By far the best i have seen or played against- ALLAN DONALD

Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his
chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. Which is why I find it amusing when
critics suggest that he plays well only at home. Do they realise that they are talking about a guy
who has scored centuries in almost all the Test-playing countries?
I must admit that I was not entirely convinced that Tendulkar had something special about him when
I first heard about him. It was prior to South Africa's return to world cricket that the "Tendulkar
buzz" was heard around the county circuit. He played a season for Yorkshire, but did not really get
going. However, he did score one century in a Sunday League, the rerun of which I saw on
television. There was a lot of Sunil Gavaskar in his style, and he also had the balance that nobody
else possessed. But these were glimpses of potential and I did not think he would be consistently good
for a long period of time.
How wrong I was. Tendulkar got better and better with each passing year and today he is the most
frightening batsman as far as bowlers across the world are concerned. Everybody is king at home,
and scoring heavily in your backyard has never really impressed me. However, Tendulkar has 16
centuries outside India, which is more than half of all his centuries. Many quality batsmen end up
with that many centuries in their entire career, so that number is a clear indication that we are
talking about a freak player - someone who is as good and as consistent abroad as he is at home.
As a bowler you have to have your gameplan ready before bowling to Tendulkar. Sachin looks to leave
a lot of balls in the beginning, and as a bowler your best chance against him is in the first 20
minutes. During our team meetings, we often speak about the importance of the first 12 balls to
Tendulkar. If you get him then you can thank your stars, otherwise it could mean that tough times
lie ahead.
Consistency is the factor that makes Tendulkar special. He is often spoken about in the same breath
as Brian Lara, but as far as I am concerned, the comparison does not even begin. Lara is not half
as consistent as Tendulkar and lacks the discipline of the latter. The left-hander plays in a more
loose manner and is not that controlled or patient during the first 20 minutes of his innings. Lara
was unbelievable in 1994, but he has never been able to recreate that magic consistently after that
Which is why I rate my dismissal of Tendulkar at Durban in 1996 as the best ball I've ever bowled
in Test cricket. I remember that over very clearly. Tendulkar had just hit me for two boundaries,
but I decided to stick to my outside-the-off-stump line. The ball just nipped back sharply and
claimed his off-stump. It was a perfect ball and, more importantly, exposed a tiny chink in the army
colonel's armour. Since then we have worked on bowling that ball against Tendulkar and have had
some degree of success with it. At 29, Tendulkar is at the middle of his career and from hereon he can score another 15 to 20
centuries, taking him close to the 50-century mark. He will continue to terrorise bowlers for another
six to eight years, and, hopefully, he will be able to keep the motivation going.
Great players often decide to retire out of the blue. This is particularly common among those who are
family men because they find it increasingly difficult to spend time away from their near and dear
ones. I've heard that Tendulkar is deeply attached to his children and might face such a crisis.
However, like many admirers all over the world, I certainly hope that he succeeds in keeping his
focus on the game for many more years. I think he owes it to the game and to his admirers. ALLAN DONALD'the white lightning'