Aussie Rules The Roost

Adam Gilchrist, Middlesex’s star signing for the Twenty20 campaign, has smashed his way into the lead for this year’s Walter Lawrence Trophy with a blistering 47-ball hundred. The 38-year-old wicket-keeper/batsman thumped 9 fours and 7 sixes during his century in the victory over Kent at Canterbury, in the Friends Provident T20 match on June 11th.

Adam Gilchrist - 11/06/2010 Photograph by Sarah Williams

Adam Gilchrist - 11/06/2010 Photograph by Sarah Williams

Following Shaun Udal’s dramatic resignation as Middlesex captain on the afternoon of the match, Gilchrist was thrust into the role of skipper and responded in flamboyant style by guiding his side to a six-wicket victory over the Kent Spitfires with 106. One of the most fearsome batsmen in the game, Gilchrist retired from international cricket in 2008, having played in 96 Tests and 287 One-Day Internationals for Australia. His astonishing strike-rate in Tests was 81.95 per 100 balls, and in One-Day Internationals an awesome 96.94.

Now enjoying its 76th year, the Trophy, awarded for the fastest hundred of the season, is open to all domestic county competitions, including the Clydesdale Bank 40 and Friends Provident T20 limited-over games, as well as One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals, all eligible alongside those scored in the County Championship and Test Matches in England.

Rory Burns of Cardiff MCCU is the 2010-season winner of the Walter Lawrence Trophy award for the highest-scoring batsman from the six MCC Universities. The 19-year-old left-handed opener and wicket-keeper hit a sizzling, unbeaten 230 against Oxford MCCU, in the MCC Universities Championship match at The Parks on April 27: the highest score in an innings played against one of the other five MCCUs or against one of the first-class counties this season.

Click here to view the Rory Burns press release.

Adam Gilchrist, Middlesex V Kent, FP Twenty20, 11/06/2010, Canterbury
Photograph by Sarah Williams