When Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Everest in May 1953, he told the world: “You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated.”

A huge deal of modesty, from a man with such heroic stature and achievement, Hillary went where no one else has gone. On January 25, 2008 Adam Gilchrist, playing in his 96th Test, broke the world record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper. A day later he decided to retire from all forms of international cricket.

On that day he told the cricketing world, in Hillaryesque fashion, that he made a mistake during the match against India (dropping VVS Laxman) and decided it was time to go. “I’ve lost my competitive edge” he said. An extremely honest comment from a man who, like Hillary himself, has achieved so much in one lifetime.

Does his retirement mean that many unconvincing wicketkeepers should retire? The mistakes made by some Englishmen over recent years we have come to expect more than feel surprised when a catch goes down. A bit harsh, you may be asking yourself, but we are talking of a man who has climbed the mountain of Test cricket and has been upon its summit since.

Gilchrist was a man who changed cricket forever. With a record 414 dismissals, 17 Test centuries, 5,570 runs at an average of 47.60 he was a model player for all sportsmen to aspire to. Ever since his arrival into Test cricket in 1999, every international side have been trying to find their own version of Gilchrist. They have all failed because there isn’t another Adam Gilchrist, a player who was steady and faultless behind the stumps and who could score runs at an alarming rate and change the course of a game.

His diligence to walk, whether adjudged out or not, is a great example of a sporting hero in today’s cut-throat world of win at all costs.