What if Tendulkar's hundredth 100 never comes?

Bat and ball / Ralph Ellis / 29 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Another chance gone. Sachin Tendulkar is out to his Mumbai Indians team-mate Lasith Malinga and the wait for his 100th 100 goes on.

"You start to wonder if it will ever happen, though. Just as Gary Lineker missed the penalty that should have tied him with Bobby Charlton at the top of the all-time England goalscoring charts, so it seems Tendulkar could also miss out on a record everybody thought would be his."

It's now over a year since Sachin Tendulkar struck his 99th international century but the 100th is yet to come. And as the matches go by, the Little Master and his billion plus fans must be doubting whether it will ever come, says Ralph Ellis.

All top cricketers know about the nervous nineties. One minute they are batting freely, effortlessly hitting fours or sixes and seeing what is normally a small, red cricket ball like it was a giant beach ball. The next they are scratching for a single or two to push and prod their way to the magic three figures.

It's why the first international century is the hardest to get. The nerves kick in and however much you are trying to bat for the team, it has suddenly become an individual sport. Get there once and it becomes far simpler to pass the milestone again.
But what if, like Sachin Tendulkar, you are trying to reach the 100th hundred? Then, it seems, you go right back to the beginning and the nerves take over like a novice.

It's nearly a year now since the Little Master made it to 99 with an imperious display against South Africa in a World Cup group game. We all thought it was written in the stars that he'd wait until India were at Lord's for a Test last summer to reach the milestone, but Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson put paid to that. And so it has gone on. Until today Tendulkar, who wasn't expected to play in the Asia Cup at the end of March, has had a change of heart and been included in India's squad to give him yet another chance to get that very elusive ton.

You start to wonder if it will ever happen, though. Just as Gary Lineker missed the penalty that should have tied him with Bobby Charlton at the top of the all-time England goalscoring charts, so it seems Tendulkar could also miss out on a record everybody thought would be his.

Tendulkar's inclusion and the fervour it will create means India will be favourites for the Asia Cup, but the competition will be strong. Pakistan are bound to benefit from the arrival of new head coach Dav Whatmore, who has the perfect credentials to add structure to a team that has plenty of talent. And Sri Lanka, with the inimitable talents of Tillakaratne Dilshan - who scored a magnificent 160 not out against the Indians in the Commonwealth Bank tournament yesterday, will always be a force.

Certainly England coach Andy Flower won't have enjoyed watching the sort of form that Dilshan displayed in Hobart - even if he might have been more encouraged at their poor bowling, as Virat Kohli crashed the way to a winning score of 321 with more than 13 overs to spare.

After rightly being lauded for his leadership in winning the Ashes in Australia, then moving to the top of the world rankings, Flower is under pressure for the first time. He's axed Eoin Morgan from his squad that will tour Sri Lanka once the Asia Cup is over, and turned to Samit Patel in the search for a new number six.

England are [2.98] favourites to win the first Test, but much will depend on whether Flower, after admitting he got the preparation for the Pakistan series wrong, has learned lessons from that. There will be tricky spin to deal with again, and this time England must have an answer.

After all, nothing in sport comes easily. Just ask Tendulkar.

Five things you might not know about Dav Whatmore

1. Born March 1954 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, he taught himself to bat by throwing a ball against a wall before hitting it because his two sisters wouldn't play cricket with him.

2.When he was eight the family emigrated to Australia and moved to Melbourne. He went to Mentone Grammer School, but developed a stutter as a reaction to bullying because he was an Asian.

3.He scored more than 6,000 runs for Victoria but played only seven Tests for Australia during the Kerry Packer era and his top score was 78. He says now: "I had the talent to be a top player but not the application. I wish I'd had a coach like me at that time."

4.His most famous achievement as a coach might have been Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup win, but he was also the man in charge of Lancashire's one-day double winning team two years later.

5.He says he has many heroes but has only ever asked for one autograph - when he met Posh Spice, aka Victoria Beckham, and his daughter Alexandra insisted he come home with her signature.

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Betting Briefing: Summer comes to Market Rasen

Weekly Betfair Briefing / Timeform / 09 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Saturday is a big day for the Summer Jumpers at Market Rasen

"Saturday is also one of the bigger days of the summer jumping seasons as Market Rasen plays host to the Summer Plate and the Summer Hurdle."

It's a relatively quiet week as we gear up to the Betfair King George and the Goodwood and Galway Festival meetings later in the month, but Market Rasen stages a quality card on Saturday...

Sunday July 10

Sunday is a NH-only day in Britain with fixtures scheduled for Perth, Southwell and Stratford. There are a further two meetings set to take place in Ireland - on the Flat at Fairyhouse and over jumps at Sligo.

Monday July 11

Ayr and Ffos Las are the venues for Monday's afternoon Flat racing, while it's Windsor and Wolverhampton on that front in the evening. In Ireland there is a Flat card in the evening at Killarney.

