The Typical Australian No.5

Australia has a long tradition of some very useful players who came lower down the order and built a reputation to salvage a crumbling ship. As far as I can remember, there was Doulg Walters, who has played some magnificent innings during his time. Then there was Alan Border, again someone who always stood up when required and shepherded the tailenders to carve out a nice score. These days they have someone in the form of Michael Hussey. He brings in stability and some solidness to the batting order. He too has played some wonderful innings, the latest one being the one in the first test of the current series.

I think India’s VVS Laxman also falls in the same category. He is very Australian in that sense and probably that is the reason why he is so successful and respected by the Australians.

First 200 in a ODI

I know that this blog is not the place for discussing ODIs, but special occasions call for some exceptional treatment. One such special occasion was the Second ODI between India and SA at Gwalior where the little master turned the clock back and scored the first ever double century in an ODI. He was at his destructive best and we were fortunate to have witnessed this master innings of his. In my opinion, he is the rightful owner of this record and thoroughly deserves it.

There will be more people scoring double hundreds, possibly during the World Cup 2011 when a number of weaker teams will participate in the tournament. The distinction of being the first to conquer a peak is always remembered by many and that is why Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay are famous. That is why Neil Armstrong is a familiar name. Reading the papers in the morning today was that sort of feeling with everyone in the cricketing fraternity praising this genius.

Congratulations Sachin, you have made us proud!!

GOD 20 n.o.

S achin Ramesh Tendulkar aka God aka Tendlya aka Little Master completed twenty years in office on the 15th November. Playing test match cricket for 20 years is a herculean task by any yardstick that is out there. I mean just imagine the number of hours that he has spent on the field playing, practicing, travelling etc. The average sportsperson has a much shorter ‘active’ lifespan and considering that Sachin started playing at a very tender age this achievement is definitely special. On top of that he also stayed in top form for a very large part of this illustrious period. The records and the achievements on the field are a byproduct when one scales peaks this high.

The man is still a simple middle-class Maharashtrian boy and has his both feet firmly planted on the ground. He is a proud Indian too and that is why I liked his latest salvo at the so called Mumbaikars about Mumbai belonging to India. No airs, no tantrums and no big celebrity histrionics. There have been some controversies both on off the field and he has always answered his critics with his bat. He is absolutely the role model if one is starting his career.

Here is wishing that his dream of winning the World Cup for India gets fulfilled. All the best Sachin and all of us would like to see you keep playing on and on.

David Shepherd RIP

U ndoubtedly one of the most consistent and popular cricket umpire of this generation passed away yesterday fighting a his battle with cancer. It is not very often that you hear players across continents praising a cricket umpire. David was known for his inimitable style of signaling the boundry as if he was caressing ripples on a lake and more commonly he was known for his one legged Nelson when the score reached multiples of 111. His judgment even in the days of technology were spot on and that is probably the reason he was loved by the players. May his soul rest in peace.

Sunny @ 60

Sunil Manohar Gavaskar turned 60 last weekend. He has been a cricketing hero to a lot of people of my generation who grew up listening to his exploits in the test match cricket. I was in primary school when he went on his first tour of the West Indies and I was quite upset to see a few new names on that tour. Because I did not have their photos in my collection!! Very soon that was to be set right because after that tour he became a household name in Indian cricket.

On that team we had Ajit Wadekar as the captain for the first time. He had become the captain because of a casting vote used by Vijay Merchant. The new players, whose photos I did not have in my album, were Sunil Gavaskar, Rusi Jeejeebhoy(wk), P. Krishnamurthy(wk), Jayantilal Kenia (Opening) and D. Govindraj (medium pace). India returned victorious from that tour and Dileep Sardesai, Eknath Solkar and Sunny along with Ajit Wadekar were responsible to a large extent for that result. Sunny did not play in the first test but in the remaining four tests he scored 774 runs ( 8 innings, 4 hundreds including 1 double) surpassing Sardesai’s 642 runs (8 innings, 3 hunreds including 1 double).

It is very difficult to write anything about Sunny’s records because he has so many of them. I think he brought professionalism into Indian cricket and that to my mind is his single largest contribution other than hundreds of runs he scored. He has carried on with the same professional attitude post his retirement and his comments during the tests are worth a listen. He is a true Indian at heart.

I am sure like in the test matches, Sunny would have taken a fresh guard, reassessed the situation and will go on past the milestone.

Well played Sir, and here is wishing you a great great Century.