Gilchrist keen to move on

Adam Gilchrist © Getty Images

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Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist resisted the temptation to fuel the flames of controversy as he prepares for his final match at the MCG.

Just hours after team-mate Matthew Hayden was reprimanded for his “obnoxious little weed” remark about India spinner Harbhajan Singh, Gilchrist said he was simply “looking to move on now and play some cricket”.

“I'm not going to try and add any more to it. I think everyone's over it a little bit now,” Gilchrist said.

"I can't speak on behalf of everyone, particularly on their team. I haven't spoken to our guys about it. I'm sure everyone is just keen to let cricket get on."

The retiring wicketkeeper has clearly had enough of the off-field controversy which has soured relations between the Australia and India sides, even though he has not been a central player in the drama.

And he cannot remember any other summer dogged by so many contentious issues.

“There's been a lot on, a lot of issues,” he said. “I haven't played in a lot of summers where there's constantly been any number of issues you could bring to mind that have always been there throughout the whole season. It's been tough work for everybody.

“I don't think any player sets out to be a part of it. It's by-products of passion, loyalty to team-mates and trying to play the game as hard and as fair as possible.”

He added: “Sometimes you don't always make the right decision, sometimes others perceive what you've said and done or your actions as being different to what was actually intended.

“It's a different landscape now with what players will say in public, what they're allowed to say. It's definitely different from those times gone by.

“There's parts of my career, being an international sportsman, that I won't miss and there's parts I will miss a great deal.”