Johannesburg, October 04: If there is one batsman who has an outside chance of getting close to Sachin Tendulkar’s records, it is Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. The 34-year-old Tasmanian has been playing top-flight cricket for almost 14 years and has grown in stature as a batsman and a leader of men over the years.
But ask him about Tendulkar’s longevity and Ponting admits that the Master Blaster’srecords are incredible. “Sachin is an amazing, amazing player. You look at his stats and his records and they are quite incredible. And to think that someone can stay in the game for 20 years is pretty remarkable. I have always thought of him as the guy that sets the benchmark as far as batting is concerned and guys like me and the rest just chase and get as close as we can to him,” Ponting said.
Tendulkar has 44 ODI centuries and 42 Test centuries to his name, while Ponting has notched up 38 Test hundreds and has 28 of them in ODIs. Tendulkar has 12,733 runs in Tests and 16,903 in ODIs. Ponting has made 11,345 runs in Tests and 12,043 in ODIs.
Ponting admitted that he probably wouldn’t play for 20 years. “There are a number of innings that I have been able to sit back and watch over the years. So congratulations to him for 20 years in the game. If I stay in the game for 20 years, I will probably be batting in a wheelchair by then, so there you go.”
—Agencies