THE LITTLE MASTER A TRUE HERO

Yes, Sachin has done it. The first batsman ever to reach the extraordinary Test target of 50 centuries.
It’s a record he may hold long into the future - perhaps always considering the state of Test cricket - with his nearest competitor, Ricky Ponting, back at the 39 mark. The record century, comprising one 6 and twelve boundaries, was gained in front of a buoyant Centurion South African crowd. How would you feel being Dale Steyn bowling to such a colossus?
Take a look at this Ten Sports exclusive video.
Once again Sachin looked to the skies as he achieved the almost impossible – there was no doubt he believed his father’s soul was looking on. In fact he made the comment:
"The first thing obviously I thought of was my father because I wanted to do it for him. Yesterday was his birthday, and I would like to dedicate this to him."
Of his remarkable achievements this year – 7 test centuries - Sachin has commented:
"I am playing for the love of it."
Harish Krishnamachari, the senior vice president of World Sports Group, the marketing firm that handles Sachin Tendulkar, is negotiating a multi-million deal signed between Tendulkar and Coca Cola .
“It (the 50th Test ton) doesn’t make any difference to Brand Sachin. In the last couple of years, he has reached a level where there’s no comparison. Anything he does will not impact the brand. People will just choose to look at what he’s up to next,’’ he said.
And with talk of Sachin’s admirable refusal of a beer sponsorship, he’s a sure thing not to be tempted to ruin his concentration on extreme fitness.
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Alas, I wasn’t lucky enough to be present to witness Sachin's historic feat – quite the opposite in fact – due to a prior commitment in hospital. And it seems timely that I leave this blog unattended for a couple of months with my feet up during the Christmas-New Year break, as it will take that long to heal my recently-broken leg.
In 3 weeks my leggings have gone from this:















to this, after surgery by a specialist referred to as ‘The King of Ankles’ in Sydney. And I can’t even boast I suffered the ‘maisonneuve’ fracture on a cricket pitch.
No disrespect to The Great Tendulkar - but I won’t be posting again anytime soon – though I will nevertheless be up and running when Sachin’s glorious goal of 15,000 Test runs is achieved – a record certain to be knocked over during the upcoming World Cup year.
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Searching for Sachin.
All best wishes for success in 2011 to the most extraordinary cricketer in the world, Sachin Tendulkar ....

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GALA FELICITATIONS

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Sachin’s power to impress almost beyond belief has not yet deserted him. Will it ever? We can only watch in wonder at his latest triumph, a double century and some.

On the Bangalore ground today he stood like a great tree in a forest, a tree on which all the lesser plants rely for protection. Or perhaps a block of granite, a soaring a pillar of security in the centre of his countrymen’s attack on their opponents. Until Tendulkar was defeated, Australia could not advance. As soon as he fell, his team crumbled to dust.


Even the manner of his defeat was appropriate to the occasion. Despite his vigilance, finally Tendulkar was taken by surprise by callow fast bowler, Peter George capturing his first Test wicket, an exceptional gift George will glory in his whole life long.

What drives Sachin? The pursuit of excellence? A competitive nature that insists that the Commonwealth Games will not outshine his own and India’s favoured sport, cricket?

He’s a marvel. His score was accrued through diligence, patience and great attention to detail. His score of 214 runs comprised 92 singles and 11 twos. Even so, in 363 balls he also impressed with 22 boundaries and two amazing sixes. This his 6th double century was a scorcher!

Along with millions around the world, Ricky Ponting surely couldn’t help but feel moved to witness Sachin’s purple patch, so that now he can only call on his teammates, ‘Play up, play up and play the game’.

For, in the spirit of high competition and the example of Sachin as a model of excellence, tomorrow is another day ... another chance for all to excel, Australians especially.

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SACHIN’S 49TH TON

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Sachin Tendulkar has scored his 49th Test century – reinforcing his standing as world batting record-holder.

Not long to wait for another Sachin century is what I wrote in this morning’s blog!

Howzatt!!! No, not out. He's very much in.

With batting partner Murali Vijay, Sachin’s doggedness took India to 224 by lunch today in reply to Australia's 478 in the second and final Test in Banglaore.

Sachin Tendulkar, also the record-holder with 46 one-day hundreds, reached his 49th Test ton with 15 boundaries and two sixes in the morning’s play.

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Waiting, waiting, waiting ....

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Great work Sachin!
Nearly there ... 14,000 down and 1,000 to go.

Ever since I started 'Searching for Sachin', I’ve been waiting – for the magical number 15,000 to roll around.
That’s the number for the total Test runs Sunil Gavaskar told Sachin he expected from him, based on his talent many moons ago.
In the first Test in Mohali recently Sachin was edging toward a ton, sitting primed on 98, and smiling – he couldn’t help from smiling in anticipation, as everyone around him was grinning too – and then it happened – he got ahead of himself, lost concentration for a second, and BOOM ... he was out.
Oh dear – I was expecting to write a new blog about his magnificent play – but decided to WAIT until his next century, surely not too far away. Sachin will no doubt be chastising himself about that slip up, I thought, and he’ll be taking steps to correct this imperfection.
So - not another century in the last couple of weeks, but plenty else.
During this time Sachin has received high praise from many quarters.
First, Australian cricket writer, Peter Roebuck, showered him with plaudits (SMH Oct 8), putting the secret to his success down to staying focussed on the ball. Not a new idea – but certainly worth canvassing again, as Sachin’s powers of concentration are legendary.
Roebuck also pointed to a ‘more vital’ reason for his success, which again is not a new concept, but it’s worth remembering that it is an essential for the longevity of his winning approach – and that is that Sachin still loves cricket and he loves to bat.
And Roebuck has had many opportunities to witness this love affair with the ball over the years:
‘Tendulkar loves the game. Even after all these years, all these grounds, hotels, fielding drills and press conferences, it’s not an effort for him to play or practise. Cricket is his game and his way of life. He does not need anything else.’
Roebuck reckons the most underestimated thing about Sachin is his longevity, his constancy.
But others were similarly impressed, resulting in Sachin scoring the most sought after ‘The Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the Year' ICC Award. Sachin totted up 1,000 Test runs this year, as well as becoming the first man to score a double hundred in ODI cricket.

Not only that, he remains our popular hero, also winning the ‘LG People's Choice Award.'
'Better late than never,’ was Sachin’s laconic response at the award ceremony, expanding slightly to praise the team, in particular V.V.S. Laxman and Ishant Sharma.
Now let’s not say, ‘Oh that’s great for a 37 year old’. In fact it’s great for a player of any age – and that’s how Sachin wants to be judged, not as a veteran player holding up well, looking towards retirement. He doesn’t look anywhere except where the next ball is coming from. It’s those around him who have been harping on about what might cause his retirement.
But Sachin’s not going anywhere, at least until he gets those magic 15,000 Test runs under his bat.
Yesterday he crossed the last thousandth increment before his interim goal of 14,000 Test runs, with a cut off the bowling of Australia’s Nathan Hauritz at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
And this stage between 13,000 and 14,000 runs has involved the fewest number of innings of all the stages!
‘Better than ever,’ cricinfo declared, as crichotline hailed ‘India's all time great Sachin Tendulkar’ as ‘the only person to scale the 14000 peak’.
‘Sachin Tendulkar reaches 14,000 Test runs landmark,’ Britain’s The Guardian trumpeted.
‘Still sprightly,’ Sydney’s SMH Daniel Brettig was disrespectful enough to say – clearly too partisan about Australia’s position, mean-spirited and blind to the significance of Sachin’s achievement. [The error of this Australian chauvinism being corrected in part here, and with Roebuck's insightful praise, I would hope.]
And The Times of India acknowledged the enormity of the physical feat: ‘Tendulkar scales Mount 14,000 in Tests’.
I can only wait with bated breath for the World Cup and Sachin’s 15,000 goal to come. WORTH WAITING FOR ....
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What’s Up? What’s Going Down – more like ...

