How to hit Father’s Day for a six, according to two cricket greats.
If I could buy my dad anything for Father’s Day, I’d be wrapping up the pride and joy that the Australian cricket team brought him in the early 2000s. Nothing could beat it: Warnie’s 700th wicket at the ‘G on Boxing Day, Gillespie’s 2006 double century, Ricky Ponting’s immaculate captaincy and Gilly’s record-breaking wicket-keeping. Cricket was the culture, and Shannon Noll’s rendition of ‘C’mon Aussie C’mon‘ was our anthem. Those were the days.
In search of a Father’s Day gift that doesn’t require a time machine, I called on two fellow drink connoisseurs who happen to know a thing or two about cricket. Or rather, cricket connoisseurs who know a thing or two about drinks: Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting, who both now have their own drinks brands.
The pipeline from the baggy green to making drinks was similar for both former players – Gilly with his Jaliscan blue agave tequila El Arquero, and Ricky with his Ponting Wines. As Gilly says, he’s always loved the Mexican spirit. “Part of what I loved about cricket and being in a team sport was celebrating your wins, acknowledging your defeats and sharing both those experiences together. And obviously in victory, we’d usually have a few drinks and celebrate.” When it was his shout, he’d bring the beers – “and a little bit of tequila”.
For Ricky, his interest in wine stemmed from an unlikely source. “There was a radio station in South Australia that used to ring quite frequently when I was captain, and I’d always do the right thing and give them an interview,” he says. “Whenever I turned up in Adelaide for a test match or a one-day international, I’d have a carton of wine waiting in my room from them – that’s really where it all began. Growing up in the northern suburbs of Tasmania, I was never really a wine drinker; it was more about having a beer with the boys at the end of the game.” Ricky’s love for wine really took off when he met his wife and business partner, Rianna. “She was a lot more into wine than I was, and hence where the journey began.”
Similarly, it was Gilly’s wife Mel who encouraged the cricketer and broadcaster to bring El Arquero to life. “I’d been joking about it to a lot of people for the best part of a decade, but about four years ago Mel said, ‘Are you going to do this, or are you just going to shut up about it, please?’” he laughs. “I think that was a green light for me.”
Not long after, two drinks industry experts reached out to Gilly, having heard him talk about his love for tequila on his podcast, and soon became founding partners. “That’s where we thought, well, we’ve got willing and able partners who have industry knowledge, we’ve got a desire and a passion for it… let’s give it a go.”
Ricky and Rianna had already laid the groundwork for a business partnership together with the Ponting Foundation, their charity to help young Australians and their families beat cancer. “We’d had our different interests, but, besides the charity, we’d never had the one real passion project that we could work on together,” Ricky says. But then came the wines, which launched nationally the same day that Victoria went into full lockdown with COVID. “Being stuck at home, it gave us a lot of time to actually sit back and focus on the business, to make sure that we got things exactly the way that we wanted them to be.”
For Gilly and Mel, working on El Arquero was the first time the couple shared an email signature. “We’ve had to learn to balance the time we were both putting into the business and talking about it,” Gilly says, “whether it be in the morning or over dinner when the kids are around, you know – not having them think that it’s all we’re concerned about.”
Working together as a couple, however, has worked out well. “The foundation of our relationship and our parenting methods have allowed us to be pretty open and honest about things, and work through it in a balanced and fun manner.”
The two legends admit to swapping notes – and bottles – over the years. “I know Ricky and Rianna have been equally passionate about wine for a long time,” Gilly says. “So, it makes sense that they went into that field as a project together. And they work really hard at it, I know that.” Gilly says he also likes to give Ricky a bit of stick about the name of their wines. “El Arquero loosely translates to ‘the keeper’ – a subtle reference to my past,” says the celebrated wicketkeeper. “But they’ve got their name on the label!”
Ricky and Gilly do most of their catching up over the summer cricket season, which is when they can also talk drinks. “We have exchanged products, so our fridges and bars at home should be both very well-stocked with our own and each other's bottles,” Ricky says.
