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Just read Steve waugh's piece on Annan: Enna dhan naama nottai sonnalum Vellaikaaran vellaikaaran dhan ya :clap:. A thoroughly thought processed written piece. He is damm on spot with Thalaivar's bowling talents and says his only grouse with sachin is he didn't put his mind into bowling more leg breaks. He also concedes that sachin turned the ball more than many regulation spinners.
Steve waugh :clap:
AF,
Which article is that?
Thanks AF, couldn't find it in the sea of links :)
Tendulkar's way of getting basics right
G. Viswanath
A little past the twilight hours in mid-October, Sunil Gavaskar was full of cheer, receiving guests on the lawns of the Wellington Golf Club, Mahalaxmi. He had thrown a party to celebrate Professional Management Group's silver jubilee year and he turned out to be the perfect host.
He also appeared to be pleased with the way in which India had prevailed over Australia in the two-Test series with Sachin Tendulkar running up scores of 98, 38, 214 and 53 not out.
Gavaskar appeared to be in awe at the manner in which Tendulkar prepared for a Test and One-Day International. As part of the commentary team for the official broadcasters in India and on occasions elsewhere in the world, Gavaskar has his duties on the eve of the match at the venue and also hours before the start of each day's play. Obviously he makes it a point to see the way the teams prepare, especially the way the Indian team goes about its business while training.
The party at the Wellington Club was yet to warm up and the discussion, for a good 20 minutes, revolved around how to face short-pitched bowling. Of course, Gavaskar was the one who occupied centrestage and the rest were all ears listening to the nuggets of wisdom from a batsman who was the first to break the 10,000-run barrier in Test cricket.
Different preparation
Gavaskar talked at length about the nuances of batting and especially the way Tendulkar prepared at the nets singling out a particular aspect.
“His preparation is different from most others. Tendulkar never tries to hit fours or sixes when he goes out to bat at the nets. For a good deal of time Tendulkar practises the defensive shots first. He makes sure that his bat comes down as straight as possible with the full face while meeting the ball.
“One would find most others hitting the ball long and up. But Tendulkar, whether he is facing throw-downs (from a short distance) or the normal deliveries sent down by bowlers, spends a lot of time on this aspect and that's why it is said do your basics well,'' said the legendary former India opener who presented a skinny 16-year-old Tendulkar a pair of pads after he and Vinod Kambli had made 664 runs in an inter-school match.
While Gavaskar with a keen eye for the basics pointed out Tendulkar's particular way of practising at the nets, the world's longest serving cricketer is known to prepare in advance in his own way to meet different challenges.
Once before a home series in Australia, he practised facing Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and on many occasions he has simulated assorted situations at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra-Kurla Complex and at the MIG Club in order to face the bowling combinations of visiting teams.
It is also said that during England's last tour, he asked Zaheer Khan to bowl at him with a ball soaked in a bucket of water!
Upper cut
On the 2001 tour of South Africa, Tendulkar found the ‘upper cut' that sailed well clear of the slip cordon and scored quick runs against Shaun Pollock, Nantie Hayward, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and Lance Klusener at Bloemfontein. Making his Test debut in the middle order, Virender Sehwag almost matched Tendulkar executing that shot.
And, Gavaskar likened Tendulkar's 50th Test century to Bob Beamon's long jump record at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article968269.ece
AF, I can't see the article. Can you please post it's transcript?Quote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
Sledging only strengthened Sachin’s resolve
The quintessential Aussie, Steve Waugh, recalls the tough times he’s had as captain when he tried in vain to set a field to Tendulkar in full cry
THE first time I saw Sachin Tendulkar play, I had all the time in the world to study him and analyse his technique. I had been dropped from the Australian side, and was watching him on television as he was on his way to scoring a remarkable century in Perth. The schoolboy with an unruly mop announced himself as a special talent to the world, on one of the fastest pitches, against a very good pace attack.
I watched him live again last year when he was on his way to a spectacular 175, in Hyderabad and once again I felt that I was watching a player who comes but once in a century. It can be said that he is the Bradman of our times, and I do feel privileged to have played a lot of cricket against him.
Sachin always brought with him an amazing sporting presence. It was a captain’s nightmare to set a field when he was in full flow. It was akin to getting stuck in a tornado - the noise made it impossible to communicate with the fielders, the bowlers looked demoralised and you could sense that Sachin himself was delighted at the disarray he created in the opposition. Whether in India or elsewhere, there were always enough fans to create a deafening din whenever he was at his best.
On his day, Sachin could take a game away from under your nose very quickly. His uncanny ability to find gaps, his running between the wickets and his sheer presence at the wicket were unsettling for the opposition. Sachin rarely got into verbal duels, and soon we too realised that sledging him only helped strengthen his concentration and resolve. No wonder then that some of the most talkative Australians went quiet when Sachin was in the middle. There have been occasions when he did indulge in some chat himself, but on the whole he was quiet, focussed and seriously tough.
Like many cricketers who were involved in that tournament, my favourite Sachin knock came in Sharjah, in what is now known as the ‘sandstorm innings’. Not only did he singlehandedly get his team into the finals, he then went on to try and win the game from an impossible situation. Allan Border was stand-in coach for that series, and I remember him saying that that knock was one of the best he had witnessed. He soothed our frayed nerves by adding that the good news was that Sachin had peaked too early and that he would not make a big score in the final.
The final was on Sachin’s birthday, and he scored 140-odd and won the tournament for his team. Those two knocks were gems - works of pure genius.
