Len Hutton and Dennis Compton, great English batsmen either side of the Second World War. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century

Len Hutton

Dennis Compton

The last two great batsmen to make their Test debut before the Second World War were the Englishmen Len Hutton and Dennis Compton.

Hutton, the boy from Pudsey, Yorkshire, was in his own words, “an unashamed hero-worshipper of Jack Hobbs.” He wrote in his Fifty Years in Cricket: “My first meeting with Sir Jack literally left me tongue-tied. I gaped and no words came. I shudder to imagine what he must have thought of me.”

As a lad of fourteen, Hutton had the privilege of watching Don Bradman score 300 in a day in the Headingley Test of 1930. Never could he have dreamt at the time that eight years later he would go on to surpass that Ashes high of 334 by Bradman and Hammond’s record Test score of 336 not out. Hutton notched up 364 at the Oval, a mark that was to remain for two decades until Gary Sobers went one better.

That monumental score so early in his career was to remain the centerpiece of Hutton’s career at the highest level, though he made three other double centuries besides 15 more hundreds. His unbeaten 202 at the Oval against the West Indies in 1950 was a lone hand, as he carried his bat in the face of a humiliating defeat. He was a dasher - by Yorkshire standards - before the war, but later became the archetypal new age opener, intent first on seeing off the shine of the ball as much as getting his eye in.

During the war he suffered a debilitating injury, not by enemy fire, but ironically in the friendly environs of a gymnasium. A series of operations caused his left arm to be shortened by an inch.

In 1952 he became the first professional to captain England. At the helm he showed the same caution that had crept into his batting. In many ways he was predecessor to Sunil Gavaskar, curbing his early aggressive instincts to become a staid opener as well as leader, intent on first securing his position before seeking any valour that might come his way. As Learie Constantine stated, “Hutton made a fetish of the textbook.” In his 79 Tests Hutton scored 6971 runs, averaging 56.67.

The change in Hutton’s approach to batting was also a result of extenuating circumstances. Batting had become rather easy in the inter-war period because of the flat wickets that had been rolled out. An early reaction to this, and the rampaging Bradman, was Bodyline, but that was soon stamped out. In 1935 the lbw law was amended whereby a delivery pitching outside the off-stump but coming in to hit the batsman’s pad in line with the stumps could be given out if, in the opinion of the umpire, it would have gone on to hit the stumps. Batsmen adjusted to this soon enough.

In 1948, a new provision permitted requisitioning of a new ball after 55 overs. It worked to the advantage of Bradman’s team which had a top-class fast bowling pair in Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller, aided by the swing of the tall left-armer Bill Johnston. Not all captains, though, were lucky enough to have high quality pace attacks, and in fact the season after was one of the highest scoring ever. While the perpetually hard ball flew quicker off the bat all the way to the fence, the 55-over new ball regulation was proving to be the bane of spin bowling.

To bring back the balance between bat and ball, there was now only one option left before the game’s administrators, that of preparing sporting wickets. The process began around 1950 in England. Pitches started bearing a greenish tinge, and rolling was less intensive. The ball was now seaming considerably, its shine retained for longer periods on the lush outfields.

Australia followed suit, and the 1935 lbw law began to yield rich dividends for the bowlers, with the ball cutting in sharply off the grassy surfaces. If the batsmen were a blessed lot between the two great wars, the decade of the 1950s was the most testing for them than at any time since the First World War.

If prodigious scorers like Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Hammond, Ponsford, Bradman and Headley thrived from the 1920s to the 1940s, latter day stars like Hutton had to battle hard for their runs. Wickets in the West Indies, though, continued to favour batsmen. It is significant that of the non-West Indies batsmen who played much of their cricket in the 1950s, only Hutton and Compton averaged above 50 in Tests, and they had the benefit of playing some of their cricket in the 1930s and 1940s.

The flamboyant Compton rattled up 5807 runs at an average of 50.06 with 17 centuries in 78 Tests. He was debonair as he was gutsy, which was never more evident than in that Old Trafford Test of 1948. He was hit on the head by a Lindwall bouncer and had to leave the field to get stitched up. He came back and stood up manfully to the pace assault, remaining unconquered on 145, while none of his teammates could reach 50. 

Incredibly talented, Compton was left-winger for Arsenal and also represented England at soccer eleven times during the war, though those matches were not recorded as official internationals. Indian fans were fortunate to see Compton in action during the war years. He scored an unbeaten 249 for Holkar in the 1944-45 Ranji Trophy final against Bombay. His highest in first-class matches was 300 for MCC against N.E. Transvaal at Benoni in 1948-49.  

In the popularity stakes, Compton was a winner all the way. His running between wickets was either ridiculous or hilarious, depending on which side you were on. In the field no one could be sure what to expect, brilliant one moment, hopelessly lost the next. He was the captain’s delight, and despair, depending on what seized him, one of cricket’s unforgettable characters.

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Fully illustrated

Paperback French Fold 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches

188 pages

Bradman Museum and Bradman Foundation. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’

The Glebe wicket, where young Don had first shown his batting prowess, was transformed into Bowral Oval, and later named Sir Donald Bradman Memorial Oval. It is here at Bowral that the Bradman Museum stands. Sir Donald and Lady Jessie were present when the first stage of the museum was inaugurated in October 1989. This section is the pavilion, which comprises the clubhouse, dressing rooms and conference rooms.

Bradman noted, “In my eyes the Bradman Museum has been created to honour and strengthen the game of cricket and my name is merely a catalyst to give it birth and life. The museum complex is primarily for the youth of Australia. It is a symbol of what cricket has meant and will continue to mean to the people of our nation and cricket lovers everywhere. Without doubt the laws of cricket and the conduct of the game are a great example to the world. We should all be proud of this heritage.”

What Bradman was conveying to those who play, govern and watch this great game, was to respect it and carry it forward in its best tradition.

Seated in the dressing room of the Bradman Oval pavilion is a life-size figure of a batsman with his baggy green cap and pads on, legs stretched out and face cupped by his hands. It reveals “the mixed emotions of celebration and devastation, of players sharing those private moments.”

The museum itself, which is at times referred to as the Second Innings, opened in 1996. It encompasses three major display galleries, a special exhibition gallery, a hundred-seat auditorium, library, tea room and a children’s area. A gift shop sells Bradman memorabilia including silver pendants, key chains, cups with his autographed portrait, bats and balls. There is a special section showing the crafting of the bat from the willow, and the winding of several layers of twine around a cork core, encased in a red leather shell to form a cricket ball.

The history of cricket is captured in film footage, photographs and newspaper clippings. One can learn about the origin of the game, framing of the laws, the earliest reference in 1300 to a game of ‘Craiget’ played by Prince Edward II, formation of MCC in 1787, the legendary players, through to the modernisation of the game, night matches and commercialization.

The Bradman Foundation, which manages the Bradman Museum, conducts coaching clinics. The residential programmes for children combine other recreational activities so that the young ones enjoy new challenges in a relaxed and social setting. The Foundation provides scholarships, organises exhibitions and conducts matches.

Coinciding with the Sydney Olympics in the year 2000, an exhibition entitled ‘A Perfect Ten: Sporting Greats of the 20^th Century’ opened at the museum, recording the achievements of ten great sportspersons, Carl Lewis (athletics), Michael Jordan (basketball), Muhammad Ali (boxing), Don Bradman (cricket), Jack Nicklaus (golf), Nadia Comaneci (gymnastics), John Eales (rugby), Pele (soccer), Dawn Fraser (swimming) and Rod Laver (tennis).

To cite just one instance of the work of the Bradman Foundation, in 1997 the well-known artist Colin Joseph Dudley made a painting of H.S. Altham’s photograph of Bradman walking out to bat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the third Test of the 1936-37 Ashes series. It was entitled ‘Bradman’s Walk to Glory Limited Edition Masterpiece’. Each of the ninety-nine prints was autographed by The Don and priced at 20,000 Australian Dollars. The proceeds were shared by the Wheelchair Sports Association and the Bradman Foundation.

Bradman wrote, “This limited edition portrait was initiated as a reflection of my very high regard for the commitment and sporting skills of wheelchair athletes.”

Membership of the Bradman Foundation is open to everyone around the world for a nominal subscription of Aus $ 25 a year. Almost till his last days, Sir Donald religiously attended to business related to the Bradman Foundation, Bradman Museum and Bradman Collection at the State Library of South Australia.

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Fully illustrated

Paperback French Fold 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches

188 pages

George Headley, the ‘Black Bradman’. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’

While Bradman was making waves in Australia, George Headley burst on the scene on the other side of the world, in Jamaica. He came to be known as the ‘Black Bradman’. His is quite a remarkable saga. Bradman apart, only three men have averaged sixty in a complete Test career of reasonable duration - South African southpaw Graeme Pollock 60.97, Headley 60.83 and Herbert Sutcliffe 60.73.

Headley’s achievements are all the more creditable because West Indies then were only taking their first tentative steps in the Test arena. About nine months younger than Bradman, Headley made a more dramatic entry in Test cricket, hitting 176 in the second innings of his debut Test against England at Bridgetown in 1929-30.

He relished English bowling, cracking a hundred in each innings, 114 and 112, of his third Test at Georgetown in the team’s maiden triumph, and a double century, 223, in his fourth Test, on home turf at Kingston. The colonial masters were humbled, returning with the four-Test series drawn 1-1. It was a tremendous initiation at the highest level, 703 runs at an average of 87.87. No wonder the happy people of sunny Caribbean called Bradman the ‘White Headley’.

In the testing 1930-31 tour Down Under, Headley notched up hundreds in the Brisbane and Sydney Tests, encountering Bradman for the only time in his career. Bradman himself scored 223 at Brisbane.

Headley continued to flay England’s bowlers. A big hundred - 169 not out - at Old Trafford in the 1933 series was followed by his top score of 270 not out, inevitably at Kingston, in 1934. For the second time in Tests, Headley hit a century in each innings, 106 and 107, this time in the hallowed arena of Lord’s in 1939.

Len Hutton was an unabashed admirer of Headley, as he wrote in his Fifty Years in Cricket: “Headley rightly had a devoted following. No one admired him more than I did, as I fielded at Lord’s in 1939 when he scored faultless centuries in both innings on a losing side. For years he WAS the West Indies batting, and he has to be mentioned in the same breath as Bradman (the ‘white Headley’ according to Jamaicans), Hammond and Hobbs. Clarrie Grimmett described him as ‘the greatest on-side player ever’. (He was) one of cricket’s master batsmen who had never failed in a series between 1929 and 1939 and, as a scorer, was second only to Bradman.”

Just before the Second World War broke out, Headley had scored 2135 runs at an average of 66.71 in 19 Tests. Thereafter he played one Test in each of three different series upto 1953, managing only another 55 runs.

Upto the War, rarely has a team depended so much on one batsman as the West Indies did on Headley. He scored a quarter of their runs, two per cent more than Bradman did for Australia. Strong on the back foot, he relished hitting past mid-on and handled the bad wickets deftly. He brought fresh fragrance of Caribbean flair to the international game, a pioneer in the long line of inherently gifted batsmen from those distant pristine islands.

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Fully illustrated

Paperback French Fold 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches

188 pages

The three great innings of Stan McCabe. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’

One of Bradman’s compatriots in the Australian middle-order through the 1930s was Stan McCabe. He was every bit a top-class player, orthodox yet aggressive, and one of the least heralded. His status was perhaps akin to V.V.S. Laxman of modern times, ever the artist but forced to live in the shadows of the mighty Sachin Tendulkar, the reliable Rahul Dravid, the delightful Sourav Ganguly and the maverick Virender Sehwag. McCabe’s deeds were eclipsed by the prodigious run-getting of Bradman and Ponsford.

187 not out versus England at Sydney, 1932-33

Just as Laxman’s memorable knocks against the world’s best team, Australia, notably his astonishing 281 at Kolkata in 2001 will ever remain etched in the minds of the public and critics alike, so have been brilliant innings of McCabe for over 80 years already. His courageous, defiant unbeaten 187 at Sydney in the first Test of the 1932-33 Bodyline series was a terrific riposte under daunting circumstances. Bradman did not play that Test due to his dispute with the Australian Board of Control. As McCabe stood up boldly to the short-pitched stuff and hooked it disdainfully, critics concluded that he handled Douglas Jardine’s abominable leg-theory with greater finesse than Bradman.

Learie Constantine in his The Young Cricketer’s Companion wrote: “When Larwood went to Australia and tied Bradman and most of the rest of them in sheep bends and clove hitches and made some batsmen drop their bats and others sit on their wickets, it was McCabe who improvised a daring hook to the leg boundary and made a brilliant century against bodyline as he has done against most other kinds of bowling without the least favouritism.”

189 not out versus South Africa at Johannesburg, 1935-36

If his display at Sydney revealed a tough mind, McCabe’s performance at high altitude at Johannesburg’s Old Wanderers in 1935-36 was a triumph of skill over limitations imposed by physical distress. With Australia at 85 for one, chasing another 314 for a win on the fourth and final day, McCabe, short of breath as a result of the rarefied air, and bleary of eye for the sleepless night he had spent, was in no condition to bat. He informed Vic Richardson of his discomfort. The skipper, in no position to oblige, urged his star batsman - Bradman could not join the tour - to continue his innings, then anchored at 59: “If the altitude gets to you, don’t run. Just hit fours.”

Left with no option, McCabe breezed out to the crease with the other not out, Jack Fingleton. Deliveries leapt and turned square on the dusty wearing track, but McCabe’s elegant shots found the gaps time and time again. He raised his hundred in 91 minutes, fourth quickest at the time after the feats of Jack Gregory (70 minutes in 1921-22 at this very venue), Gilbert Jessop (75 minutes in 1902) and James Sinclair (80 minutes in 1902-03). He clocked up an exact 100 before lunch, carving out 20 boundaries. Australia now needed 182 runs to win in two full sessions. Fingleton offered a broad blade and when he was castled for 40, the partnership was worth 177, of which McCabe’s share was 148. Fingleton recalled, “McCabe’s innings seemed like a crazy dream to me.”

As the thunderclouds drifted in from the northwest, the South African captain Herbert Wade appealed against the light on the plea that McCabe’s ferocious strokeplay was endangering his fielders! It was still only 2.45 in the afternoon and soon the heavens opened up with McCabe on 189, and Australia poised at 274 for two.

Ray Robinson wrote in Between the Wickets: “McCabe’s brilliance had so transformed the situation that, instead of struggling to stall off defeat, the Australians were playing like winners with 125 more to get and eight wickets in hand. He had batted three and a quarter hours for his 189, while 66 were scored at the other end. He hit 29 4s, probably a record for a Test innings under 200.” He was indeed following his skipper’s instructions to a tee, and in the process South African Dudley Nourse’s second innings 231 was forgotten.

Don Bradman (left) and Stan McCabe walking out to bat.

232 versus England at Nottingham, 1938

The third signature McCabe knock was at Trent Bridge in 1938, marked by exquisite strokeplay. He came to the crease at the fall of Bradman’s wicket. It was a breathtaking innings of 232 in only 230 minutes, during which eight of his partners departed, having managed a mere 68 all told, extras included. The next highest was Bradman’s 51. It was then the second-fastest double century in 223 minutes, after Bradman’s (in 214 minutes in 1930), and a shade quicker than Trumper’s (226 minutes in 1910-11).

Vic Marks noted: “The wicket was a lot easier than the time Jessop turned the tide, but McCabe’s strokeplay was purer with scarcely a hint of risk, and accompanied by masterly manipulation of the strike.” So awesome was the strokemaking that Bradman summoned his players - some of whom were playing cards - to the balcony, telling them: “You won’t see strokeplay like this again. McCabe hit 72 out of the last-wicket stand of 77 with Fleetwood-Smith in a matter of 28 minutes.”

The full significance of the innings was elaborated by Denzil Batchelor, when he observed: “McCabe had done a unique thing. Many men have won matches off their own bat. On this wicket, and with England’s skyscraping score, such a feat was not possible - so McCabe had done more. He had come in at a moment in history when it seemed certain that the sun was about to set on a long period in Australian ascendancy. McCabe, by his own efforts, had stopped the sun, and saved the Australian empire.” The series was ultimately drawn 1-1.

Nicknamed ‘Napper’ for his striking resemblance to Napolean, he rekindled nostalgia for the strokeplay of Trumper and Macartney. As Ken Piesse wrote, “Impeccable footwork and his indomitable spirit in adversity made him one of Australia’s true greats.”

Constantine was of the opinion that “McCabe had a great range of strokes, and, though not such a complete master of the balls on the off-stump and just outside as Wally Hammond was, he was very strong at forcing strokes towards the on-side. I remember watching McCabe in a Test hitting across Verity’s leg-break and carting it round to the on-side. Hardly any batsman who has ever lived could have done it; yet McCabe brought stroke after stroke. They all came off, and the result was a spectacular and sparkling innings. If he had missed one of those patient, penetrating balls by the slightest bit of mistiming the result would have been a dismissal that looked terrible - the village blacksmith trying his arts on the past master of English bowling. Success, you see, excuses itself - ‘the head of the table is wherever McGregor sits’.” 

McCabe made 2748 runs in 39 Tests at an average of 48.21 with 6 hundreds, and he scored at a very rapid rate. When he died in 1968 at the age of 58 after falling from a cliff in Sydney, the game lost one of its most popular figures.

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Fully illustrated

Paperback French Fold 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches

188 pages

Hundred years on, Bradman’s genius can still inspire. Flashback to birth centenary of Sir Donald Bradman

Article by Indra Vikram Singh published in The Indian Express 
on 27^th August 2008

On Don Bradman’s centenary, a fitting tribute is to assess his real greatness, moving beyond the mountains of statistics and records that are often used to highlight his achievements. Len Hutton wrote in his Fifty Years in Cricket: “It was fashionable to say that The Don was unorthodox, a law unto himself, and that his bat was not as straight as it ought to have been. But his movements were so right and so emphatic. To the straight good-length ball he would either go forward or back with precise judgement, never across the pitch, and at the crucial moment, his bat would be as straight as a Scotch fir.”

KS Duleepsinhji averred in Indian Cricketer Annual 1954: “Will there be another like him? I doubt it. His highly developed cricket sense helped him to make up his mind regarding the stroke in a split second, after the ball left the bowler's hand. With his large repertoire of strokes, he always found gaps in the field. The opponents always found eleven fielders too few. His fast rate of scoring gave bowlers plenty of time to dismiss their opponents. ‘Bradman is batting’ — at those magic words people would rush to the ground.”

Alec Bedser bowled to Bradman only after the war when the great man was past his prime, but still a run-getter beyond compare. He wrote in The Cricketer International: “My one regret was not to see him at his peak when, as the great Test umpire Frank Chester told me, fielders were wont to whistle with astonishment at the sheer brilliance and audacity of his stroke-play. One of his striking attributes was the way he made full use of the space from the popping crease to the stumps.”

Even during the Bodyline series when Bradman’s average ‘plummeted’ to 56.57, it was still the best for Australia, and second only to England's Eddie Paynter’s 61.33 who had two not outs in five innings. And Bradman scored at almost 40 runs an hour, hitting a hundred in one Test and half-centuries in the other three. Stan McCabe might have been the more aesthetic while dealing with the scourge of Bodyline, but Bradman was as effective, and certainly more prolific and consistent.

To dub The Don as merely a run-machine is simplistic because machines do not have minds. Among Bradman's several attributes was a very strong mind. In the 1936-37 Ashes series he was returning to the Test arena after a near-death experience, at the helm of a weak team that had lost several stalwarts. And England won the first two Tests. For most others it would have been too much to endure. But The Don did something, well, Bradmanesque. He scored 270, 212 and 169 in the remaining three Tests, winning all of them and retaining the crown. Nothing daunted him, and his story is so hugely inspirational as much for the massive odds he battled so successfully, as for the phenomenal number of runs he made.

Or let us fast forward to 1946-47, to the first series after the war. Unwell and ageing, he carved out 187 and 234 in the first two Tests, winning both, establishing ascendancy and breaking the English back. Maybe we can rewind to 1934, the first series after the Bodyline mayhem. Bradman was not in good health. He still got his customary double century in the opening match. Then, after a lean run in the first three Tests and the series precariously placed at 1-1, The Don scored 304 and 244 in the last two Tests, winning the final one and wresting the Ashes. That was character, a very tough mind and great skill, something far beyond the capability of any machine ever invented.

What was that one quality that made Don Bradman such a champion. The one most qualified to shed light was his wife Jessie: “More than anything, it was his single-mindedness; the ability to concentrate on any innings from the moment he woke up in the morning.” The key word here is focus. Let that remain the last word.

(Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’ was written in the year of Sir Donald Bradman’s centenary).

Don's Century
Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Fully illustrated

Paperback French Fold 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches

188 pages

Sachin Tendulkar’s record nine man-of-the-match awards in the World Cup

Child prodigy, pride of a nation

When Sachin Tendulkar was selected for his first tour with the Indian Test side in 1989, one feared for him. He seemed just a little boy. He was one, at just sixteen years of age. One felt that he was being pushed into the lion’s den, for that series was against arch rivals Pakistan with their fearsome battery of pacemen - Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. But the manner in which the kid squared up to these awesome fast bowlers showed that someone in the selection committee indeed had a discerning eye.

Tendulkar lived up fully to the promise. Immediately, he carved out a permanent place in the Indian line-up. In the 1991-92 tour of Australia, preceding the fifth World Cup, he broke away from the rest, and pundits already began rating him as the team’s best batsman. The World Cup showed just why.

Sachin Tendulkar’s man-of-the-match awards in the World Cup.

1.  Versus Pakistan, Sydney, 1992  

The needle encounter with Pakistan created its own inevitable drama. Tendulkar chose the occasion to come into his own. He put on 46 for the fourth wicket with schoolmate Vinod Kambli, and combined with Kapil Dev to add another 60 for the sixth wicket. Tendulkar’s unbeaten 54, comprising 3 boundaries in a stay of 62 deliveries, set up India’s victory, helping post a total that could be defended on the lively Sydney track. This match-winning performance won him his first World Cup man-of-the-match award.

2.  Versus Zimbabwe, Hamilton, 1992 

Tendulkar top-scored again in the next match. A fine 99-run stand with Sanjay Manjrekar took the rain-affected game away from Zimbabwe. His superb 81 off just 77 balls, studded with 8 fours and a six, earned him a second successive man-of-the-match prize.

3.  Versus Kenya, Cuttack, 1996

There was a soft opening fixture with Kenya in the 1996 World Cup, and Tendulkar led the charge with a 163-run stand with Ajay Jadeja. It was not only India’s best opening partnership in the World Cup, surpassing the mark of 136 set up by Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth against New Zealand in 1987, but also the country’s highest for any wicket hitherto in the premier event. Tendulkar stepped on the pedal right from the start, hitting his first fifty off just 48 balls. He slowed visibly on the threshold of his first World Cup century, making doubly certain that he reached the coveted milestone. This was his fifth hundred in One-day Internationals, all of which came in the previous 18 months after he began opening the innings. Still in no mood to throw away his wicket, he escorted his side to an easy victory. Tendulkar’s unbeaten 127 from 138 deliveries was made up of 15 sizzling boundaries and one hit over the ropes. This was then India’s second-highest individual score in the World Cup after Kapil Dev’s 175 not out in 1983. He was named man-of-the-match.

4.  Versus West Indies, Gwalior, 1996  

The next match at Gwalior was billed as a clash of the two star batsmen, Tendulkar and Brian Lara; and also a confrontation between Tendulkar and the great fast bowling pair of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Neither of these happened. With the West Indies setting a modest target of 174, Tendulkar played a sedate innings, scoring 70 off 91 balls, having struck 8 fours before being run out. He had put on 79 crucial runs for the third wicket with Navjot Singh Sidhu. Tendulkar claimed his second man-of-the-match award in succession. 

He became a trailblazer in the 1996 event, the first to score more than 500 runs in a single World Cup. He had a tremendous run of scores: 127 not out, 70, 90, 137, 3, 31 and 65; two centuries and three fifties in seven matches. Tendulkar became the highest run-getter in any single World Cup with his 523 runs, averaging 87.16, a mark that was to remain till he himself bettered it in 2003.

5.  Versus Kenya, Bristol, 1999 

The year 1999 was an unhappy one for Tendulkar in many ways. He developed back trouble in the early months, and for the first time a shadow was cast on his career. The contemptuous pull shot off the front foot had to be eliminated from his repertoire to ease pressure on his back. Then just as the World Cup began, his father passed away. Tendulkar had to return to India, missing the fixture with Zimbabwe. He rejoined the tournament in traumatic circumstances. A debate followed about whether he should continue to open the innings in conditions where the ball moved around. As a result he was shifted up and down the order. Tendulkar had opened in the first match against South Africa and raised 67 with Sourav Ganguly before he was caught behind off Lance Klusener for 28. He missed the second game due to his bereavement. India lost both the matches.

On his return from home, Tendulkar walked in at no.4 to face the Kenyan attack, in a sombre frame of mind. He put together his concentration, and got down to work like a true professional. Soon he was stroking the ball in his magical way. Even the dark clouds lifted and made way for bright sunshine as if in reverence to the little genius. Rahul Dravid too flowered in his company. Tendulkar stepped on the accelerator after reaching his half-century. He raced to his hundred in 84 balls, the fastest by an Indian in the World Cup hitherto, surpassing another legend Sunil Gavaskar’s century off 85 balls against New Zealand in 1987. Tendulkar’s second fifty came in only 30 balls.

