The Australian cricketer Gary Gilmour died today. For a short time in the mid 1970s he looked like becoming a test-class all rounder who would strengthen an already powerful side spearheaded by Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.
As Gideon Haigh says on Cricinfo:
He struck 122 on his first outing for New South Wales in January 1972, and made 52 and took 4 for 75 on his Test debut against New Zealand two years later.
He then excelled in English conditions when Australia toured England in 1975; his 6 for 14 in the World Cup semi-final against England and 5 for 48 in the final against West Indies were followed by 9 for 157 in the third Test at Headingley.
But after an impressive home series against West Indies, Gilmour's powers as a bowler ebbed dramatically, so much so that he bowled only nine inconsequential overs in the Centenary Test.
A debilitating foot injury was a handicap; so was a light-hearted attitude to training and fitness that owed more to the 1950s than to the increasingly professional era of which he was part.The video above shows his finest hour - the World Cup semi-final.
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