The Surfer

Sachin won another competition -- this time in the hostel bathroom. The challenge was to dip our heads in a sink full of water. Whoever holds his breath longer wins. Sachin defeated his opponents in the earlier rounds hands down. Sameer Dighe had reached the 'final' from the other half and Sachin proved to be smarter in the final as well. The otherwise spick and span bathroom was in an absolute mess and to our bad luck, Kailash sir walked in only to see Sachin and Sameer fully drenched

He did not disappoint. He scored a century. When his partner, who also scored a hundred, was cramping a little, Dravid walked down and helped him stretch. He had a go at the umpires a couple of times as they were missing out on no-balls. Yes, Rahul had a go at the umpire in a club game because they missed out on no-balls. And you thought club cricket might not be important to him. I told him in between overs that in our innings as well they had missed a few. He was really angry and made a gesture with his hands suggesting that they were missing huge no-balls

I remember at Sharjah in 1998 we needed to beat Australia in the last qualifying game. I was busy talking to the batsmen and asked them to take the responsibility. I told Tendulkar: "You will have to bat exceptionally well to chase this big total." To which he replied: "I'll do it." And didn't he play a wonderful knock! He single-handedly took India to the final scoring 143. We all were mesmerised by the special hundred. On the way back while getting into the team hotel, I told Tendulkar: "You will have to score in the final as well." He replied confidently: "I'll do it for you." And he kept up his promise. His 134 proved pivotal in the run-chase as India clinched the trophy.

Erapalli Prasanna suggests that bowling with the new ball or having fewer fielders on the boundary is not so much the problem as inaccurate bowling. "Ashwin doesn't have the ability to bowl to his field. You can try many things but you have to ensure that at least 60 per cent of the times it must work. Having just four fielders outside the circle does not give a spinner much room to experiment but under pressure he is trying too many different things, losing his line and length in the process."

No drugs, no sex, no alcohol: remarkably, Tendulkar's 24-year international career has been relatively scandal-free, and so people overreach for marginal criticisms at the expense of a broader context. We are all perhaps attuned to expecting the most aesthetic splendour from those with glorious weakness - the Cantonas, Maradonas and, as tennis fanatic Tendulkar would cite, the McEnroes - but conveniently forget that the most peerless, the most special, are those who have combined both art and success without recourse to scandal such as Federer, Schumacher and Sachin himself. Even if Sachin headbutts a West Indian in his final game á la Zidane, he can be assured exiting the sport with a squeaky clean reputation.

Ponting comes out and says that his end was one not of loss of enthusiasm, or anxiety about performance, or technical frailty, or physical infirmity, but 'pressure.' Of his last season he writes: 'In the lead-up to the Shield final, I was named the competition's player of the year, having averaged 87.5 over eight matches. I was also picked in the Big Bash team of the year. This confirmed for me what I already knew: that it wasn't a decline in my reflexes or my eyesight or my fitness that stopped me scoring runs in Test cricket. It was the pressure that got me.'

"There has to be a desire to spend time at the crease and want to be that person who scores the majority of the runs," he says. Hick's first century came at school when he was six. He thinks compulsory retirement after scoring 25 or 40 in a junior game restricts development. "I'm very much against that," he says. "It's everywhere now." Cricket is in decline as a participation sport in Australia, so the no-retirement idea will probably not catch on. But the lack of application is clear across all levels, especially to Hick.

When asked if being deported would have cost his life, Ahmed draws breath: "I never give up. I would have found a way. I struggled for many years and I would have found a way, not to stay in Australia, but just to live my life, by any means. Every human being has gifts. Every human being has some really good qualities. For me, it was maybe cricket and that helped me to meet people. But whatever it was, I would struggle to live my life and not give in."

Eighteen test matches and 39 ODIs is but a toe in the water for any international cricketer and these are Ryder's statistics, a man nearing 30. Already three test match centuries, including a double, shows his conversion rate and appetite for large scores. His ODI numbers reveal starts and are done so at a good strike rate. However I'm sure he would like his ODI average to be closer to that of his test average of 40. He is a handy bowler, on you just a bit quicker than you think. And in the field he is agile and nimble, able to position himself for chances because of his quick reflexes and feel for the game.

Behind the benign facade was a determination and a commitment to succeed and a total dedication to the team. He does not possess an iota of selfishness, and willingly took on the most demanding role both for Middlesex and subsequently for England, keeping wicket, cheerleading and batting in the middle order. He made the most of his ability. Many times having laboured for hours behind the stumps against the all-conquering West Indies, he went in to face the full wrath of their fearsome pace attack when the chips were down and stabilised the innings. He was a human pacifier.