from Hogg that would have crashed into his stumps. Yuvraj was cleared of showing dissent at an umpire's decision in the first innings and again he waited a few moments before trudging off after Mark Benson's lbw decision.

He did not score in the first innings and should India ditch him for Sydney it might allow Virender Sehwag to open and Rahul Draid to drop down from the unfamiliar opening position. Dravid was painfully slow in the first innings and in the second he had 16 from 114 balls when he fell lbw just before lunch, playing back to Andrew Symonds, who had just reverted from medium pace to offspin.

That defensive mindset was also present in his partner Wasim Jaffer, who was on 15 when he edged behind off Lee to give Gilchrist his record-breaking 396th dismissal. The breakthrough was a relief for Lee, who three balls earlier had experienced the same sinking feeling that Johnson and Zaheer Khan had suffered earlier in the match when he thought he had a wicket only to see Billy Bowden's no-ball signal. Lee dug in a short one that Jaffer appeared to glove through to Gilchrist but Bowden's decision, which again was correct, stifled the appeal.

After Jaffer and Dravid departed India were ticking along nicely as VVS Laxman, Tendulkar and Ganguly played some impressive strokes but none could build a match-saving partnership. Tendulkar looked terrific when he went down on one knee to square-drive Lee through point for four but he was then out-thought by Lee, who followed a quick bouncer with a good ball outside off stump that was too full to cut, luring Tendulkar into the shot which he edged behind.

Laxman had calmly worked his way to 42 when he succumbed to the frustration of Stuart Clark's tight bowling. Clark was following the team plan of suffocating India's scoring and had 0 for 15 in his 12th over when Laxman drove on the up straight to Michael Clarke at cover and Laxman was clearly annoyed by his lapse in concentration. He had been watchful in his 112-ball innings but was quickly onto any bad balls from Hogg, who dropped short more often than he would like. Laxman pulled a pair of Hogg deliveries through midwicket for boundaries and was also impressive with his straight drives.

While there were moments of satisfaction for India their overall experience, after the first day, was disheartening. When Steve Waugh's Australians set their record 16-match winning streak it was India who ended the successful run. They have three days before the Sydney Test to work out how they can prevent Ponting's men from equalling that record.

Australia v India, 1st Test, Melbourne, 2nd day

Australia 343 (Hayden 124, Kumble 5-84) and 0 for 32 lead India 196 (Tendulkar 62, Clark 4-28, Lee 4-46) by 179 runs

In the lead-up to Boxing Day Australia were certain they had a much more mature attack than last time India visited for Tests and within two days at the MCG Stuart Clark and Brett Lee proved that confidence was justified. Clark was miserly and dangerous, cancelling an entertaining act from Sachin Tendulkar and finishing the day with 4 for 28, while Lee grabbed 4 for 46 and became the sixth Australian to collect 250 Test wickets.

At stumps Australia had reached 0 for 32 in their second innings with Matthew Hayden on 22 and Phil Jaques on 10 after India were dismissed for 196 late in the day. India's innings finished with a record-equalling moment when Adam Gilchrist clutched a caught-behind off Lee to remove Zaheer Khan for 11 and in doing so drew level with Ian Healy's Australian wicketkeeping mark of 395 Test dismissals.

In Lee's previous over he himself had achieved a milestone by joining his former attack-mates Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie in securing his 250th victim. That too came with a catch by Gilchrist, albeit in slightly unusual circumstances. The Australians gave a loud appeal against Anil Kumble, certain they had their man, and Billy Bowden initially turned it down only to change his mind after chatting to his square-leg colleague Mark Benson.

Kumble was on 27 and with Sourav Ganguly (43) had given some resistance following Clark's efforts to run through the middle order. But Ganguly gave Brad Hogg another moment to remember - 11 years ago he was Hogg's first Test victim - when he was bowled by a quicker, flatter ball that gave Hogg his first wicket after four years out of Australia's Test attack. A skied catch from Harbhajan Singh left Hogg with 2 for 82, a far more flattering result than if Tendulkar had stuck around to keep flaying him to the boundary.

Fortunately for Hogg, Clark provided the major point of difference compared to the Australian attack of 2003-04. In that series Australia were missing Warne, who was on his drugs ban, and McGrath, who had an ankle injury, and their unsettled assortment of replacement bowlers could not dismiss India for less than 350 in a first innings.

