Australia's 2003 World Cup winning team: Where are they now
Australia was a serious force to reckon with in world cricket for over a decade starting from 1998-99. The Baggy Greens have won the ICC Cricket World five times, most recently in the previous edition of the prestigious tournament, back in 2005. However, most of their success in the coveted competition has come in the period between 1999 and 2007, when they had won three successive World Cups- a record which still stands.
The Kangaroos had defeated three Asian cricketing giants, namely, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka in 1999, 2003 and 2007 respectively to clinch the incredibly prepossessing trophy. Having said that, the 2003 World Cup winning Australian cricket team was, undoubtedly, the best of the lot. More so, because most the cricketers in the roster were in their absolute prime.
There was a sense of pride, a sense of passion in the 2003 World Cup winning Australian roster combined with an aura of superiority. The Australians, at that point of time, didn't only go on to win matches after matches but they used to crush almost each and every cricket side that would face them.
Back in the spring of 2003, the 'Men in Yellow’ went on to win all their 11 fixtures in the ICC Cricket World Cup to stamp their authority on the world of cricket, yet again. After demolishing Sri Lanka by 48 runs in the semi-final, Australia went on to crush the Sourav Ganguly-led Team India by 125 runs in the final match of the tournament.
Thirteen long years have gone by since 2003 with almost all the erstwhile Baggy Green cricketers retiring from competitive cricket. Here is a list of the 2003 ICC World Cup winning Australian team and what are they up to these days...
1) Adam Gilchrist
The 44-year-old former Australia international, Adam Gilchrist had a terrific ICC World Cup back in 2003. The Aussie wicketkeeper-cum-batsman had racked up 408 runs in the coveted tournament at a decent average of 40.80. Gilchrist was the fourth highest run-getter in the tournament and the second highest run-scorer for Australia. He had also scored a 48-ball 57 against India in the final.
In 2015, in an effort to strengthen education ties with India, the Australian Minister for Education and Training, Christopher Pyne had named Adam Gilchrist as Australia's education ambassador to India. Gilchrist was visibly buoyed to step into his new role. “I am honoured to have been chosen to perform this important role in helping strengthen the education ties between our two countries,” he had said after his appointment.