debut: 7/11/03
4,565 runs
On tour of Australia in 2004, Sachin Tendulkar decided to put away the cover drive in Sydney after falling to the stroke in Melbourne when he seemed set for a big score. Eighty-two runs in five innings were well below the standards he had set for himself, and he was determined to make things right. If shunning the cover drive was what he felt was needed, then that is what he would do. The result was 613 minutes at the crease for 241 runs without a single drive through the covers. Even as his partner, VVS Laxman, enchanted the gathering with drives through the covers and all around the park, Tendulkar remained resolute, never once departing from his pledge, though the temptation to do so must have been considerable.
We see then that there are different plots and subplots that run through most games. There are also conditions that vary from one day to the next — from one session to the next very often. A surface that starts out with preparation moisture, thus aiding seam bowlers, could become worn and dry and dusty in the game’s latter stages, enabling turn and treachery, thus aiding the spinners. Cracks in the surface sometimes develop or widen under intense sunshine to present batters with an issue of concern. Bowlers frequently tire under a heavy workload and energy-sapping heat, allowing the batter who stays the course an easier time at the crease.
Scheduled to be used for a minimum of 80 overs, the ball deteriorates: the seam becomes less proud; its surface becomes rougher and can, therefore, be nurtured to facilitate contrast and reverse swing. The new ball will bounce and seam more than the old ball and will likely rise more quickly off the pitch. Right-armers operating from round the wicket or left-armed bowlers often create a rough area outside the right-handed batters off-stump that can be exploited by an off-spinner, while the left-handed batter already must deal with the rough created by the right-handed bowler if they need to contend with a left-arm orthodox spinner or a leg-spinner.
We see then that there are different plots and subplots that run through most games. There are also conditions that vary from one day to the next — from one session to the next very often. A surface that starts out with preparation moisture, thus aiding seam bowlers, could become worn and dry and dusty in the game’s latter stages, enabling turn and treachery, thus aiding the spinners. Cracks in the surface sometimes develop or widen under intense sunshine to present batters with an issue of concern. Bowlers frequently tire under a heavy workload and energy-sapping heat, allowing the batter who stays the course an easier time at the crease.
Scheduled to be used for a minimum of 80 overs, the ball deteriorates: the seam becomes less proud; its surface becomes rougher and can, therefore, be nurtured to facilitate contrast and reverse swing. The new ball will bounce and seam more than the old ball and will likely rise more quickly off the pitch. Right-armers operating from round the wicket or left-armed bowlers often create a rough area outside the right-handed batters off-stump that can be exploited by an off-spinner, while the left-handed batter already must deal with the rough created by the right-handed bowler if they need to contend with a left-arm orthodox spinner or a leg-spinner.
Jamaica Observer