The Men, the Myths and the Legends!

Twelve teams and a hundred and eighty players with an odd assortment of coaches and management will descend on England by May to compete for the World Cup '99. Do not let the large number of participants fool you. A mere handful of them will decide the Cup.

Before we get to the legends, let us be clear that One-Day Cricket is more a batsmen's game than it is bowler's. The rules dictate so with shoulder-height no-balls, leg-side and off-side wides. The bowlers are at a severe disadvantage from the start. It is a batsmen's game that the crowds wants too. Hence the listing of the batsmen over bowlers as perhaps the bigger keys to their team's performances.

The following list is in order of importance of these superstars to their teams. All of them are match winners. I have not included a number of others that are mentioned at the end and could also play significant parts.

Sachin Tendulkar

Matches 211
Inns 204
Not Outs 20
Runs 7801
Highest 143
Avg 42.4
100s 21
50s 43
0s 9


Matches 211
Balls 4464
Maidens 17
Runs 3626
Wickets 78
Avg 46.49
5w 1
Best 5-32
Eco. Rate 4.87

Currently, Indian cricket is Tendulkar. While that is a very exulted position for someone to be in, and Tendulkar surely deserves the pedestal, it is a bad situation for the team. For, one flying ace does not an airforce make - even if he is the Red Baron himself.

Tendulkar has an eye-popping record - the part of being the MAN for India. He has single handedly won some games for India - see the destruction of the Australian bowling in the 1998 Sharjah Final. He was a man on a mission, single handedly winning the match for his team. He did the same in the tri-nation tournament final preceding Australia's visit to India. He took 4 wickets along with the obligatory century against Australia. He was Superman for India. No wonder he incites riots after he is run-out in an Indian chase - as happened in Calcutta test match against Pakistan. 90 million followers of the Indian team consider him a demi-god. He is Indian cricket in a word to them. And they are right to a degree. He has brought a necessary aggression to the Indian cricket, which it had lacked ever since Kapil Dev. Kapil Dev was the last cricketer that could boost India cricket by his mere presence. Tendulkar's legend is made of such stuff. We hear that Bradman likes to watch him because he reminds the don of himself.

Now comes the big question. With this much of a load on his shoulders - can he win them the cup? His record does not suggest that he can:

In Asia Performance
No. of Matches 140
Total Runs 5616
Averages 46.41
100 19
50 30

Outside Asia Performance
No. of Matches 71
Total Runs 2185
Averages 34.68
100 2
50 13


His record in Asia is almost Richardesque - even more so, considering the number of centuries. But outside India he is merely a shorter Hick or worse. That record suggests that he may do very well and help them win a game or two but he can not carry the team - much less, those tremendous hopes and aspirations of his countrymen. India can still win the cup but it would have to be the modern versions of Madan Lal's and Roger Binny's of the world winning it for them a la 1983.

Brian Charles Lara

Matches 141
Inns 139
Not Outs 14
Runs 5629
Highest 169
Avg 45.03
100s 12
50s 37
0s 7


Matches 141
Balls 30
Maidens 0
Runs 34
Wickets 2
Avg 17
5w -
Best 2-5
Eco. Rate 6.8

Lara can be summed up in a few numbers: 375, 501, 277, 213, 153, 100 (82). The knock on him was that he did not win matches for his team. He has recently won test matches on his own - in fact he single-handedly has turned the tide of the West India cricket in the home series against Australia. That he was significantly responsible to bring it there is a discussion for a separate time. His record is the best One-day record of anyone playing today. His combination of grace and timing definitely make him a legend in his own time. There is no better batsman to watch in today's cricket than Brian Charles Lara is. He owns the bowling attacks if he is on the crease. But when on song - as he was in Kingston this year against Australia - he truly shatters them. There is no more murderous a batsman in the game today.

The myth is that he is consistently performing on par to his talent. He is not. Except recent times he has totally under-performed for the last two years. Will he have the patience to play for his team and try to win by sheer force of his will in a deficient West Indies team? Or will he just try to put the bowlers to the sword and perish in the effort with a blaze of brilliance but a total lack of responsibility? Time will tell. But what a spectacle it will be.