Tuesday July 12

Tuesday afternoon's British action takes place at Beverley and Brighton, to go with evening cards at Southwell and Yarmouth. There are two cards scheduled to take place in Ireland - one in the afternoon at Dundalk, the other in the evening at Killarney.

Wednesday July 13

Catterick and Lingfield on the Flat and Uttoxeter over jumps are the venues for afternoon racing in Britain on Wednesday. There is also evening action at Sandown and Worcester. In Ireland, they go at Downpatrick in the afternoon and Killarney in the evening.

Thursday July 14

Thursday's British Flat racing will take place at Hamilton and Leicester in the afternoon and at Bath, Doncaster and Epsom in the evening. There is also jumping slated for Cartmel, while in Ireland it's Killarney in the afternoon and Leopardstown in the evening.

Friday July 15

It's an all-Flat day in Britain on Friday with cards at Haydock, Newbury and Nottingham in the afternoon and at Hamilton, Newmarket and Pontefract in the evening. In Ireland there is an evening meeting at Kilbeggan.

Saturday July 16

Newbury plays host to a good Flat card on Saturday afternoon, the arguable highlight of which is the valuable Super Sprint for two-year-olds over five furlongs. There is also Group 3 action on the card in the shape of the six-furlong Hackwood Stakes. There is also racing at Newmarket, where the listed Aphrodite Stakes for fillies and mares over a mile and a half is the best race, Haydock, Ripon and Lingfield. In Ireland, there is Group racing on the card at the Curragh,

Saturday is also one of the bigger days of the summer jumping seasons as Market Rasen plays host to the Summer Plate and the Summer Hurdle.

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Farewell, Ginger Prince! The Paul Scholes era comes to an end

Premier League / Ralph Ellis / 30 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Goodbye, Scholesy?

"In an age when footballers courted the bright lights of fame and celebrity, Scholes never did."

Whispers from Manchester say Scholes will call time on his career once the Manchester United victory parade is done, and the champions will struggle to find another like him, says Ralph Ellis

Ask any Manchester United star of the last two decades the question: "who was the best you played with?" - and they always come back with the same answer: Paul Scholes.

Even the older guys who shared the dressing room with Eric Cantona will say so. And the younger ones are simply in awe of the man they say sets the standard in training every day.

He's the man they've always wanted in their five-a-side side - especially if it was two-touch. Get it, give it. And he's been the key cog in the proper team too. When any game got tough it was Scholes who would put his foot in to boss the midfield, who would take the ball under pressure, who would hit the killing pass, who would make the juddering tackle. Very often he'd come up with the spectacular goal too - the volley from David Beckham's corner against Bradford in 2000 should be on anybody's list of best ever Premier League strikes.

My best memory of him was in an England shirt, back in Le Tournoi in 1997. It was the rehearsal competition for the World Cup the following year, and on a warm night in Nantes he and Beckham ran the game to give Glenn Hoddle his country's first win over Italy in 20 years. Late in the evening, when everybody had gone home, a couple of us reporters wandered downstairs and ended up in the Italian dressing room. Among the discarded socks and towels stood a flip chart with England's formation, and the name spelt: "Skoles". They might not have known him before that night, but they certainly did afterwards. And none of England's opponents among his 66 caps could afford to ignore him either.

In an age when footballers courted the bright lights of fame and celebrity, he never did. There would be the occasional, reluctant interview when he could no longer dodge the fact it was his turn to speak to a press conference. He only ever spoke sense, then politely retreated to his own world where his boots did all the talking for him, and spoke far more eloquently. He's never had an agent, never wanted to put himself on show.

Sadly it seems today that the Scholes era is over. There's nothing official yet, but word on Manchester is that today's open top bus ride will see him waving farewell. Saturday night's Champions League final might have confirmed Lionel Messi as the greatest current player on the planet. It's also being said that it was a night that reminded the 36-year-old that after 676 games in 17 seasons in a Manchester United shirt he could no longer reach the standards he has always set himself. The 14 minutes after he replaced Michael Carrick simply passed him by, as Messi, Xavi and Iniesta continued to weave their perfect patterns.

United have offered him another contract. Sir Alex wants him to stay around to go on influencing the younger players. And the old management maestro may yet have his way - he normally does. But reliable reports are saying that Scholes has told family and friends it's time to hang up the boots. They say he doesn't want to be just a bit part player. And just as he walked away from England when Sven Goran Eriksson only wanted to use him to fill in for others, he won't be frightened to turn his back on Old Trafford too.

For United, beaten in Europe but already installed as [3.0] favourites for next year's Premier League, it will be a serious loss. Ryan Giggs might also be coming to the end of his amazing era, but a new signing like Aston Villa's Ashley Young could simply deliver younger, fresher legs to the same role and before long he won't be missed. But nobody - well possibly apart from Messi and they aren't going to get him - will be able to reproduce the impact that Scholes has had both on and off the pitch.

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