Not long after Sachin Tendulkar had carried his bat in scoring 148 against Australia, belting a young Australian debutant called Shane Warne to all parts of the ground at Sydney in 1992, Merv Hughes turned to Allan Border, his captain, and, in his own eloquent way, predicted the future.
“This little prick’s going to end up with more runs than you, AB.”
The little master has ended up with more runs than anyone in Test cricket in a career that has been blessed with brilliance, tempered with patience and been the most joyous entertainment and privilege to watch. With 14 366 runs under his belt, the next milestone is to become the first man to score 50 Test centuries. Graeme Smith would prefer he didn’t do that at SuperSport Park over the next five days as the number one and two Test teams in the world take each other on in a three-match series.
“I’d obviously love him to get it, but I’d like him to get in the next Test series he plays in,” smiled Smith as the rain pelted down at SuperSport Park on Wednesday. “He’s a world class player and he’s been a great ambassador for the game. When I was young, he was one of the players I watched and who got me excited about cricket.”
There is some good news for South Africa in that Tendulkar has averaged 39.76 (against a career average of 56.55) against them at home – only three of the 34 Indians who have played against South Africa have averaged higher. He has three centuries in 22 innings (111, 169, 155) and has been on the winning side just once in 12 matches. On cricinfo.com on Wednesday, it was suggested half-heartedly, that he suffers from “Christmas Blues” because he struggles to score runs around December.
“Over the course of his career, Tendulkar averages 47.5, and just 42.9 if you exclude his two December Tests against Bangladesh, one of which included an unbeaten 248. In the other 11 months of the year, his career average is 58.8 (57.6 excluding Bangladesh). This means that, in December Tests not against Bangladesh, he is 25-percent less effective than he is in the rest of the year,” wrote Cricinfo’s Andy Zaltzman.
This has dipped to around the 30 mark in December Tests since 2002, and “is just 24.3 against South Africa in December, compared to 43.4 against them in other months”.
“Overall, this suggests that, when the greatest batsman of his era plays South Africa in December, he is only 42-percent of the player he usually is,” concluded Zaltzman, much to the relief of South African cricket fans the world over.
However, Tendulkar, at 37, has hit a streak of form that suggests he would be able to overcome any statistical anomaly against anyone. He told The Guardian earlier this year he is “really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?”
There has been no let up in the hunger of the man since his debut in 1989, through the mauling of Warne in 1992 and onwards, and onward.
He’s gone through 2010 in a rush. Successive Test centuries against South Africa in February were followed by the first double century in a one-day international, being named as the ICC player of the year and a spell as the No.1 batsmen on the ICC rankings.
“Life would be flat without dreams,” Tendulkar told the Guardian.
“It’s really important to dream – and then to chase those dreams. I really believe it's this dreaming that makes me work so hard. I want to continue doing that because I’ve worked very hard the last couple of years on my batting.
“Gary Kirsten has been instrumental in this. He's given me the freedom to express myself, and to pace my innings as I see fit. Gary is more a friend than a coach.”
Kirsten has seen Tendulkar close up as a player and a coach, and he would no doubt agree with Merv Hughes, and take it one step further.
Tendulkar may just end up with more runs than anyone – ever.