Gilchrist reveals the Protea who was fun to rattle

Cape Town - Legendary former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist has recalled one superstitious South African cricketer his rivals used to poke fun at.

Gilchrist, 45, played in a dominating era of Australian cricket and the team was also renowned for its sledging of opposing batsmen.

Gilchrist, who played 96 Tests and 287 ODIs for Australia, was this week asked which player he liked to get out of his comfort zone.

"I don't know if he was the easiest player to rattle but I think Neil McKenzie from South Africa was one," Gilchrist was quoted as saying on the cricket.com.au website.

"We all knew that he had a whole lot of superstitions and routines that he had to go through. I was told quite early that he hated stepping on the crease lines or any lines, where you mark centre, he just had this phobia of lines.

"So I just often spent a lot of time scratching lines in the crease line and in and around where he had to stand. That was always a bit of fun just to try and see how that affected him, but he was a good player."

McKenzie, who is currently the Proteas’ batting coach, played 58 Tests, scoring 3 253 runs at an average of 37.39.