Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the greatest batsman the game of cricket has seen after Sir Don Bradman, revealed on Saturday that it was the innocuous bowling of former South African captain Hansie Cronje which tested him the most
Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the greatest batsman the game of cricket has seen after Sir Don Bradman, revealed on Saturday that it was the innocuous bowling of former South African captain Hansie Cronje which tested him the most.
Tendulkar, who over the past 21 years, has hammered even the best of bowlers on a given day, said he dreaded facing the gentle looseners of late Cronje and did not know how to tackle him.
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I was going great guns in Durban one year and played some big shots against Donald and Pollock. Hansie came on and I flicked his first ball straight to leg-slip. I never knew what to do with him," Tendulkar said in an interview to The Guardian.
When asked who was the best bowler he faced on merit, the little master named fast bowler Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne among the spinners. "I did okay against him (McGrath). But, among the spinners, Warne at his best was still something special," he said.
A World Cup trophy is one of the rare things missing from Tendulkar's list of staggering achievements and he is looking forward to the 2011 edition in the sub-continent. "It is going to be massive.
Everyone in India is looking forward to a mega tournament and although people have not started talking yet about 1983 (the last time India won the World Cup) it will happen soon. "But, given our recent form, people have a right to be excited and have extremely high hopes," he said.
Bradman and average
Tendulkar also told his interviewer a story about him and Warne visiting Bradman in 1998. "We went to see him on his 90th birthday. It was very special. We were talking about averages and I said, 'Sir Don, if you were playing today, what would you have averaged?' And he said, '70 probably.'
I asked, 'Why 70 and not your actual average of 99?' Bradman said, 'Come on, an average of 70 is not bad for a 90-year-old man.' "
"This is what I tell my son. Whether you're an 11-year-old boy or Don Bradman we should never forget it's just a game we can all enjoy."
Busy Day for Tendulkar
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| Signing a bat at a press conference to announce his association with a housing firm. PIC/NIMESH DAVE |
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| Launching the 'Bowl to Sachin' contest. |
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| Making a short speech at the Sahara India Sports awards at the Bandra Kurla Complex. PIC/SANTOSH NAGWEKAR |
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