Indian news round-up

Sachin Tendulkar will amass 20,480 runs and 81 centuries in the next 10 years if he maintains his present form, according to an assessment by Wisden Cricket Monthly. In the past 27 months since February 1999, Tendulkar had piled up 1720 runs in 15 Tests at a near Bradmanesque average of 71.67, it said.

Should Tendulkar continue at that rate in the next decade, playing 12 Tests a year and finally hang up his boots at the age of 38, he will have amassed 20,480 and 81 centuries in 202 Tests. His average will be a cool 66.06, placing him all alone on a unique second tier of champion batsmen - still behind Bradman (99.94) but distinctly ahead of Graeme Pollock, George Headley and Herbert Sutcliffe (60-odd), Wisden wrote.

The jury is still out on whether he would have outscored Don Bradman if he had been around in the run-thirsty 1930s, but the Indian maestro had two sweet statistics to savour on his 28th birthday in April, Wisden writes in a piece headlined "Tendulkar the Great (and getting greater)". It went on to cite that Tendulkar's had been the 28 most prolific years and 27 of the most prodigious months in the history of batting.

Pointing out that on his birthday, Tendulkar's record in limited overs Internationals stood at 10,179 runs and 28 hundreds - twice as good as any one else at the same age - the magazine says that in Tests, his omnipotence is equally jaw-dropping. He was 1676 runs clear of the previous record held by Javed Miandad and his 25 Test centuries dwarf the 15 made at the same age by Bradman and Neil Harvey, his nearest rivals.

Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batsman Andy Flower has showered praise on Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. In an interview to PTI in Harare, the former Zimbabwe captain described Tendulkar as a "very special player." Flower said it was a treat to watch the batting of the Indian maestro from behind the stumps. "He has been superb to watch from behind. His balance, timing, eye position and technique doesn't seemed to have changed much (over the years) at all. It's all been very simple. Or let us say he has made it look very simple. That is one of his great strengths that he has got a very simple technique," he said, though he did feel that like any other batsman Tendulkar, who likes to go for his shots, too was slightly vulnerable against 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 deliveries all the time. He keeps you thinking. You can't line him up, so to speak."

Flower, who has close to a thousand runs in just six Test matches against India, described playing in India as "an amazing feeling" and said he loved playing in the country. "My style of play is more suited against spin. Plus, the wickets in India are very good for batting and the outfield is quick. I love playing in India. The whole atmosphere of touring India and playing cricket in India is an amazing feeling."

Flower, whose main goal of seeing his country win a Test was achieved when Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan in 1997-98, said the peak of his career was the tour of India last year where he averaged 270 in the two Tests with his highest score being an unbeaten 232 out of a tally of 540 runs. "But I don't want to leave it at that. I am still very hungry," he declared.

Former Australian fast bowling great Dennis Lillee will camp in Chennai from June 18 to 27 to monitor the progress of trainees at the MRF Pace Foundation. Besides monitoring the progress of the short listed boys whom he selected during his earlier visit in February, Lillee would also finalise the players for the pre-season training which would go on till September end, foundation chief coach TA Sekhar said in a release on Friday.

Four fast bowlers of the National Cricket Academy along with its chief coach Balwinder Singh Sandhu and four bowlers each from the zonal academies would be at the foundation during Lillee's visit. In addition, up and coming young Sri Lankan fast bowlers Amila Ratnayake, Dilhara Lokuhettige and Dilhara Fernando and Australian Cricket Academy's Mark Thistle and Mitcheli Johnson would also be attending the training sessions.

Australian Cricket Board's psychologist Sandy Gordon would also be coming here to conduct classes, the release added.