IN: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar ( ( listen); born 24 April 1973) is a former Indian international cricketer and a former captain of the Indian national team, regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. The highest run scorer of all time in International cricket, Tendulkar took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test debut on 15 November 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and India internationally for close to twenty-four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a ODI, the holder of the record for the most number of runs in both Test and ODI, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket. In 2002, halfway through his career, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Don Bradman, and the second greatest ODI batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards.

The drawn series as India toured Australia in 2003-04 saw Tendulkar making his mark in the last Test of the series, with 241 not out from 436 ball by 33 four at strike rate of 55.27 in Sydney, putting India in a virtually unbeatable position. He spend 613 minute at crease.India have a first inning score of 705/7. He followed up the innings with an unbeaten 60 in the second innings of the Test. Prior to this Test match, he had had an unusually horrible run of form, failing in all six innings in the preceding three Tests. It was no aberration that 2003 was his worst year in Test cricket, with an average of 17.25 and just one fifty.  Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 194 against Pakistan at Multan in the following series. Indian captain Rahul Dravid declared before Tendulkar reached 200; had he done so it would have been the fourth time he had passed the landmark in Tests. Tendulkar said that he was disappointed and that the declaration had taken him by surprise. Many former cricketers commented that Dravid's declaration was in bad taste. After the match, which India won, Dravid said that the matter had been discussed internally and put to rest.  A tennis elbow injury then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the side for most of the year, coming back only for the last two Tests when Australia toured India in 2004. He played a part in India's victory in Mumbai in that series with a fast 55, though Australia took the series 2-1.  On 10 December 2005 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Tendulkar scored his record-breaking 35th Test century, against the Sri Lankans. After this, Tendulkar endured the longest spell of his career without a Test century: 17 innings elapsed before he scored 101 against Bangladesh in May 2007. Tendulkar scored his 39th ODI hundred on 6 February 2006 in a match against Pakistan. He followed with a 42 in the second One-Day International against Pakistan on 11 February 2006, and then a 95 in hostile, seaming conditions on 13 February 2006 in Lahore, which set up an Indian victory. On 19 March 2006, after being dismissed for only one run against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground, Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd, the first time that he had ever faced such flak. Tendulkar ended the three-Test series without a half-century to his credit, and the need for a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity.  Tendulkar's comeback came in the DLF cup in Malaysia and he was the only Indian batsman to shine. In his comeback match, against West Indies on 14 September 2006, Tendulkar responded to his critics who believed that his career was inexorably sliding with his 40th ODI century. Though he scored 141 not out, West Indies won the rain-affected match by the D/L method.

Was there any controversies?

OUT: Tendulkar ended the three-Test series without a half-century to his credit, and the need for a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity.


IN: Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 - 22 January 1978) was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two world wars. His first-class debut was delayed by the First World War until 1919 and his career was effectively terminated in August 1939 when he was called up for military service in the imminent Second World War. He was the first cricketer to score 16 centuries in Test match cricket.

As a specialist opening batsman, Sutcliffe's rivals on the field were the opposing bowlers and especially fast bowlers, though he encountered many outstanding spin bowlers too on turning or sticky wickets.  By the time Sutcliffe began his Test career, the formidable fast bowling partnership of Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald had ended, though Sutcliffe faced Gregory in Test matches and was opposed to McDonald in "Roses matches" between Yorkshire and Lancashire. Gregory by 1924-25 was no longer able to "frighten batsmen with sheer speed" but he still commanded respect and Jack Hobbs specifically told Sutcliffe to exercise caution against Gregory at the start of an innings. Sutcliffe regarded McDonald as "one of the best bowlers I ever met". He commented on McDonald's trick of "resting" by making himself seem tired and then "hurling himself into (a very fast delivery) like a demon". As Sutcliffe said, he never knew which ball would be the fast one and McDonald was a dangerous opponent.  But Sutcliffe was quoted as saying that he had "never played finer fast bowling" than that of the West Indians Learie Constantine, George Francis, Herman Griffith and Manny Martindale. Among the best English bowlers he faced in county cricket were some of his colleagues in England teams, such as Harold Larwood, Maurice Tate and Tich Freeman.  One of the toughest competitors he faced was the Australian leg spinner Clarrie Grimmett, "a tiny gnome of a man", who bowled with a roundarm action and made his Test debut at the age of 34, taking 11 wickets in his first match. Grimmett bowled "like a miser" and "begrudged every run", whereas his leg spin partner Arthur Mailey was the type of bowler who would "buy" his wickets by conceding runs and then, having boosted the batsman's confidence, snaring him with a "wrong 'un" (i.e., a googly). On Sutcliffe's first tour of Australia, he commented that he "was troubled most of the time by Arthur Mailey" but eventually he learned how to "differentiate between Mailey's leg breaks and his wrong 'uns".

What are some matches where Sutcliffe faced his opponents?

OUT: