da betano casino： Sachin Tendulkar will amass 20,480 runs and 81 centuries in the next10 years if he maintains his present form, according to an assessmentby Wisden Cricket Monthly
Staff and Agencies16-Jun-2001* An awe inspiring estimate of TendulkarSachin Tendulkar will amass 20,480 runs and 81 centuries in the next10 years if he maintains his present form, according to an assessmentby Wisden Cricket Monthly. In the past 27 months since February 1999,Tendulkar had piled up 1720 runs in 15 Tests at a near Bradmanesqueaverage of 71.67, it said.Should Tendulkar continue at that rate in the next decade, playing 12Tests a year and finally hang up his boots at the age of 38, he willhave amassed 20,480 and 81 centuries in 202 Tests. His average will bea cool 66.06, placing him all alone on a unique second tier ofchampion batsmen – still behind Bradman (99.94) but distinctly aheadof Graeme Pollock, George Headley and Herbert Sutcliffe (60-odd),Wisden wrote.The jury is still out on whether he would have outscored Don Bradmanif he had been around in the run-thirsty 1930s, but the Indian maestrohad two sweet statistics to savour on his 28th birthday in April,Wisden writes in a piece headlined “Tendulkar the Great (and gettinggreater)”. It went on to cite that Tendulkar’s had been the 28 mostprolific years and 27 of the most prodigious months in the history ofbatting.Pointing out that on his birthday, Tendulkar’s record in limited oversInternationals stood at 10,179 runs and 28 hundreds – twice as good asany one else at the same age – the magazine says that in Tests, hisomnipotence is equally jaw-dropping. He was 1676 runs clear of theprevious record held by Javed Miandad and his 25 Test centuries dwarfthe 15 made at the same age by Bradman and Neil Harvey, his nearestrivals.* Andy Flower’s pat for Tendulkar, HarbhajanZimbabwe wicketkeeper-batsman Andy Flower has showered praise onSachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. In an interview to PTI inHarare, the former Zimbabwe captain described Tendulkar as a “veryspecial player.” Flower said it was a treat to watch the batting ofthe Indian maestro from behind the stumps. “He has been superb towatch from behind. His balance, timing, eye position and techniquedoesn’t seemed to have changed much (over the years) at all. It’s allbeen very simple. Or let us say he has made it look very simple. Thatis one of his great strengths that he has got a very simpletechnique,” he said, though he did feel that like any other batsmanTendulkar, who likes to go for his shots, too was slightly vulnerableagainst an outswinger.Flower had a lot of praise for Harbhajan Singh too, saying the offspinner was a “top quality bowler”. “He is not your standard offspinner. He has a lot of variations and tends to mix up his deliveriesall the time. He keeps you thinking. You can’t line him up, so tospeak.”Flower, who has close to a thousand runs in just six Test matchesagainst India, described playing in India as “an amazing feeling” andsaid he loved playing in the country. “My style of play is more suitedagainst spin. Plus, the wickets in India are very good for batting andthe outfield is quick. I love playing in India. The whole atmosphereof touring India and playing cricket in India is an amazing feeling.”Flower, whose main goal of seeing his country win a Test was achievedwhen Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan in 1997-98, said the peak of hiscareer was the tour of India last year where he averaged 270 in thetwo Tests with his highest score being an unbeaten 232 out of a tallyof 540 runs. “But I don’t want to leave it at that. I am still veryhungry,” he declared.* Lillee to camp at MRF Pace FoundationFormer Australian fast bowling great Dennis Lillee will camp inChennai from June 18 to 27 to monitor the progress of trainees at theMRF Pace Foundation. Besides monitoring the progress of the shortlisted boys whom he selected during his earlier visit in February,Lillee would also finalise the players for the pre-season trainingwhich would go on till September end, foundation chief coach TA Sekharsaid in a release on Friday.Four fast bowlers of the National Cricket Academy along with its chiefcoach Balwinder Singh Sandhu and four bowlers each from the zonalacademies would be at the foundation during Lillee’s visit. Inaddition, up and coming young Sri Lankan fast bowlers Amila Ratnayake,Dilhara Lokuhettige and Dilhara Fernando and Australian CricketAcademy’s Mark Thistle and Mitcheli Johnson would also be attendingthe training sessions.Australian Cricket Board’s psychologist Sandy Gordon would also becoming here to conduct classes, the release added.