That could have been the case again in Melbourne as Tendulkar looked immovable, forcing and finessing his way to 62. But the defining moment of the innings came ten minutes before tea when Clark used his height to add some extra bounce outside off stump and Tendulkar inside-edged onto his stumps trying to punch through the off side. It was almost a carbon copy of Tendulkar's dismissal in last week's warm-up match when the 200-centimetre Victorian Allan Wise provoked the same mistake.

But while rain stopped India's recovery at the Junction Oval the bright and sunny Melbourne conditions provided no such Test respite. Clark followed Tendulkar's dismissal with Yuvraj Singh, who was caught behind from the last ball before tea for 0, and two balls after the break he added MS Dhoni to his collection. Dhoni was still getting used to the conditions when he misread the line as Clark jagged one back in towards him and trapped him lbw.

Clark's weapon was his subtle variety - one delivery would bounce and edge fractionally away from the bat and the next would nip back and stay slightly lower. That uncertainty led to Rahul Dravid being judged lbw for a painfully slow 5, but it was his removal of Tendulkar that altered the match.

While the MCG crowd - there were nearly 25,000 fewer spectators than the first day - might have been lulled into slumber by Dravid they were jolted awake by Tendulkar. He looked supremely confident and was especially keen to dominate Hogg. The first Hogg ball Tendulkar faced was slog-swept from outside off stump high over midwicket for four and the assault continued, much to the delight not only the India fans but the majority of the MCG spectators, who knew their chances of ever seeing Tendulkar in another Test were slim.

He picked 15 off one over when he again slapped Hogg from outside off stump to midwicket for four, then launched a six over long-on from the next delivery and followed two balls later with an ultra-fine paddled sweep that also went for four. That brought up Tendulkar's half-century, a 57-ball effort that quickly regained the attention of any fans whose minds might have wandered during Dravid's 66-ball stay before lunch.

Tendulkar generally handled the fast bowlers well and after taking a 146kph short ball from

on the chest, followed with a boundary punched through cover. It was a confident way for Tendulkar to end what had been a short and fiery over but his partner at the time, VVS Laxman, did not handle the same situation quite as well.

Lee angled a short one in towards Laxman, who tried to evade it by crouching and rocking back but the ball followed him and failed to rise as high as he expected. Laxman (26) fended high and Ricky Ponting ran straight in from second slip, finishing up sprawled at full length as he clutched the chance.

Lee sustained his speed and bounce through most of the day - Harbhajan Singh can attest to that after one thudded painfully into his chest - and could easily have had more than his four victims. Mitchell Johnson was unfortunate to go wicketless after he had Dravid caught at first slip off a no-ball and dropped at gully by a diving Jaques.

Rotating the strike was not a priority for India's new opening pair. Dravid faced every ball in Johnson's initial seven-over spell and his partner Wasim Jaffer did the same for Lee until he was caught behind for 4 and replaced in the occupying of the Great Southern Stand end by Laxman.

India's top-order wobbles came after Australia's lower order also struggled, although Johnson and Clark added a handy 31 for the last wicket. When Clark departed for 21 in the third over of the day Australia had reached 337 and with India still trailing by 179 the hosts would no doubt be happy to post another 337 on day three.

Australia v India, 1st Test, Melbourne, 1st day

Australia 9 for 337 (Hayden 124, Jaques 66, Kumble 5-84, Zaheer 3-93) v India

India were the last team to seriously threaten Australia in Tests at home and it took only one day in Melbourne for Anil Kumble to reignite the spark. Kumble was the architect and builder of the Indian challenge, grabbing 5 for 84 and denying Matthew Hayden a satisfactory party after he scored his sixth century in Boxing Day Tests.

At the close Australia were 9 for 337 with Mitchell Johnson on 10 and Stuart Clark on 21. While Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist remained at the crease Australia were still hoping for a recovery and a hefty first-innings score but Kumble ended both of their stays in the final session before the lower order fell away in unusually quick fashion.

