Lord Sachin is Mr Cricket

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LAUDING LORD SACHIN: Sachin Tendular is Mr Cricket, not some Aussie pretender. And who cars if the Yanks don't get it?

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OPINION: Cricket has always been hard to define. One of the most difficult challenges in the world is the task of trying to explain the game to an American. I can write with some authority on this because I know at least two Americans and both start clutching their temples and writhing in agony whenever the subject is broached. It's as if they can't stand the sound of my own voice.

Truly, it's one of life's great mysteries. How does one explain cricket in 100 words or less; in a 10 second video clip or with the help of a still photograph? If the world was to be taken over by Americans or another alien species, how would we go about showing them the essence of the game? Robin Williams never understood it, after all. Reckoned it was like watching baseball on Valium. Groucho Marx once watched a match for two days before realising it had started.

A possible answer arrived at Hamilton on Friday, in the simple but near unworldly execution of the Sachin Tendulkar off-drive. Not once, mind you, but on several occasions. The push through the off side that took him from 96 to 99, and within a run of his 42nd test century, was enough to allow one to expire happy, satisfied that perfection had at last been witnessed. It was a piece of art on the move; a masterpiece of timing that summed the game up in a nanosecond.

It's hard to think of a more magnificent sight in cricket than the perfectly-executed, checked off-drive. As a shot it speaks of everything; defence, attack, the ability to process multiple factors in a flashpoint of time, technique, balance. It is a muscle-twitch of knowledge, a sub-conscious adjustment, and no-one in the world plays it better than Tendulkar. If we could just seal a video-clip of his best efforts in a time capsule, no one would ever have to explain why again.

Whatever your loyalties, there's a sense of privilege to be felt in watching the world's greatest living batsman playing so purposefully on his last visit to New Zealand. If there were any criticisms of Brian Lara (and there were a few, to be honest), one was that his commitment seemed to wane whenever the West Indies squared off against less fashionable teams. Tendulkar, on the other hand, allows his rivals no such relief.

Opposition bowlers might have been expecting some deterioration in his game as he moved towards his 36th birthday. But they will have already been disappointed. If anything, Tendulkar's more relaxed demeanour at the wicket, coupled with his vast wealth of experience, has only made him better. His tally of 42 test centuries and 43 one-day hundreds grows by the month. A century of centuries continues to beckon.

Consider this. He has scored three centuries in his most recent four tests, and since the start of the Australian series last October has averaged 64.72. Overall, he has struck 15 international hundreds since May 2007. Given he has previously collected 20 centuries in an 18-month period, the idea of him picking up another 15 before the end of the 2011 world cup seems far from fanciful. Mentally, he appears more composed and unhurried than ever.

Tendulkar might stand just 1.65m but he remains a giant of our time. Apart from his outrageous talent, two aspects of his career stand out beyond all others. One is his durability. When he made his test debut in 1989 at the age of 16, Cliff Richard was still belting out chart-toppers, the Berlin Wall had just been toppled, and George Bush senior had recently been inaugurated as president of the US. Included in the Pakistan side that Tendulkar faced on debut were Imran Khan and Javed Miandad.

He is the longest serving current player on the international circuit by a wide margin, and will soon stand alone as the most enduring, outside those whose careers were either interrupted by war or rejuvenated after a period of retirement. In other words he is a modern phenomenon; a player who has so fiercely guarded his love of the game from all distractions, that he still wants to play it for fun. It is a lesson many of his contemporaries could heed.

The other point has less to do with Tendulkar the batsman and more to do with Tendulkar the man, for you would have to go a long way to meet another sporting superstar with such natural grace and humility. That he has managed to remain largely unaffected in the face of extreme pressure; to live a semi-normal life even though he can't venture out publicly at home without being mobbed, hints pointedly at the steel of his character.

I remember being unfortunate enough to occupy a hotel room directly opposite Tendulkar's when New Zealand were playing at Ahmedabad in 2003. The knocking on his door from folk who had somehow discovered his room number and smuggled themselves past armed guards continued uninterrupted all day. People were knocking on his door at midnight, and again at 7am, but there was never any anger. He remains, quaintly so in these times, a gentleman; an ambassador without even trying.

