From the publishers of THE HINDU Vol. 25 :: No. 18 :: May. 04 - 10, 2002	Home Contents
	LETTERS Sachin's feat Sir, - This is to congratulate Sachin Tendulkar on equalling Don Bradman's record of 29 centuries in Tests. Though Sachin took more Tests to achieve the feat, it is indeed a great effort. Humble as ever, Sachin doesn't want to be compared to the great Don. It will be nice if Sachin also gets a triple hundred as no other Indian batsman has reached this mark in Tests. Carl Hooper got his maiden double hundred in his home ground (in the drawn first Test) all right, but it was thanks to a few chances. Deep Dasgupta was shabby behind the stumps, missing a few catches. P. KANNAN, SRIVILLIPUTHUR Rude shock Sir, - The dropping of ace spinner Anil Kumble from the playing eleven of the Port of Spain Test came as a rude shock to many cricket lovers. Kumble's recent performance was fairly good as he took 19 wickets in the three Tests against England, 16 against Zimbabwe and two wickets at Georgetown. He had 37 wickets in the last six Tests and was averaging above six wickets per match. And unfortunately he was dropped. If Anil Kumble's record overseas is the only reason for his dropping from the eleven then what should be said about the Indian skipper. What should be said of the batsmen who repeatedly fail abroad and still make it to the team. Time and again, our top order has come a cropper against pacemen abroad. And hence our poor record overseas. B. K. NAGESH, BANGALORE Interesting Sir, - Steve Waugh's interview by Peter Roebuck and Simpson's column (The Sportstar, April 6) were not only interesting,but also brought out the many facets of the Aussie. Steve is a determined person. He is completely dedicated and committed to his job. His philosophy is not only to motivate cricketers but also others who want to be something in life. His detractors may not be pleased with the way he works but why don't they realise that Steve has placed himself among the elites by his leadership qualities. He helped Hayden, Langer and Martyn to become match-winners from being average players. Likewise one can argue Steve being the best captain in the last 2-3 decades by saying that Australia under Border and Taylor were not bad either; but they shouldn't forget that Steve Waugh made this good team an invincible one - winning 16 Tests on a trot is no joke. A great cricketer, outstanding captain and a good human being, Steve has a large following not only in Australia but in India too. RAJIV RANJAN, PATNA Stirring a debate Sir, - Taking all facts into consideration, the remark made by Barry Richards that Brian Lara is a better batsman than Sachin Tendulkar because the former has played more match-winning innings, though seems logical, is actually a lot weaker when analysed. It is noteworthy that cricket being a team game cannot be won or lost because of the performance of a single player. No doubt, though very few of Sachin's centuries have brought Test victories for India, nothing can be taken away from Sachin, the batsman, for India's poor record. One of the main reasons for India's poor performance despite Sachin's good and consistent batting is its extremely weak bowling, which lacks penetration. On the other hand, Lara can be considered fortunate enough (for a major part of his career) to be a contemporary of two of the greatest fast bowlers West Indies has ever produced - Courtney Walsh, the highest wicket-taker in Tests and Curtly Ambrose, who could trouble any batsman in the world on any sort of wicket. Given the facts, if the "number of matches won" is the parameter to judge the greatness of a batsman, we can only say that Lara is a luckier (not a better) batsman than Tendulkar. SATYAJEET DESHPANDE, AHMEDABAD Rich tributes Sir, - The tribute to Ben Hollioake (The Sportstar, April 13) was timely. Certainly he was a charming personality and a gifted cricketer. He was a clean striker of the ball and stylish too. His favourite ground was Lord's as he performed well there. Hollioake will be remembered for his short career and missed for his attractive skills. The Sportstar did a good job by rising to the occasion and paying rich tributes to the young cricketer. SHIRISH J. BUCH, RAJKOT Excellent photos Sir, - I am a regular reader of your magazine and have been collecting all the issues in the last 15 years. Some of the cricket photos published in the last 20 issues have been excellent. Hope you will publish more such pictures and run good photo features regularly. SOORAJ KUMAR, KOCHI Ugly scenes Sir, - The U&I hockey tournament held in Bangalore was smoothly conducted but for some clandestine arrangements. The Karnataka Hockey Association spared no efforts to make it successful. But the sad part was that some guilty teams were spared as the organisers have powers to suspend the erring teams only after due investigation. The organisers kept out the erring teams for special awards. But such teams incurred the wrath of the Bangalore spectators, who resorted to pelting stones to demonstrate their anger. BARHIYAKOTHI RAJNIKANT, BIHAR Contents • Daily Sports • The Hindu • Business Line • Frontline • Home Copyrights © 2002 The Sportstar Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Sportstar.