Gilchrist top-edged an attempted slog over long-on and was caught at point for 19, soon after Symonds (35) had pulled hard to midwicket. Kumble continued to leave a trail of destruction when Brett Lee was lbw pushing forward to a straighter delivery for 0 before Brad Hogg edged Zaheer Khan to slip for 17. The strikes meant a highly productive day for India, who proved a much harder unit to rattle than Australia's most recent Test guests, Sri Lanka and England.

It was also an impressive recovery after Australia went to lunch at 0 for 111 having chosen to bat, but India's fortunes turned with Kumble's wrong'un. He removed the in-form Phil Jaques and Michael Hussey during a seven-over period in which Australia lost 3 for 30 soon after the first break and only Hayden's determination saved the hosts from more disappointment.

Hayden clearly had a point to prove. It was a less dominant display than many of his hundreds as he fought to again pull his weight after being the only one of Australia's top seven not to register a half-century in last month's Sri Lanka series. He reached triple figures from 126 balls with a well-timed four driven wide of mid-off from RP Singh and enjoyed the moment with an energetic wind-up to swing his bat and propel his bulky frame in a jump for joy.

A few of his runs came from trademark Hayden bludgeoning and walking at the bowler, although more often he relied on timing and placement, and a superbly-judged on-drive for four off Zaheer was a highlight. But Hayden appeared to tire after reaching triple-figures from 126 balls and nudged his way to 124 from 183 before clipping Zaheer to Rahul Dravid at mid-on.

He had already lost his steady partner Michael Clarke, who was unusually watchful in posting 20 from 60 deliveries as he tried to decide how to handle the challenge. The correct answer was probably not to try a jammed square drive with little foot movement to a wide half-volley from RP Singh, but Clarke attempted the shot and edged to second slip where VVS Laxman clutched a sharp chance.

It was the second breakthrough India's left-arm fast bowlers had manufactured by coming around the wicket, after Zaheer added Ricky Ponting (4) to the post-lunch list of victims. Zaheer delievered from wide of the crease and pitched it on off; Ponting played for the angle but the ball straightened and collected the top of off stump.

Zaheer's success was sandwiched between the initial Kumble double-strike that brought India back into the contest. Kumble almost singlehandedly promised the crowd of nearly 70,000 a more competitive series than last year's Ashes, which was played to packed houses around Australia. Kumble had Michael Hussey lbw for 2, struck on the back pad by a wrong'un, and Jaques also fell to the googly. He failed to pick the spin while trying to push back past the bowler and was stumped after slipping as he tried to regain his ground.

Jaques could hardly have guessed that his dismissal would spark such a comeback from India after he and Hayden posted a solid 135-run opening stand. The pair survived several plays and misses and streaky edges against the left-armers following Ponting's decision to bat, but after those wobbles they appeared to be cruising. They scored at a decent pace as Jaques took 108 balls for his 66 and confidently swept a pair of boundaries against Harbhajan Singh, who was nowhere near as threatening as Kumble.

Hayden and Jaques initially tried to deprive India of a positive Boxing Day experience as Hayden wanted to keep that honour for himself - he has now made a century in every Boxing Day Test since 2001-02 except against Pakistan three seasons ago. By the end of the day it was India who were having a more festive season.

Warne to coach Australia spinners

Shane Warne will take up a development role with Australia's young spinners, Cricket Australia (CA) has announced.

The Hampshire leg-spinner retired from international Test cricket in January with a then record 708 wickets.

He will now work with Australia's men's and women's national squads, the captains of Australia's state sides and at the centre of excellence.

"I'm really excited to work with Cricket Australia and give back to the game,"

Warne said.

Warne, whose record was surpassed by Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan earlier this month, recently launched an attack on the Australian game and its administrators by suggesting they were arrogant.

And he also criticised former coach John Buchanan by labelling him a "goose", suggesting he had "verbal diarrhoea" and claiming he lived in Pixieland.

But Warne will now join CA's playing conditions committee, which makes recommendations to the International Cricket Council about the development of the game.

He added:

"I've already had some contact with youngsters around the country but to be able to work in a structured way with spin bowlers and their captains will hopefully give teams an even greater understanding of how to develop spin bowling talent."

"I'm also excited to be working with Cricket Australia's technical committee on playing conditions. I have got some thoughts on the game that I can bring to that group."