Sports fans should consider seriously the chance of watching him bat for one last time on these shores. Don Bradman, no less, once said he saw his own likeness in some of Tendulkar's strokeplay. It was also The Don, at Trent Bridge in 1938, who stuck his head inside the dressing room as Stan McCabe was compiling one the all-time great double-centuries and said to his team-mates, "Come outside and take a look at this. You make never see the likes of it again."

It's hard not to feel similarly about Tendulkar.

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wayne   #42   06:15 am May 18 2009

sachin may be the best player to have played for india JUST MAYBE. but i could call at least 10 players who are better than him who have played test cricket.

Sanj   #41   01:15 am Mar 26 2009

Brilliant article. Sums up Tendulkar so well. As someone said below...It's not just that the records have been written but that they have been rewritten with a gold pen with gold ink.

Arvind Ravichandran   #40   11:23 pm Mar 25 2009

I reckon the master had silenced all the critics in style. Almost all the greats in any sport had a fading career but let us hope no speculation spoils the genius momentum and hopefully media will not be the culprit anymore for the legend.

Dendup   #39   11:12 pm Mar 25 2009

It is so true that Sachin is the great ambassador of the game. He brings people together, it is so natural for him. It is hard to imagine how anyone could not love him after having seen him batting. Knowing his personal life is even more of a privilege. He is one man who is not corrupted by power and money and after more than two decades as the most privileged superstar in india, he is still the world's most naturally humblest person. Thank you sachin for giving us something to look forward to every single second you are on the field, and ofcourse, off it. And please go on to complete atleast a hundred centuries before you quit. As long as you scores ton, india can lose,doesnt matter even if it comes a little slower...Best of luck

Prakash Java   #38   07:36 pm Mar 25 2009

Great Stuff. My thanks to Richard Boock for this excellent article on this Genius, Bombay Bomber, Little Master,Legend. It is such a treat to watch him on the field whether he is batting, bowling or fielding. Shame on ICC for not including Sachin in the all time greats list.

Ketan Shah   #37   03:47 pm Mar 25 2009

Sachin is 8th wonder of the world and 1st of the cricket world. No one can be in close vicinity. You have great observence and guts to write @ him which not too many has. Hats of to Sachin and ofcourse to you.

ROHAN KADAM   #36   01:55 pm Mar 25 2009

It's getting safer and safer to say by the day that Sachin Tendulkar is the best cricketer to have ever walked on the cricket field. Yes, even better than Sir Don Bradman, regardless of his batting average. It's hard to imagine there will ever be a cricketer like him, ever in the coming years. And to any cricketer who has seen him, will vouch for the fact that we are watching a one in a million!!!

Amit   #35   11:46 am Mar 25 2009

After looking all around, its my first time seeing the real tallent being praise. I was so pissed of on icc top batsmen list, i can't express. Now this is something every body needs to know. Sachin is the lord of criket.No one and (i mean no one) can be compared to sachin. I love you since i got my senses and will till i lose them.

Vikrant Garg   #34   09:32 am Mar 25 2009

Tendulkar had once said that he never worries about how many centuries he make! But everyone else in the world of cricket just wait for his another landmark that he makes in the game. He just love his game and people connected to it, and make them happy every time he plays. One has to see the warm welcome that he gets from the crowd from all over the world where ever he plays. Its just fantastic to see him playing, Its like watching a legend himself giving you the utmost pleasure you can ever imagined in your life. It is truly said that "Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God". Thank you Sachin for entertaining us for such a long time and may you continue doing that.

sushil   #33   04:27 am Mar 25 2009

there are no words to explain greatness of sachin. he has carried well the expectations of a billion people. and the expectations are that he should score hundred everytime he goes out to bat. may god give him the power to keep doing wonders in cricket. he is the best batsman of the world and yet is so simple. i think this is something that makes him great, greater.....greatest.

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