Legends Rally As Old Mate Gilmour Signs For Fight Of His Life

Sun Herald

Sunday September 11, 2005

By ALLYN HAMONET

CRICKET icon Gary Gilmour has been signing miniature bats again. Not for autograph hunters. Instead, they're a personal thank you from Gilmour to those across the Hunter community who have rallied behind the ex-Test all-rounder's current battle with illness.

Gilmour, 54, needs a liver transplant to correct a combination of ailments that threaten his life.

When word of his ill-health began spreading across the sports community earlier this year, friends, associates and admirers put plans into place to assist with the substantial expenses his family will face.

The Hunter-based efforts will culminate in a testimonial dinner on Wednesday night when the auditorium at Wests Leagues Club will be filled to capacity in honour of the character best known as Gus, his wife Helen, and children Sam, Brooke, Clint and Ben.

Every ticket to the event was sold within a week without a word of advertising, and the testimonial committee has a small mountain of donated items for auction on the night.

The experience has been repeated in Sydney, where almost 500 will gather on September 25 for another testimonial. The guest list reads like a who's who of metropolitan sport and business.

Accepting the largesse has been almost as difficult for Gus as coming to grips with his medical condition. He's never actively sought publicity or profile, even now.

"Frankly, it's a bit embarrassing," he said. "When all this started, I told [former NSW and Test cricketer] David Colley I didn't want anything to do with it.

"Now that it's getting closer, I'm looking forward to the nights. It should be an interesting get-together. I had no idea so many people were making an effort to be at the shows. But then, they don't tell me everything these days."

They hadn't told Gus about the bats, either. Signing autographs is something he'd done thousands of times when he was part of the Aussie juggernaut that included Ian and Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.

At the moment, however, it's an effort because of the two medical problems that rule his life.

One is portal hypertension, caused by a congenital narrowing of the main artery to the liver. It creates a reflux of blood to his stomach which, in turn, causes internal bleeding.

The second is a malfunctioning liver. Since the organ no longer filters the blood properly, toxins find their way into his system, including the brain. Between blood transfusions he now requires four units weekly his speech becomes laboured, he gets disoriented and fatigued. It's consistent with the condition known as encephalopathy.

Gary's brother Greg, a key part of the testimonial committee, jokes that you can tell a good day from a bad day by looking at Gus's watch: "If it's upside down on his wrist, you know it's not one of his better days."

The transplant will correct the problems. But it has to happen soon. He received some disturbing test results last month and his need is now considered urgent.

In the meantime, support from national and international sources has kept him going. When The Sun-Herald arrived last week, for example, Gus had been speaking to Lillee.

He describes himself as a "bullet performer" now that he's at the top of the donor charts and thinks he should be in line for a sponsored vehicle after the operation, which will leave him with an abdominal scar similar to the Mercedes-Benz logo.

Thrown into the Australian side for the inaugural World Cup semi-final match against England at Headingley, Leeds, in 1975, Gilmour routed the home team with 6-14 from 12 overs.

Gilmour coached the Newcastle representative team until his condition began to affect his mobility, and his three sons are all stars in the making.

Perhaps the ultimate irony for the man who made the game look so ridiculously easy, however, is the difficulty he now experiences getting through each day. And those bats.

© 2005 Sun Herald

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