Gilchrist and his gaggle of little children

Rohit Mahajan

Adam Gilchrist, three-time winner of the World Cup, brought a gaggle of little children to the ground to give them a feel of the stadium, training and the superstars of the game. “I really don’t do this often,” Gilchrist said. “This group includes my son and his teammates in the under-10 cricket team.”

The group included the parents of some of the children. Gilchrist took the whole group for a round of the ground, taking them from the dressing room to the members’ area to the press box on the fourth floor. He then brought them down to the ground, where the Australian team was about to start training. The delighted boys (and Gilchrist’s daughter) got their bats and shirts autographed by the players, got photographed with them. Gilchrist spent some time with the national team players, most notably with Mitchell Starc and Michael Clarke. “He’s so lovely,” gushed the mother of one of the little boys. “He’s just like any other dad. He comes to the ground, passes tips to the boys, sometimes umpires at the matches.”

Michael Clarke has back trouble. He’s had it for most of his playing career. Clarke and the team arrived from New Zealand on Sunday after the defeat to New Zealand. After the match against Afghanistan, they go to Sydney on Thursday. Australia is big, and the flights last long. Does all this contribute to Clarke’s back problem? Clarke said he’s never done such frequent and long flights in the past. “I’ve never done it before, so I’m about to find out,” he said.

Clarke insisted that long flights are not an issue at all. “I don’t think there is any proof that I’ve had injuries from flying,” he said. “I’ve had a back injury since I was 17 years of age, so my treatment and my preparation and my training hasn’t changed since then and won’t change until the end of my career.”

He said his routine when flying has remained consistent: “Try to sleep when I can. Watch a movie when I can. Get up and walk when I’m sick of watching movies. Eat as much food as possible. Don’t drink alcohol. Yeah, there is nothing in particular. Yeah, we haven’t gotten the massage tables on the flight at this stage, as good as Qantas are.”