The partnership reached mammoth proportions, the pair still not separated after having added 237 runs when the innings ended. This was the highest for any wicket in the World Cup, breaking the previous record of 207, also for the third wicket set by Mark and Steve Waugh, coincidentally against Kenya in 1996. It was also a record for the third wicket in all One-day Internationals, beating the previous best of 230 by Pakistanis Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed against India in 1998. Tendulkar was unbeaten with an explosive 140 off 101 balls, slamming 3 sixes and 16 fours in a man-of-the-match performance.     

6.  Versus Zimbabwe, Harare, 2003  

As the Indian side sought to redeem itself in the 2003 World Cup, it faced Zimbabwe who were no longer the force they were four years earlier. Tendulkar and his young clone Virender Sehwag put their bowling to the sword in a rousing 99-run opening stand in 100 deliveries. The master continued to blaze away after the apprentice was dismissed. Dinesh Mongia was essentially a bystander in a 43-run second-wicket partnership. A delivery from left-arm spinner Grant Flower rolled on to the stumps off Tendulkar’s defensive blade. He left, having hit 81 off 91 balls with 10 exquisite boundaries. India eventually triumphed easily and Tendulkar wrested his sixth man-of-the-match award in the World Cup, the maximum at that stage, breaking away from the pack of Vivian Richards, Graham Gooch and Lance Klusener.

 

7.  Versus Namibia, Pietermaritzburg, 2003 

As the Indian campaign gained momentum, there was a picnic before the stern tests. The Namibians were in no position to challenge an indignant side hungry for success. Sehwag dazzled briefly, and once Sourav Ganguly joined Tendulkar, there was a deluge. Though Tendulkar was not at his fluent best, the pair just waded into the amateur trundlers. Dropped at 32, the little champion perhaps found it hard to motivate himself against the pop-gun attack, but bludgeoned it nonetheless. He raised his 34^th One-day International hundred, racing still far ahead of the rest. It was his fourth ton in the premier event, the most at that stage alongside Mark Waugh. The second-wicket stand logged up 244 runs before Tendulkar was out, having crashed 152 off 151 deliveries with 18 hits to the fence. This was his highest score in the World Cup, and the partnership was second-best ever for any wicket in the tournament after the 318-run Ganguly-Dravid duet of 1999. Tendulkar picked up his second consecutive man-of-the-match prize, his third such feat in the World Cup.

8.  Versus Pakistan, Centurion, 2003  

If India were getting their act together in this tournament, the Pakistani side was not. But in the mother of all cricketing battles, form counts for little. The team that soaks in the pressure better on the day invariably triumphs. This contest had two entire nations transfixed. Planeloads of spectators took off for South Africa, television ratings soared, and almost every other activity came to a standstill. Pakistan seized the initiative with a score of 273 for seven. Tendulkar was not going to let go this opportunity to display his class as well as temperament. The great Wasim Akram opened the bowling and Tendulkar drove the third delivery off the back foot through the covers into the pickets. Sehwag also got into the act. From then on there was only one team in the match. Shoaib Akhtar came on at the other end. Tendulkar blasted him for a six and two fours off the last three balls. The Rawalpindi Express conceded 18 runs off his first over and was promptly taken off. Tendulkar had established his ascendancy.

It took only five overs to rattle up 50 on the board. Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly were dismissed off successive balls but Tendulkar zoomed to his own fifty in a matter of 37 balls. Mohammad Kaif helped put on a brisk 102 in 15.5 overs. Though cramps began to hamper Tendulkar, he refused a runner till he could hardly move. Meanwhile, he brought up his 12,000^th run in One-day Internationals, playing his 300^th innings in 309 matches. He now stood alone on a pedestal, second-placed Mohammad Azharuddin parked more than 2,600 runs behind. When Akhtar let go a nasty bouncer the decapitated Tendulkar could only instinctively fend a catch to point. He fell for a magnificent 98, having faced just 75 deliveries and rocketed 12 fours and a six. This was arguably Tendulkar’s best innings in the World Cup. India had raced to 177 for four in the 28^th over. Dravid and Yuvraj Singh had only to bat sensibly from then on, which they did. India maintained their hundred percent World Cup record over Pakistan. There was only one claimant for the gold watch awarded to the man-of-the-match. Tendulkar had now walked away with three such glittering prizes in the last four matches.

 

Enthralled by his next innings against Sri Lanka, Australian great Greg Chappell wrote in his column in The Hindu: “Make no mistake, Tendulkar is a genius! Tendulkar’s combination of deft touches and raw power is virtually unmatched in the game today. Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Brian Lara can certainly match his power though they don’t quite match his exquisite skill and versatility. The versatility is an innate, instinctive skill. Bradman used the laws of physics better than anyone else, then or now. He used the energy created by the bowler and redirected the ball with brilliant footwork and incredible wrist work. Tendulkar goes closest to emulating him, but has the added advantage - delivered by the heavier modern bat - of being able to block the ball back past the faster bowlers more quickly than it was delivered. Tendulkar’s innings of 97 was as intimidating to most of the Sri Lankan bowlers, as it was for the Pakistanis at Centurion Park.” There could be no greater tribute, coming as it did from one who was himself one of the finest batsmen in history.

India lost to the unstoppable Australians in the final but Tendulkar won the Golden Bat, his award for being adjudged the player-of-the-tournament, which was presented to him by none other than Sir Garfield Sobers. In two World Cups - 1996 and 2003 - Tendulkar was the leading run-getter of the tournament. His 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 event laid down a new benchmark in the World Cup, and his aggregate of 1732 was then far ahead of the rest, none of whom had topped 1100.

