The beau-ideal of a batsman

``Cricket, more than any other game, is able at its best to rise above competitive appeal and results; it can show its fine arts entirely for our pleasure - our aesthetic pleasure.'' - Neville Cardus

THE HISTORY of cricket is replete with prolific batsmen. The game is never short of them. Runs accrue to them like barnacles to a hulk. Why, as many as 24 willow-wielders have scored even a century of centuries in first-class cricket. From time to time we are reminded that cricket is essentially a batsman's game. Even the laws of the game are heavily loaded in favour of batsmen.

Yet, of how many of them could it be fairly said that they adored cricket, contributed to its memorable art, added to its aesthetic appeal and delight? Not about many, one is afraid. The game is invariably unfortunate in this regard. There is no rational explanation for this paucity although lack of natural talent may be one of the reasons.

But no one in his right senses with half a notion of what constitutes a thoroughbred batsman would deny Sachin Tendulkar's class, his pedigree. If at all there is any batsman who deserves to be compared with actually the incomparable Don Bradman, it is Tendulkar and no one else. Why, the Don himself was on record saying Tendulkar's batting reminded him of his own.

That he is a phenomenon is beyond doubt, considering he has achieved so much at such a young age. He may have become the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in ODIs but the fact is it is no more than one of the many records he was always destined to own. If Bradmanesque was the benchmark for the batsmen in the 20th century, Tendulkaresque may well be the yardstick to judge the willow-wielders in the 21st century.

He is still so young that he is bound to re-write many more record books, fitness permitting. Unless he is drained of motivation, unless he is bored by the monotony of his own taken- for-granted success, Tendulkar will continue to rule like a monarch. The mind boggles to imagine what he will achieve in the next eight years or so.

Today he stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries, having left them behind by miles. There is just no one in present-day cricket who can approach Tendulkar in terms of greatness, dominance and achievements. Of course, Steve Waugh can outshine him in rhetoric, as it were, and Brian Lara in virtuosity of execution. But neither Waugh nor Lara is Tendulkar's equal in point of effortless brilliance.

It is after ages that such a gifted batsman has graced the game. He may have been coached academically in cricketing parlance but having been born with a natural elegance Tendulkar is free to give free rein to his innate, rare talents.

Unlike many batsmen, Tendulkar does not have to labour for his runs. No, never does he play with sterile negation. He knows the artistic independence of effort.

That he is a genius can be understood from the fact that for six balls apparently alike in pitch, or pace, or spin, Tendulkar can produce six different strokes; and more. His footwork is lightning, eyesight hawk- like and wrist-work dexterous. He could cut late from flexible wrists to the ecstasy of cognoscenti and the chagrin of fielders. Tendulkar's cover- drive in particular is a gem fit for display in a jewellery showroom.

Time and again one has seen bowlers applaud the glory of Tendulkar's shots. He puts them, with the rest of spectators (commoners and connoisseurs alike), under a spell. There cannot be any true cricket enthusiast whose heart does not swell with pleasure and pride when Tendulkar is at his mercurial best. The free uplift of his bat, the lissome poise and rhythm of his daring, delicate strokes are enough to lift anyone out of his utilitarian self and send him into raptures.

Indeed, his batsmanship is a judicious mix of Oriental artistry and Eastern mysticism. He has lifted cricket to an atmosphere of freedom of personal expression. The score-board seldom or never tells you more than half the truth about what he is doing out there in the middle. As a batsman Tendulkar seems to be a law unto himself. Although never irresponsible, Tendulkar goes his unburdened way in an age increasingly becoming standardised with efficiency the aim at the expense of impulse and art.

The little big man is not simply a talented batsman but one under the sway and in the thrill of incalculable genius. Whether it is Test cricket or the short game, Tendulkar's batting always appears young, fresh and spontaneous. With him batting is just as easy and as much a natural part of him as the way he walks, talks or eats. To a fundamentally sound technical foundation Tendulkar has added an unpredictable inspiration, as though grace has descended on him.

It is a futile exercise to pick one particular innings and say with all certainty that it is his masterpiece. For he has played so many outstanding innings that he himself finds it difficult to select one and proclaim it as his best ever. He has scored runs in every nook and cranny of the globe, on all sorts of wickets, in different weather and `other' conditions and against the world's finest fast bowlers and spinners.

Like Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji before him, Tendulkar remains India's finest identity in world cricket. Why, he could be the ideal ambassador for the game of cricket itself. He is so effective because he is unselfish, so popular because he is gentle, so loved because he is one of the few Indians who has given some moments to cheer to a nation continually in turmoil. Little boys and girls, young men and women, old gentlemen and ladies - they all have taken the lovable Tendulkar to their hearts.

He is not only the golden boy of Indian sports today but also the most saleable commodity in the country. His name spells magic, magnificence and money, too. Cultured, charismatic, charming and chivalrous, Tendulkar is delightfully disarming and has always steered clear of controversies.

Few sporting icons have been so popular, few so warmly greeted the moment they leave the dressing-room. Tendulkar is already a living legend, even a living history, if you like.

Tendulkar is a shining example of what right upbringing and proper encouragement can do to a promising sportsman. He is not much educated but he never misses any opportunity to emphatically mention the ``important'' role played by members of his family in making him a decent human being. Despite being a celebrity and the heart-throb of millions of aficionados in the world, Tendulkar remains very modest.

``The secret of my success is my cultured background. I've learnt some vital lessons in the art of good living from my parents, who are highly educated. And good manners, too,'' he told this writer once.

``The charm of success lies in the fact that it should never go to your head. I am glad the teams I've represented have benefited from whatever little contributions I've made.

It always gives me greater pleasure when my performance with the bat helps my team, my country, achieve some laurels. And I do want to bring as many laurels as possible for my country, God willing.''

Eulogising Tom Graveney, the stylish English batsman of the 1950s and 1960s, Neville Cardus once wrote: ``If some destructive process were to eliminate all that we know about cricket, only Graveney surviving, we could reconstruct from him, from his way of batting and from the man himself, every outline of the game, every essential character and flavour which have contributed to cricket, the form of it and its soul, and its power to inspire a wider and sometimes a great literature.''

Cardus then asked a rhetorical question: ``Of how many Test match cricketers could you say as much as this?'' Well, Sir Neville, certainly about Tendulkar, if not any other.

In fact, Cardus himself would have been the first to admit this, if the great man had seen Tendulkar's batting in all its glory and splendour.

For Tendulkar is not only the beau-ideal of a batsman who plays cricket in the right spirit but also a beloved sportsman blessed with certain noble faculties as a human being.

HARESH PANDYA

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