Tendulkar sends out powerful message

Remembering AD is one of the fastest bowlers in the game, Sachin's effort to stand up and elegantly whip the ball, with a straightish bat, through mid-wicket, was as close to batting genius as you are likely to witness on a cricket field.

Sachin's brilliance is quite enviable for a person like myself who makes his living from swinging a piece of crafted willow. The way he plays some of the most difficult strokes, with the ease of an adult riding a bicycle with stabilisers, indeed provokes pangs of jealousy, pangs abruptly replaced by sheer delight as he times another masterful stroke through the infield. Observing a Sachin innings is as exciting for any cricket devotee as it must be for any young basketball fan salivating over a Chicago Bulls match and subsequent Michael Jordan slam dunk. It is a joyous experience seeing any truly great athlete perform at their peak, an experience that can be enjoyed most times Sachin walks to the crease or Jordan enters the court.

As consistent as a Sachin square drive or Jordan three-pointer is a Jonty Rhodes run-out. Like few men in the history of the game, Jonty now attracts fans for his fielding ability alone. The way he dismissed Ganguly was simply brilliant, and yet in the same breath almost typical. Diving full stretch at backward point and retrieving a ball that was travelling like Shoaib Akhtar thunderbolt, Jonty made it look all so easy. Playing against him on Tuesday, it quickly became evident why he is so good in his backward point position. Not only is he as fast as an Olympic sprinter, but his anticipation and ability to move laterally in a split second is phenomenal. He makes scoring runs as difficult as escaping from Alcatraz as he dives and leaps and sprints to all angles of the offside field. Hanse Cronje must smile every time he walks on to the field with his little agile mate following him.

In the last 12 months Jonty has also enjoyed a marvellous time with the bat. After 45 overs on the Headingley field I walked off at stumps to see the last 24 balls of the South African innings. Thanks to Jonty and his mate Lance Klusener, I had to wait for only about 12 of those scheduled deliveries to witness a South African victory.

They look strong, don't they?

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