Sachin has always been a favourite with Australian crowds and has the unreserved respect of Australian cricketers because he possesses many traits that we respect and value among sportsmen. He is fiercely competitive, never backs off from a contest, never gives up, but is always fair. His innate decency has always shone through his ruthlessness on the field. For most of his career, he’s wanted to dominate the bowler and stamp his supremacy on the opposition.
Importantly, he’s always been a team man and he still has a word of advice for everybody, even the pace bowlers. A big reason why his wicket’s so prized is because the opposition knows that his teammates feed off his good form. There’s always that little extra bit of joy when they see his back. We always sensed that once we take him out of the game, his teammates tended to lose some of their spirit. This might not be the case today, but for a decade, getting Sachin early was the key to beating India.
Today, Sachin is at the summit of a monumental career, in terms of runs, years and milestones. However, none of this would have captured the imagination of a billion Indians if it were not for the personality of Sachin. I will not claim to know him well, but in our limited interactions, he comes across as a shy, decent, humble person. He has a small circle of friends and generally keeps to himself.
He has always conducted himself exceptionally in public life, which must not be easy. I know that Sachin has learnt to embrace the pressure and expectations that 1.2 billion fans place on him. He seems to thrive on their goodwill, and has rarely mentioned it as a burden. More creditably he has taken the criticism and backlash that follows a poor run of scores with dignity, never letting frustration or doubt creep in. Sachin’s love for the game is still palpable, his hunger for runs remains unquenched, and it’s really up to him to decide when to hang up those gloves.
As a contemporary, I feel that he has fulfilled his destiny as a batsman in ample measure, and if I have any criticism it’s that he did not give his leg breaks any importance. I always thought he could spin the ball a lot more than many regular spinners, and could have claimed a 100 Test sticks if he had put his mind to it.
Twenty one years of cricket is testimony not only to his talent, but also to the dedication and time he has devoted to his fitness. He is the best judge of how long he can carry on, but I personally feel he does have another two to three years of cricket in him—his fans can rest easy, the run machine still has some fuel left in there!
(THIS PIECE WAS COMMISSIONED BY TOI FOR ITS CREST EDITION WHEN TENDULKAR COMPLETED 20 YEARS IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET)
Tendulkar, Sehwag in ICC shortlist for all-time greatest ODI team
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article969880.ece
Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, along with Virender Sehwag, today found a place in the list of players nominated for an ICC online poll to pick the all—time greatest team as part of one—day cricket’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
The retired Sourav Ganguly is also part of the list of openers, from which only two would make the final dream team.
“To mark the 40th anniversary of One-Day International cricket, the ICC’s official website is asking supporters from across the globe to select their choice of the greatest ODI match and team of all-time,” the ICC said in a statement.
Website www.icc-cricket.com is asking supporters to select a dream team from a shortlist of 48 players and pick their favourite game from a choice of 10 memorable matches.
Fans can select dream team and favourite game till January 2, with the choices set to be announced on January 5 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first-ever ODI match between Australia and England.
“With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 now less than two months away, excitement and interest in the one-day format of the game will certainly intensify. We know that fans will enjoy having the chance to remember some of the great games and great players that have played in ODI cricket during the past 40 years,” ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said.
The Australian ODI team from 1971 will also be presented to the crowd during the innings break of the first ODI match of the series between Australia and England at the MCG on January 16.
In the nominees for the Greatest ODI team of all time, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the lone Indian in the list of wicketkeepers.
However, no Indian has found a place in the list of middle-order batsmen and fast bowlers, while the legendary Kapil Dev has found a mention in the all-rounders’ nomination.
Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh have made the list of spinners shortlisted for the dream team.
Two India match (the win over West Indies by 43 runs at Lord’s, 25 June 1983 and the triumph against Pakistan by five runs at Karachi, 13 March 2004) are there in the list of nominees for the greatest ODI match.
The shortlist for Dream Team:
Opening batsmen (2) — Saeed Anwar, Sourav Ganguly, Gordon Greenidge, Matthew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn Turner.
Middle—order batsmen (3) — Michael Bevan, Martin Crowe, Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam—ul Haq, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards.
All—rounder (1) — Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Andrew Flintoff, Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock.
Wicketkeeper (1) — Mark Boucher, MS Dhoni, Andy Flower Adam Gilchrist, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Moin Khan, Alec Stewart, Kumar Sangakkara.
Fast bowlers (3) — Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis.
Spinners (1) — Shahid Afridi, Carl Hooper, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori.
Greatest ODI match of all—time:
West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs at Lord’s, 21 June 1975.
India beat West Indies by 43 runs at Lord’s, 25 June 1983.
Pakistan beat India won by one—wicket at Sharjah, 18 April 1986.
England won by three wickets against Australia at Sydney, 22 January 1987.
Australia won by one—wicket against West Indies at Sydney, 12 January 1996.
Australia tied with South Africa at Edgbaston, 17 June 1999.
Pakistan tied with Sri Lanka, at Sharjah, 15 October 1999.
India beat Pakistan by five runs at Karachi, 13 March 2004.
Bangladesh beat Australia by five wickets at Cardiff, 18 June 2005.
South Africa beat Australia by one—wicket at Johannesburg, 12 March 2006.
Fast bowlers (3) — Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis.
though this list looks OK, I wish Ambrose & Walsh would have been included
Greatest match - SA one wicket win vs Aus than... 8-)