Adam Gilchrist's unforgettable innings at Johannesburg on Saturday was a masterclass of on-side brutality. As our wagon wheel shows, Gilchrist scored 72% of his runs on the leg side (147 out of 204), including seven of his eight sixes - a tally that has only been exceeded three times in Test history. South Africa did not bowl especially badly to Gilchrist, with 72% of the deliveries (153 out of 213) on a good length. But sometimes there is nothing you can do: off those 153 balls Gilchrist scored 121 runs - including three of his four sixes off Nicky Boje. And when South Africa dropped short, they were murdered: 36 balls, 55 runs, a rate of 9.16 runs per over. In a full day's play of 90 overs that would be 825 runs.

Most big hitters prefer a bit of pace on the ball, but at the Bullring Gilchrist tossed aside the slower bowlers with an effortlessness that was almost chilling: 99 runs off 77 balls, including 35 of the 46 runs he scored in the midwicket region. Six of those almost earnt him a million rand, but he will have found plenty of consolation in an innings and a match chock-full of memories that no amount of money could buy.

Rob Smyth is on the staff of Wisden.com.

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