It's hard not to feel a sense of sadness that Shaun Pollock and Adam Gilchrist have retired. It is the latest in a series of high profile cricketers that have retired in the last 12 -18 months. Shane Bond has also retired because of a series of injuries have affected his capacity to carry on not to mention shed loads of money to pick up in the ICL and we could well have seen the last of Shoaib Akhtar as well.

Shoaib famously played for Strabane in 1998 and anyone from the North West could tell you that sporting god he may be but he had feet of clay. Everywhere he has been he has been courted by controversy and it is fair to say that he invited it into his world. Even the Pakistanis now seem fed up with the endless faults on the line, the missing of deadlines and the constant derailment of the Rawalpindi Express. But what a magnificent spectacle it was in full flight. Steaming into the wicket with his hair flowing behind him like billowing smoke and delivering the ball with that incredible hyperextension of the elbow there is no doubt in my mind it was one of the most exciting sights in cricket. With the ball hurtling towards the batsman at close to 100 mph I doubt there was a train in Pakistan that could match that speed. Just like Casey Jones I felt like pulling on the whistle, Wooow woooooooo! Unfortunately, if truth be told after the Waqar and Wasim era there hasn't been much to watch when Pakistan were in the field but Shoaib bowling was compelling viewing. The only time recently I have watched the entire 50 overs of Pakistan in the field without Shoaib and still found it gripping was the 17th of March 2007. Thankfully the Rawalpindi Express was sidelined.

Shaun Pollock was at one time the number one bowler in the world. He had a very methodical bowling action and was someone who could ask questions of a batsman time and time again. Pollock could bat too and was one of the finest bowling all rounders in the world. An astute captain he led South Africa with distinction until he bowed out with great dignity after his country failed to progress in the 2003 World Cup as hosts after an Duckworth Lewis mix up. His treatment was particularly disappointing when you consider how he rebuilt a shattered cricket nation when he took over the reins after Hansie Cronje was exposed for match fixing. He took 421 Test match wickets and 3781 Test runs. He managed 400 ODI wickets and did so with an excellent economy rate. You have got to admire someone who has achieved so much when he probably spent his entire childhood hearing 'you'll never be as good as your da or your uncle!' Pollock also played representative hockey where he had the dubious pleasure of playing alongside North Down's Gavin Rogers. Whilst cruising around Barbados with the Ulster Grasshoppers in 2005, Gavin clearly tired and emotional decided to contact him from his mobile phone. It would be fair to say that being woken in the middle of the night in Sydney, Australia half way through a Test match is not ideal preparation but it didn't affect his performance. Unlike any of the Ulster Grasshoppers who ever had the misfortune of being woken during the night by Gavin.

Adam Gilchrist was the finest wicketkeeper batsman in the history of Test cricket. If ever a youngster wanted to model himself on a cricketer then it should be Adam Gilchrist. He remained fiercely competitive to the end yet was untainted with the controversy surrounding Australian cricket. He was generous in victory and gracious in defeat. Gilchrist finished as the world record holder for dismissals as a wicket keeper. He knew what wicketkeeping was all about. 'As long as I am doing my job well no-one will notice' he once said. There may be an element of truth about that but you couldn't fail to notice him when he strode out to bat. Only Ian Botham and Viv Richards created the same sense of anticipation in the crowd. You sensed the change in mood and even watching on television you got the impression of beers being emptied and bars clearing. Botham was all twirling arms ready to dominate with sheer power. Richards had a swagger of supreme confidence knowing the opposition had nothing to touch him but Gilchrist strode to the wicket with the impatience of a man wanting to get on with it. You knew that whatever had gone before, no matter how quickly the Australians had scored to this point you were about to witness an acceleration. I can imagine bowlers looking at the clock and then the scoreboard and thinking I wonder how long he is going to bat and what bloody score will it be when he is out. Even when they were in trouble he played the same way often launching a savage counter attack. No one has averaged nearly 50 over 96 Test matches and scored their runs at a strike rate of 81 per hundred balls. And despite all the cynicism of the modern day cricketer Gilchrist broke the mould. When he nicked it behind he tucked the bat under his arm and without looking at the umpire he turned and walked off the field with the same sense of purpose he walked on it. What a cricketer.

PS. Just to contrast the above Harbajhan Singh was found not guilty for using racist language. After all the posturing by the BCCI is there anyone out there who is surprised by this decision. Conveniently the judge was also unaware that Singh had ‘previous' and so escaped the ban the Indians still insisted would jeopardise the tour. Mmmmmm indeed. Apparently it was Symonds who started it all off and Harbajhan simply replied with some foul and abusive language. So that's all right then, isn't it?