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Another day of international cricket – another day of allegations of match-fixing, specifically spot-fixing.
Who can take the game seriously? That is when, after all the hours of practice, every day, every year from the time a youngster is introduced to the thrill of taking a wicket or hitting a sixer, the adult form of the game is in danger of becoming a mockery and fraud? When the physical skill and mental strength needed to win at international level are treated with such disrespect by players and entrepreneurs (let’s give them a euphemism) so that the honour of the game comes into question – not once but multiple times in a number of countries – then it’s time to take severe disciplinary action against the perpetrators of this period of shame.
The Pakistani Cricket Board Chairman Ijaz Butt has accused English cricketers of a conspiracy involving "august cricket bodies", following England’s loss in the latest ODI at The Oval. It also follows the British tabloid sting operation on a bookie who allegedly paid money to three Pakistani cricketers, Test skipper Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir for bowling no-balls during the recent Lord’s Test. The three have been suspended from play by the ICC.
Chairman Butt says he’ll soon reveal the names of the people, the parties and the bodies involved in the conspiracy.
So what does all this have to do with Sachin Tendulkar? Absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.
The only common denominator is cricket itself – a game that historically, through the prowess of players of the highest order, has been the source of great sportsmanship and camaraderie, which has in turn led to a breaking down of many class, race and national barriers.
So let’s not have them re-erected.
Sachin himself has come out in favour of action against any players found guilty of involvement in fixing.
Early this month he said the ICC should make ‘a thorough probe into the spot-fixing allegations and take appropriate action if players are found guilty’.
‘If the allegations are true, they will certainly bring disrepute to the game.’
“In my 21 years of international cricket, I have never heard of an Indian player being approached by bookies,” Tendulkar stated.
Sachin also took the unusual move of reminiscing a little about his career, in particular recalling the first press conference of his career as Man of the Match in the second Test against England in 1990.
‘It was at Old Trafford. I was very awkward and I did not know what to do as that was my first press conference. I asked my teammates what kind of questions I might face and how should I answer them. The coach then was Bishen Singh Bedi and he told me, “Don’t get nervous, be confident and do whatever you want,”’ he said.
‘I have been a shy guy and most of the time I prefer to look down when I speak to somebody. I would not look up at the eye of the other person. But I think I have changed, though not much. I have now a sort of comfort level,’ he said.
‘When I was young there were problems initially as people think I am snobbish as I don’t speak out much. They think I am not interested in the things happening around,’ he went on to explain.
Sachin said his first tour of Australia in 1991-92, where he scored two Test centuries, gave him a sense of satisfaction.
He said there were phases in his career when he felt he was doing really well. These included the first tour of Australia in 1991-92, his performance from 1994-96, and in 2003, as the World Cup that year was memorable.
‘The last three years also I think I have done well,’ he said.
Tendulkar said he had been guided well by his family and had never been complacent in his career.
‘It is easy to lose your head. You have been dreaming to get something for a long time and you get it, naturally, it will have some effect on you.’
‘But I think I have never been complacent. There was a time when I was a 16-year-old I could have been affected but from my childhood I have been told by my parents not to take anything for granted. So my approach has been if I score a hundred, then forget it and think of scoring 150 in the next match,’ he said.
Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting departed Australia yesterday for India to prepare for two Tests and three ODIs beginning on October 1st. He told the media that he doesn’t expect miracles from his team, but does expect a very high level of performance over the next few weeks.
All above board between the Indian and Australian teams on and off the field, once again, we hope and trust.
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Steady as she goes in the lead-up to the World Cup

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Just a couple of weeks after being elected Vice President of the ICC, Alan Isaac is proving the best candidate for the job.

Keeping a low key profile, Isaac by all accounts has remained non-inflammatory and fair in decision-making as he goes about CCI business.

It’s a stance in keeping with the decorum expected of the position, and in tune with his experience as a cricket administrator and former captain of Wellington's second XI, and then NZC Chairman since 2008.

"I am looking forward to serving our great sport at international level and protecting the primacy of international cricket," Isaac commented after he got the unanimous nod from the ICC executive board and the full ICC council.

After all, that’s what the job’s about.

"I'd like to think I'm judged on what I achieve or what I don't achieve in two, three or four years' time," he said.

So we can only wait to witness the resilience of Test cricket in the face of the popularity juggernaut of the IPL, and observe the role the ICC plays in fostering international agreement in the best interests of the game.

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CONGRATULATIONS SACHIN!!!

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'It has taken me 20-plus years to get here.’

And yes, Sachin says he’s ‘quite pleased’.

After almost 21 years of Test play, Tendulkar has broken through this long-standing record to become the most capped player of all time with 169 Tests to his name.

The record-breaking, groundbreaking (but not bat-breaking) event occurred today on P Sara Oval in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in the 3rd Test between the two neighbouring South Asian cricketing-rival countries.

But in terms of this most precious record, it was a cricket great from Australia, Steve Waugh - holding the world record of 168 Test caps - who must have been on Sachin’s mind.

On reaching the record, Sachin had scored 13,742 Test runs, including a record 48 centuries, and 17,598 runs in ODIs. He had also taken nearly 200 wickets in international cricket using a variety of bowling styles.

‘The rest of things can be achieved, but for this you need an X number of years, an X number of tours. That's when this thing happens.

‘And I am quite pleased. It has taken me 20-plus years to get here.’

Sachin said his Test career had gone quicker than he expected. Considered a respected elder while also still a champion, he had some words of wisdom to share with young cricketing hopefuls.

‘You just need to enjoy it; it's a circle.

‘You are not always on the top, sometimes there are rough patches, but the simple formula that I have followed is, whenever I have gone through tough phases, I have found a reason to work harder.'

And he tries to 'spend all my energy at something I have been wanting to get better at’.

Sachin said that after his first Test match in 1989, he thought he might not be able to play again. And he’s very happy to have had ‘this privilege of such a long journey at the international level’. Over his Test career he’s missed 14 matches.

Sachin put some of his success down to pre-match preparation.

‘Sometimes I was able to achieve results, sometimes I wasn't, but my preparations were always there.’

Perhaps by missing the final day’s play of the 2nd Test due to a groin strain, Sachin was able to concentrate even harder on pre-match preparation. Thank God this is a man who is determined to override whatever physical strain he suffers – whether persistent, serious or niggling. Given time Sachin has risen above the physical dimension.

‘Really proud of it,’ is how Sachin described his success – and we’re really proud of you too, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. You're a credit to your parents!

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