9.  Versus Pakistan, Mohali, 2011 

Came the high-voltage encounter at Mohali, World Cup 2011 semi-final between India and Pakistan, a heart-stopper in the extreme, watched by the prime ministers of both countries. Two overs produced 6 runs, and then Sehwag turned on Umar Gul, bludgeoning him for 5 boundaries in the 3^rd over. Sehwag continued on his merry way, having had most of the strike. He fell leg-before at 48, having crashed 9 boundaries in his 38 off 25 balls.

With Sehwag’s departure, Tendulkar held centre-stage. He soon added three quick boundaries to an earlier one, but this hurricane start had camouflaged the uneven character of the wicket. As the ball lost its shine and hardness, it began to grip the surface and lose pace. Run-making became a struggle, which was reflected in Tendulkar’s resilient and fortunate innings. The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) helped him survive leg-before-wicket and stumping appeals off successive Saeed Ajmal deliveries. Misbah-ul-Haq dropped him at mid-wicket and an edge found no fielder at slip, the ball running away to the boundary. Gautam Gambhir was not so lucky, being stumped after having helped put on 68 in 13 overs. Soon Tendulkar was put down by Younis Khan.

  

Carrying on the battle nevertheless, Tendulkar stroked two delightful boundaries to raise a fortuitous fifty, having taken on 67 deliveries. As Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh departed off consecutive balls from left-armer Wahab Riaz, Tendulkar had two more slices of luck. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal did not pouch an edge and his brother Umar failed to latch on to a pull. Eventually, he drove uppishly at Ajmal and the captain Shahid Afridi latched on jubilantly. Tendulkar had held his concentration through 115 deliveries in this tumultuous journey, having struck 11 fours in his 85 runs. He had scrapped all the way through, helping India total 260 for nine. In a match of such significance, and on a wicket of this nature, it was a winning score. Pakistan fell 29 runs short and a relieved Indian team marched into the final. At last Tendulkar won a man-of-the-match award in a tournament in which two of his centuries resulted in a tie and a defeat.

Crowning Glory

The World Cup 2011 triumph was the crowning glory to the inimitable Sachin Tendulkar’s cricket career, and for the Indian team which in the past decade had risen to no. 1 in the world both in Test matches and One-day Internationals. The celebrations, the fireworks, uncorking of champagne, tooting of car horns, singing, dancing and merriment were as much for India’s exhilarating triumph as was for Tendulkar’s awe-inspiring accomplishments.

No one could have written a better script, and no folk hero deserved more accolades than this lovable character received on the memorable night of 2^nd April 2011. His teammates paid him glowing tributes and hoisted him on his soldiers as a whole country leapt with joy. He finished this tournament as the second-highest rungetter with 482 to his credit, averaging 53.55 and striking at 91.98 per 100 balls. Only Tillakaratne Dilshan, who touched 500 runs, scored more. That Tendulkar sustained his brilliant performances through six World Cups, in adversity and in triumph, is a mind-boggling thought.         

To state the obvious, Tendulkar is by far the highest rungetter in the World Cup with 2278 runs at an average of 56.95 and a strike-rate of 88.98. To add to his 6 hundreds are an amazing 15 fifties, including 3 nineties. He has an incredible nine man-of-the-match awards. No one else has more than five. In the World Cup arena too, Tendulkar has lived up to his reputation as one of the greatest batsmen to grace this fascinating game. The maestro has indeed awe-inspiring achievements to his credit.

The lone man to aggregate 15,000 runs in Test matches and a record 51 hundreds at an average of nearly 54, and the only one to hit up 18,000 runs in One-day Internationals and yet another record 49 centuries at an average of almost 45 and strike-rate in excess of 86, this inimitable character has set seemingly impossible benchmarks for coming generations to strive for. He helped India scale the pinnacle in Tests as well as One-dayers. The only remaining team goal, to wrest the ICC World Cup, was also achieved in 2011.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/sachin-tendulkar-s-nine-man-of-the-match-awards-in-the-world-cup

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email  singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Follow his blogs https://singhiv.wordpress.com/  

https://indravikramsingh.blogspot.com/

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The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166840

On the 85th Anniversary of his exhilarating Epsom Derby triumph, an article by Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla in Racing Post of August 1934

‘I didn’t think I would win the Derby – I knew’

When Windsor Lad won the 1934 Derby, it was the greatest

day in the life of its owner, the Maharajah of Rajpipla.

Later, ‘Mr. Pip’ penned his memoirs and, reproduced here,

offer a fascinating insight into the joys of owning an Epsom hero

Windsor Lad wins the 1934 Derby for the Maharajah of Rajpipla, a victory witnessed by the massed hordes of racegoers at Epsom.

Years ago I made up my mind to win the Derby, but it was not until the end of Windsor Lad’s two-year-old career that I realised I had a chance of achieving my great ambition. I have never owned racehorses on a big scale; but, then, I have to keep up two racing establishments, one in England and the other in India.

It was in the summer of 1932 that my trainer, Marcus Marsh, came to me and said he had bought me a future Classic winner. It was a yearling colt by Blandford out of Resplendent, and he bought it at the Newmarket sales for 1300 gns. I agreed to take the colt, and he certainly proved a wonderful investment.