In my mission to unearth the greatest Father’s Day gift of them all, I asked Gilly how I should serve up his tequila for Dad. “We talk about El Arquero being the keeper of the spirit, the keeper of good times, and I guess, as a parent, you’re wanting to keep that family spirit alive and prospering,” he says. “Our Reposado is something that I think a lot of fathers will find to their liking. Sipping it neat, or even just with a little bit of ice.” Bullseye. Add to cart.
Beyond the straight serves, Gilly suggests a simple cocktail, with one key spirits swap, can go down a treat. “Try making him an El Arquero Reposado Old Fashioned. For those that haven’t ventured out of whiskey and into the world of tequila, it’s the perfect entry point. It’s a fairly simple serve, and you don’t need to be a mixologist to create it.” Gilly adds that, especially with some orange peel in there, it’s a beautiful drink. “Sip on that and then nibble on some dark chocolate, and your dad will be very pleased on Father’s Day!”
With every Ponting wine reflecting a moment in Ricky’s remarkable career, I know a bottle from the captain’s collection will be a hit with my dad, who, like Ricky, has a penchant for shiraz. “My favorite wine is the Milestone 127 Barossa Shiraz,” shares Ricky, noting the red’s recent win as Best Australian Shiraz at the 2025 International Wine Challenge in London. “It’s always been my favorite wine in the range, which is really saying something because I’m Tasmanian, and we’ve got two Tasmanian pinots in the range as well.”
My Father’s Day menu was coming together, with Gilly’s Old Fashioned and chocolate idea locked in for dessert, so I asked Ricky for his advice on mains. The answer was simple: “Steak – and I’d definitely be having a glass of that shiraz with it.”
Now, to cement my reputation as the golden child, I asked for a money-can’t-buy gift of all gifts: the inside scoop on the golden age of Australian cricket, from the legends themselves. What was it actually like to be playing in that era, and were they aware of their legacy in the making? “I don’t want to sound too blasé,” starts Gilly, “but you’re just doing what you love – pursuing your dream, so to speak – and I don’t remember sitting back at that period of time going, ‘Wow, look what we’re doing’. I’ve always been big on celebrating success and it was a very successful era. A great bunch of guys that I forged lifelong friendships with.”
Gilly reflects on winning 16 test matches in a row, and doing it twice (the record was 11, held by the West Indies), in addition to winning three World Cups in a row. “You have an understanding that what you’ve achieved as a group is quite significant, but at the time you don’t stop to acknowledge it in all ways – it’s probably more leaving it for others to say. On reflection, it stands out across the journey of the sport as a dynamic era and a period of great success. And great rivalry, too, with many quality teams around the world.”
Ricky considers himself extremely lucky to have played for – and captained – Australia. “When I was made captain, I think I was only the 42nd person in the history of the Australian cricket team to do so for my country. When you start looking at things like that, you do realise how special it is, and how you are one of the lucky ones.”
Some of those fond memories have even helped shape Ricky’s wines. “When I was a younger guy in the Aussie team, we’d have a few beers at the end of the test match, and then the older I got, the group of guys that I played with – Langer and Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and such – we’d share a few glasses of wine together in the changing rooms,” Ricky says. “Our cabernet sauvignon is called Close of Play for that reason, inspired by the memories I have of sitting around somewhere like the SCG changing rooms after a test series and having a glass of wine together.”
It’s a ritual they still practice when they all get the chance to come together. “I probably didn’t think about it [the team’s era-defining legacy] as much while it was happening as I do now, when I’m able to sit back, have a glass of wine, and reminisce with the mates that I played alongside, telling stories about what we used to do together. They’re the times that I really cherish now.”
If all else fails this Father’s Day, I might take up Gilly’s final suggestion. The one drink most reminiscent of the camaraderie, cultural impact, and sweet, sweet victory of early 2000s cricket? “Warnie with his Midori and lemonade!”