Wasim Akram

Matches 265
Inns 208
Not Outs 37
Runs 2678
Highest 86
Avg 15.66
100s -
50s 6
0s 21


Matches 265
Balls 13601
Maidens 166
Runs 8716
Wickets 371
Avg 23.49
5w 5
Best 5-15
Eco. Rate 3.85

Wasim Akram is so far ahead on his tally of highest one-day wickets that Waqar Younis, who is the next highest, is 100 wickets adrift. I do not remember a major record where the top guy was so far ahead. But beyond the numbers - Akram is the bowler who defines the art of fast bowling to an extent that none of his contemporaries can come close to. We live in the age of some of the greatest fast bowlers ever. Besides Akram we have Waqar, Ambrose, Walsh, Donald, McGrath - truly greats. But where Waqar and Donald are about pace, Ambrose, Walsh and McGrath are about length, location and movement off the seam, Akram is an all-round fast bowler. He is a phenomenon. He can bowl genuinely quick, move the ball in the air both ways, can move the ball off the seam, can bowl a great yorker, can bowl effective cutters (off and leg), has a lethal bouncer, has a great slower ball. He is a complete bowler and a lefty for full devastating effect. Akram can bowl a full spell without bowling the same ball twice. I can not honestly say that about any other bowler. His Economy rate is great for a strike bowler in today's game even as it punishes the bowlers for no-balls and wides on their analyses (which was not the case with the Hadlee's and the Marshall's). Akram with Saqlain, Shoaib, Mushtaq and Waqar forms an attack of five number one's - something that was unthinkable with the lone Imran bowling for Pakistan. Even the great West Indies quartet was never of four, let-alone five number ones. This is truly unique in the history of cricket, let alone today.

Akram is the man and has been a legend for a while. Along with his bowling his maturity as a captain is key for Pakistan in this World Cup. He has dealt with the team beautifully in the recent past and won many hearts in India, Bangladesh and Sharjah for his calm and determined leadership besides being a great ambassador for Pakistan. I would even place him besides Imran as an ambassador of goodwill for his country not just on the cricket field but off the field with journalists and common cricketing fans may they be cheering Pakistan, India or England. He has brought the team together. He has given of himself.

The myth is made up of the silent whispers that people like Rashid Latif keep insinuating. The specter of match-fixing still hangs in the air. We have seen a tremendous performance in Pakistan cricket in the recent past - inspite of those whispers. The one way for Wasim and his men to silence these forever is to perform - as they can in the coming World Cup and then in the season beyond - with tours to Australia and West Indies. If Wasim gets the team to perform at the top for these assignments then his name may even replace his mentor's at the top of Pakistan cricket. The question for Pakistan to win is - would the batting hold-up?

Alan Donald

Matches 112
Inns 27
Not Outs 12
Runs 73
Highest 12
Avg 4.87
100s -
50s
0s 10



Matches 112
Balls 5946
Maidens 70
Runs 4013
Wickets 190
Avg 21.12
5w 2
Best 6-23
Eco. Rate 4.05

Alan Donald is the force of nature. He is genuinely quick. He is pretty accurate. He has a natural out-swinger. He is the spine in South African machine. With all the planning and Ali Bacher's SECRETS (that apparently grow on trees in South Africa and any coach in the system is forever banned from talking to anyone form the outside world) he is the reason for the excellent record that South Africa possesses over the last couple of years. He replaced Waqar as the premier strike bowler in International cricket till a chap named Akhtar took over from him.

Donald has played in England for years. He has been very good. He knows the conditions. He knows how to perform. He will be a handful for batsmen on those seam friendly pitches. White lightning will strike more than once in the cup.

The recent records suggest that South Africa may be leaning more on the talented Pollock than on Donald. Pollock has won them more matches recently than Donald and he is more of a seam movement bowler that might excel in the English conditions. Will Donald find it in him - with his crumbling body to perform one last hurrah and win a big tournament for South Africa - something they have never ever done?

Shoaib Akhtar

Matches 16
Inns 7
Not Outs 4
Runs 52
Highest 36
Avg 17.33
100s -
50s -
0s 1


Matches 16
Balls 762
Maidens 15
Runs 526
Wickets 27
Avg 19.48
5w -
Best 4.37
Eco. Rate 4.14

Shoaib Akhtar is raw power. From the beginning of his fast purposeful run in from near the boundary ropes to the explosive delivery stride and all the way to the powerful follow-through - he gives his all. The results are more often than not eye opening. He is fast. Faster than anyone in World cricket. Faster, maybe, than a chap named Thomson used to be. But unlike Thomson, he does not spray his deliveries all over the place. He is accurate. That is a deadly combination. He has velocity where Thomson had speed.

In this world cup - Shoaib has to remember that he has only one mission - to strike. He can rely on the greatness on the other end - Akram, Saqlain etc. to do the double duty of contain and strike. But Shoaib has to be calm and clued in. He can not bowl for the radar guns. He has to bowl for wickets. With Waqar and Akram around him at mid-off and mid-on we would not accept anything less.
Shane Warne

Matches 112
Inns 67
Not Outs 20
Runs 557
Highest 55
Avg 11.85
100s -
50s 1
0s 6

Matches 112
Balls 6308
Maidens 57
Runs 4397
Wickets 177
Avg 24.84
5w 1
Best 5-33
Eco. Rate 4.18


Before the emergence of Saqlain, Warne was the most potent spinner in one-day cricket. Actually, before Saqlain, he was the best spinner in the game. But Warne is a match-winner. He has the will and the tenacity and the success to back him up. He will be the key to Australia doing well in the cup. Whatever one says about McGrath - Warne is the heart of that bowling attack.

