I’m in no doubt that Tendulkar still has a great deal to offerI get a bit annoyed when I hear pretty good players described as “great”. That word is horribly overused, but not where Sachin Tendulkar is concerned. He has been a champion all through his career and he is still up there today. So if people are serious about writing him off, then all I can say is this: watch out England.
That is the thing about champions. They fight back. My guess is that he has lost some of his rhythm since his elbow injury and is still feeling his way, but from what I gather about his innings against England Lions a couple of weeks ago, he is capable of making a big score for India in the second Test at Trent Bridge, which starts tomorrow.
He will know better than anybody when it is time to retire. He is a proud cricketer who will not want to end with people on his case. The fact that he is here in England tells me that he thinks he can bat to the standard that has brought him more than 25,000 runs – more than anybody else – in international cricket.
It was a shame that he could not grace Lord’s with a big innings last week because he is unlikely to make another Test appearance at the ground. He and Brian Lara are the two best batsmen of my time. They are hard to separate. If I was chasing 400 in a day then I would probably take Brian because of his flair and placement. Otherwise, Sachin’s technique under relentless pressure to perform would give him the edge.
An innings in Sydney three years ago gives an insight into his temperament. He was concerned that he kept getting out on the cover drive, so he decided to cut out the shot. In his next innings he batted for more than ten hours, scored 241 not out and his wagon wheel confirmed that he had not played a single cover drive – a bread-and-butter shot for most batsmen. I watched from the commentary box amazed at his dedication and concentration.
To me, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are the backbone of the India side. Dravid is one of the best No 3s in the world and a good captain.
But Sourav Ganguly needs a bit of luck to score runs and struggles with the short-pitched ball. His scoring area is basically backward point. He is the weakest link in the middle order. V. V. S Laxman has a huge amount of talent and has played some brilliant innings, but he is inconsistent. On his day he is as good as there is. I’ve not seen much of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. I know he likes to attack, but these conditions will still be fairly new to him if the ball nips and bounces.
There is always swing at Trent Bridge and England should not be too down about failing to take that one last wicket in the first Test. Michael Vaughan will be able to feel more confident now about his young bowling attack.
James Anderson has found some rhythm, Ryan Sidebottom knows the ground inside out and I can’t remember Chris Tremlett having a bad game there. Two years ago he took a hat-trick in a great Hampshire win against Nottinghamshire. One reason why I didn’t see as much of the Lord’s Test as I wanted was because 38-year-old Ottis Gibson cut through our batting at the Riverside. With his ten first-innings wickets for Durham we were in the field longer than I would have liked. But it was a fantastic achievement by a great bloke who showed that age is no barrier to success.
The nearest I came to taking all ten was in a club game in Bristol in 1989. I’d bagged the first nine when our left-arm spinner – a guy nicknamed “Orson” because of his size and shape – kindly sent down the last ball of his over way, way outside off stump.
Unfortunately, the stupid batsman chased it, got an edge and the dream was over.
Playing cricket in India is always an experience. That is one reason why I am keen to take part in the new Twenty20 League in October and November. The organisers are ambitious and if the whole package is right, then I’ll be out there.
Brian Lara has committed to it and I have been speaking to him and a few other players. I know that I will miss the game during the winter, having retired back home. This is ideal at roughly three weeks long. People the world over are turning to Twenty20 for a quick fix of cricket and they will love the spectacle in India.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/shane_warne/article2141139.ece
AuthorTopic: Ganguly needs a bit of luck to score runs - Shane Warne (Read 447 times)
September 15, 2006, 11:04:19 AM