The Master is at the pinnacle!

[Uppercut]

Might as well watch the green grass grow? But that's your preference and I hope you end up satisfied with that.

For me, the greatest thing about Tendulkar was he got runs and he got them beautifully. There are some who bat splendidly but not score runs, and there are Chanders. But this guy's been a mix of both.

Tendulkar's damn good to watch, don't get me wrong. What gets me every time about Tendulkar is that when he plays a shot, the sound of the bat on the ball is sometimes non-existent. It's as though he's using a wand rather than a bat.

Chanderpaul, though, is the embodiment of determination. Through his own unorthodox technique, incredible concentration and a hardened attitude of "i will not get out" he manages to score runs without having anywhere near the talent of many others. That's what i love about watching Chanderpaul bat.

 

[Manee]

Tendulkar's damn good to watch, don't get me wrong. What gets me every time about Tendulkar is that when he plays a shot, the sound of the bat on the ball is sometimes non-existent. It's as though he's using a wand rather than a bat.

Chanderpaul, though, is the embodiment of determination. Through his own unorthodox technique, incredible concentration and a hardened attitude of "i will not get out" he manages to score runs without having anywhere near the talent of many others. That's what i love about watching Chanderpaul bat.

Is concentration not a talent?

 

[Uppercut]

Is concentration not a talent?

I guess so yeah, but you know what i mean.

 

[aussie]

2003 more than 2001 IMO.

Bridgetown 2002, when for that series he became Pedro Collin's bunny, Since then with addition to his tennis elbow woes he hasn't looked the same except for last summer in Australia.

 

[morgieb]

Retirement

I agree. Can't see what he want's to achieve now.

 

[morgieb]

I don't really think Pollock was TBH - in fact Pollock in 2006/07 in Tests bowled better than he had for some years and signed-off with another good (if very easy) match in 2007/08.

And certainly in ODIs he was as good as ever. Ditto McGrath. He perhaps wasn't quite the Test bowler he had once been but in ODIs McGrath too was as good as ever.

Lara I really don't know. He may have been past his best, but TBH I'd have liked to see him give it a bit longer. Lara is like Ali Brown - you just never write him off.

Warne I wouldn't disagree with, and Gilchrist had been past his best for 4 years by the time he retired - his best lasted just 4 years in any case.

Warne was still quite good when he retired, IMO.

 

[Precambrian]

I agree. Can't see what he want's to achieve now.

World Cup?

 

[morgieb]

World Cup?

He'll be 38 by then, and no host nation has won it.

 

[Precambrian]

SL won it in 1996, despite being one of the host nations.

And Tendulkar, if his body stays, has the game to last till then.

 

[GIMH]

He'll be 38 by then, and no host nation has won it.

Ah, well that's settled then, no host nation will ever win it

 

[Anil]

congrats sachin, my all-time favourite, one of the greatest players ever!!!

 

[Sanz]

Watching the highlights of this test and TBH, none of the Fab 4 look terribly out of touch. Dravid was awesome until he got out, Ganguly looked no different, Tendulkar has been playing some of his best cricket in last 5 years. VVS has always been like that, inconsistent.

I dont know why people are in such hurry to retire them.

 

[pasag]

I agree. Can't see what he want's to achieve now.

Some people just like playing cricket, believe it or not.

 

[Furball]

Might as well watch the green grass grow? But that's your preference and I hope you end up satisfied with that.

For me, the greatest thing about Tendulkar was he got runs and he got them beautifully. There are some who bat splendidly but not score runs, and there are Chanders. But this guy's been a mix of both.

Chanderpaul is fantastic to watch you clown.

 

[duffer]

Yeah agree. Chanders is a fun player to watch when he's going.

 

[JBH001]

Many congratulations to Sachin on achieving the record.

What can I, or anyone, say? The man eludes superlatives and adjectives.

All I will say, and I have said it before when debating his merit vis a vis the other great batsmen of his generation, is that no-one has given me greater pleasure than SRT. Watching him at his best is an exercise in uderstanding what batting fundamentally is. The consumation of method and organisation to grace and aggression coupled to the realisation that no-one could do it better.

He has, for me, been the finest batsman of his generation (I began watching and following the game around the time Sachin began his test career). No-one else exemplifies the art of batting the way he does.

 

[Richard]

Yeah agree. Chanders is a fun player to watch when he's going.

Reason I love Chanderpaul is because you just never know what's coming. He can block the &%$£ out of it or he can smash the &%$£ out of it, and mostly even he doesn't seem to know what he's going to do until it happens.

 

[Richard]

Warne was still quite good when he retired, IMO.

Being "quite good" |= being as good as you've ever been.

Warne was still easily Test-class at the time of his retirement but he wasn't at the absolute top of his game.

 

[Richard]

Bridgetown 2002, when for that series he became Pedro Collin's bunny, Since then with addition to his tennis elbow woes he hasn't looked the same except for last summer in Australia.

That's nonsense, Tendulkar had a few bad innings' against Collins. He was every bit still the brilliant Tendulkar in England in 2002 and in the return series at home against West Indies in 2002/03.

I'd argue he wasn't really doing that much wrong in NZ in 2002/03 either - on the pitches that series was played on, his return was a pretty decent one.

The problems started in the home series against NZ in 2003/04 IMO.

 

[Precambrian]

That's nonsense, Tendulkar had a few bad innings' against Collins. He was every bit still the brilliant Tendulkar in England in 2002 and in the return series at home against West Indies in 2002/03.

I'd argue he wasn't really doing that much wrong in NZ in 2002/03 either - on the pitches that series was played on, his return was a pretty decent one.

The problems started in the home series against NZ in 2003/04 IMO.

The fun here is that throughout his period of bad form, Tendulkar has managed to be consistent in the ODIs and in tests against Australia.