I have a house near Windsor, and it was for this reason I called the colt Windsor Lad.

To me it was one of the most interesting and enjoyable things I have ever experienced to watch Windsor Lad growing up. My trainer and I always had tremendous faith in the horse and I knew it was going to be the first chance I had ever had of winning an English classic race. Month by month I watched him grow into the splendid animal he now is. Nothing ever went wrong with him, which is very unusual in a really good horse, and he was never sick or sorry, like most other racehorses become at one time or another.

Windsor Lad made his first appearance in public exactly a year after I bought him. He was not nearly fit and finished well down the course, but I was not in the least worried, as I knew he would take a long time to develop. It was not until the end of October that season that Windsor Lad won a race, but from then until now he has only once been beaten, and then most terribly unluckily.

At the beginning of 1934 I thought I had a chance of winning the Derby but I was not confident. Then Windsor Lad came out and won the Chester Vase, and from that moment I was absolutely convinced I would win the Derby. At the time there were tremendous stories going around about the wonders of Colombo: that he was the best horse ever seen in England, and that he was the biggest certainty ever known in the Derby. Nearly all my friends thought I was mad when I told them Windsor Lad would beat Colombo. I did not think I would win - I knew. In fact, a few days before the Derby was to be run, I was at a private party at which there was a fortune-teller. I was persuaded to have my fortune told.

“You are going to win a big race; I think it is the Derby,” the fortune-teller said.

“You’re telling me!” I replied.

The days leading up to the Derby were filled with much anxiety as to whether Windsor Lad would keep sound and well. The critical time in the Derby horse’s preparation is the last week, and my trainer hardly left Windsor Lad for a moment.

At last Derby Day arrived. I invited a party of friends to my box at Epsom to watch the race. I do not bet much, but on this occasion I was tempted to have a good deal more on than usual. I had backed Windsor Lad at long prices weeks before the race, but I put some more on when I got to Epsom. It was very thrilling waiting for the great race to take place. Several times on the way to Epsom people recognised me and shouted out good wishes.

Most of them I had never seen before, and it was very encouraging to feel that if I won it would be so popular.

My trainer was equally as confident as myself before the race. My jockey, Charlie Smirke, would not hear of defeat. Colombo was still the raging favourite, and everybody seemed to think he was a good thing.

Curiously enough, it was the 13^th Derby I had watched, and when the draw for the positions at the start was announced it was seen that Windsor Lad was drawn at No.13.

This coincidence made me even more confident than ever, as I had travelled to England from India in cabin No.13.

At last came the parade, one of the many impressive preliminaries before the Derby. Windsor Lad was looking great. And then the canter to the post. Those few minutes before the Derby seemed like an eternity; I thought they would never start, but after what seemed hours the barrier went up and the race began.

I could not realise that it was actually the Derby in progress and that Windsor Lad was one of the field. I watched the race through powerful glasses and never took my eyes off my colours, which, by the way, are purple with a cream sash and quartered cap. As they came round Tattenham Corner, Smirke dashed Windsor Lad through on the rails. He showed a wonderful nerve and daring to gain the key position. Halfway up the straight the great crowd began to realise that Windsor Lad might win.

As Easton and Colombo drew up to him there was wild excitement, and the cheering and shouting on all sides was deafening. I myself did not call out anything; I was so certain he would win.

It was really a wonderful finish to a wonderful race, and Windsor Lad pulled out an extra little bit in the last few yards and won me my first Derby amid thunderous cheers.

I felt bemused at first, and could not realise that I had actually won the world’s greatest race.

Then my friends pushed me down the stairs to hurry out on to the course to lead in the winner. I did not realise what I was doing, as it did not seem possible that I had really won the Derby, but the beaming faces of Marcus Marsh and Smirke assured me that such indeed was the case.

As I led Windsor Lad down the course and into the unsaddling enclosure I was given a wonderful reception by the British public. They were magnificent, and everybody seemed genuinely pleased that I had won.

The moments that followed are too hazy for me to recollect what I felt or said. Everybody shook hands with me and I was congratulated on all sides. The coolest of all was Windsor Lad, who never turned a hair, and I think he could have run another race a few minutes after.

Then Brigadier-General Tomkinson, the King’s manager, came and asked me if I would go up to the royal box, as His Majesty was anxious to congratulate me. I went up and was congratulated by the King and Queen and other members of the royal family, and His Majesty insisted on my drinking a glass of champagne. Everybody was wonderful, and I felt very happy.

Eventually I motored back to London, where I gave a big party at the Savoy for all my friends to celebrate my victory.

Yes, winning the Derby is a wonderful feeling and one that few people experience.

Two months after the Derby, Mr M H Benson offered me £50,000 for Windsor Lad, and after due consideration I decided to sell him, providing that he left the horse with Marcus Marsh. I was very sorry to part with my horse, but I had not a stud in England, so there was no point in refusing such a big offer.

I wish Mr Benson every good luck with him, and I think he will make a great sire.

Who knows, I may win the Derby again. At any rate, I bought several fine yearlings at the last Doncaster Sales, and I think I may have another Windsor Lad!

(This article has been reproduced in the book ‘A Maharaja’s Turf’ by Maharaja Shri Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla’s grandson Indra Vikram Singh).

A Maharaja’s Turf

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166832