THE FAINAL INTERVIEW WITH ADAM GILCHRIST AFTER HIS LAST TEST AGAINST INDIA ADAM GILCHRIST, Going in first or seventh, wearing whites or coloureds, Adam Gilchrist has been the symbolic heart of Australia's steamrolling agenda and the most exhilarating cricketer of the modern age. He is simultaneously a cheerful throwback to more innocent times, a flap-eared country boy who has walked when given not out in a World Cup semi-final, and swatted his second ball for six while sitting on a Test pair. "Just hit the ball," is how he once described his philosophy on batting, and he seldom strays from it. Employing a high-on-the-handle grip, he pokes good balls into gaps and throttles most others, invariably with head straight, wrists soft and balance sublime. Only at the death does he jettison the textbook, whirling his bat like a hammer-thrower, caring only for the scoreboard and never his average. Still he manages to score at a tempo - 82 per 100 balls in Tests, 96 in one-dayers - that makes Viv Richards and Gilbert Jessop look like stick-in-the-muds. "No!" A spectator at the ground grimaced for the country when Adam Gilchrist swiped a catch to cover. The disappointment was not for the shot, but for his final Test batting act in a career that stole breaths for nine years. Feelings for Gilchrist were still raw after the retirement announcement the previous day and as he emerged from the dressing room the noise grew as quickly as when a teenager has charge of the stereo. Spectators around Australia have roared for Sachin Tendulkar over the past month, but those were whispers compared to this reception. The crowd stood and the India players waited for the batsman, clapping in a show of respect which is magnified by the spate of events that have occurred during the series. Gilchrist is a man even opponents love to love. WE LOVE YOU YAAR