Sport - Cricket

Tendulkar fails to get a single vote

Melbourne: Sachin Tendulkar failed to get a single vote as Cricket Australia’s contracted players chose Englishman Kevin Pietersen as the best batsman in the world outside their country.

Tendulkar may have been a thorn in Australia’s flesh for 18 long years and has virtually every other batting record but the current 25 CA-contracted players did not deem him worth of even a single vote.

Instead, they picked former England captain Pietersen as the current batsman they feared most, giving him 50 per cent votes in a survey conducted this year, according to The Age.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who has scored 503 runs from six matches at an average of 41.91 against the Australians, was the surprise second best batsman with 34 per cent votes.

In comparison, Tendulkar has scored 2748 runs from 29 matches at an average of 56.08 against the Australians.

Pietersen, on the other hand, has made 963 runs from 10 matches at an average of 53.50 against Australia, but the 29-year-old’s attitude has attracted just as much admiration as his record.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith and teammate Jacques Kallis got seven per cent of votes apiece.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting paid glowing tribute to Pietersen and said,

“He’s the sort of player that is always taking the game forward. I’m not sure of his strike rate in Test cricket (63.35) but generally when he makes runs he gets them at a pretty good speed.

“I think Pietersen is their classiest player. He’s aggressive, he takes the game on, and those sort of players, when they start to get going, they can bring a few more of their teammates along with them,” he added.

For Brett Lee too, Pietersen is one of the hardest batsmen in the world to bowl to when he is on song.

“I don’t care what anyone says — I’ve bowled against him when he’s playing well and he picks the ball very, very early, he hangs late back in his crease and gives himself that extra time. He plays all the shots and he’s an aggressive person.

Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson feels the pressure on England’s star batsman might make him vulnerable.— PTI

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