Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket.
Gilchrist will go down in history as one of the most destructive batsmen the sport has ever seen, while his skills behind the stumps saw him overtake Mark Boucher's world record for Test dismissals on Friday.
He made his Test debut in 1999, and scored 5,556 runs, took 377 catches and made 37 stumpings in his 96 consecutive appearances.
Gilchrist also holds the record for the highest number of sixes in Test cricket, with a trademark shot over the boundary against Sri Lanka in November 2007 bringing up his 100th.
As well as a cavalier cricketer of the highest calibre, he is also one of the most sporting of players: quick to praise, a gentleman and one of very few players today who will "Walk" if he knows he is out, rather than waiting for the umpire's decision.
I believe he stays in touch with Geoff Goodwin and asks how the team are doing and I hope we see him at Moss Lane again.