The recent shoulder pains have seen him at less than his best. But he will bounce back. Steve Waugh and Shane Warne were the pillars on which the Australian test odyssey was written for all those years. Now that it is coming to an end, we expect Warne and Steve to have a last try at retaining the glory of Australian cricket a little longer.

Sanath Jayasuriya


Matches 178
Inns 170
Not Outs 7
Runs 4672
Highest 151
Avg 28.66
100s 7
50s 29
0s 13


Matches 178
Balls 6581
Maidens 14
Runs 5346
Wickets 152
Avg 35.16
5w 2
Best 6-29
Eco. Rate 4.87


Jayasuriya defined world Cup 1996. He was the great improviser. The flamboyant opener who changed the rules of attack forever. Now that the world seems to have discovered the Achilles' heel of Jayasuriya (bowl round the wicket into his body without giving him room to flash his rapier - as Australians did recently) he has to show that he himself has more tricks up his sleeve. He is the most responsible for how far Sri-Lanka go in the World Cup (not DeSilva anymore as age might be winning the war with him - except against Pakistan).

Jayasuriya has a mediocre average for a man rated so high but he has it in him to play a couple of magic innings that can take Sri Lanka a long way in this cup. Let us wait for the magic.

Saeed Anwar

Matches 170
Inns 168
Not Outs 14
Runs 6172
Highest 194
Avg 40.08
100s 15
50s 30
0s 11


Matches 170
Balls 218
Maidens 3
Runs 176
Wickets 5
Avg 35.20
5w -
Best 2-9
Eco. Rate 4.84

Saeed Anwar and Inzamam are the keys to Pakistan's success in this world cup. It is clear that Pakistan has the bowling attack to get any team out as long as they have enough runs on the board. If Saeed gives them the right start and stays there for enough matches, the percentages become very much for Pakistan. The key is for Saeed to play within himself for the early part of the innings till he gets his touch. There isn't a more serene batsman in the world including Lara, Tendulkar and Inzamam. His ratio of centuries per innings is phenomenal. If he gets three in this cup I see Pakistan making it to the final.

The question mark against Saeed is the ability to negotiate the moving ball in the early part of his innings. Saeed has this tendency to play away from his pads in the first few overs and when this is combined with his penchant to go for his cut-shot on anything short, can cause some problems - especially in England with the movement off the seam and in the air. I would still bet on him having a great World Cup, as his natural talent will eventually prevail.


Saqlain Mushtaq

Matches 98
Inns 56
Not Outs 19
Runs 471
Highest 30
Avg 12.73
100s -
50s -
0s 8


Matches 98
Balls 5137
Maidens 41
Runs 3635
Wickets 187
Avg 19.44
5w 4
Best 5-29
Eco. Rate 4.25

Saqlain has the best One-day bowling record in International cricket - strike-rate of almost 2 and an average in the teens. Even Waqar would be proud of this record, the man Saqlain displaced with the best record. And, he has played in England and knows how to bowl in miserable weather conditions as he did for Surrey last year.

There has been much written about the ineffectiveness of spinners in the cold and windy conditions - thus negating the spinner's effectiveness. I disagree. Historically, the Lakers and the Locks of the World have done very well in cold and damp conditions in England. Most of them were finger spinners. There is no better finger spinner in the world than Saqlain and I see him having a terrific tournament.


Muttiah Muralitharan

Matches 110
Inns 50
Not Outs 24
Runs 151
Highest 18
Avg 5.81
100s -
50s -
0s 7


Matches 110
Balls 5919
Maidens 46
Runs 4221
Wickets 151
Avg 27.95
5w 2
Best 5-23
Eco. Rate 4.28


Sri-Lanka depends on Muralitharan's bowling as much as India depends upon Tendulkar batting. He is their wicket taker. That is why they are ready to cause any kind of commotion to have him keep-bowling inspite of the chucking charges. He is very effective due to his ability to turn the ball square on any surface due to his bent-arm elbow action. They have the batting to score runs on any surface but will they be able to restrict anyone to below their own score? Muralitharan will have the most to say about this. He had a great trip to England last year and would love to repeat his Lord's performance in the World Cup. Sri Lankan cricket will depend on that.

The Kumble's, Inzamam's, Bevan's, McGrath's, Waugh's, DeSilva's and Pollock's will also have something to say about this World Cup but the start and end of the stories will be furnished by the above named superstars and they will decide the World Cups with their performances. Watch Listen and Enjoy!