John Howard for President

John Howard is to be made president.  How strange.  To a leader who was a conservative and a royalist, the term “president” would seem to be anathema.  However, this is not the case for the former Prime Minister of Australia when it comes to the ICC.

John Howard has been nominated by the Australian and New Zealand cricket boards to become ICC Vice President.  This follows a long stand-off between Australia and New Zealand while they debated the relative merits of their own candidates.  For the record, New Zealand preferred Sir John Anderson, their former chief.  So did Roebuck, but who cares – just because Anderson has experience in cricket administration.

With the way the ICC works, in 2012, Howard, who will be 72 years old will become something he would never have believed:  The President.

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/current/story/450524.html

Tendulkar Takes Two Hundred and the Holy Grail

Pop the champagne – Tendulkar last night hit exactly 200 hundred not out in the second ODI against South Africa.

Was 200 in an individual innings the final frontier of One Day cricket?  Did Tendulkar achieve the mark just in time (i.e. who knows how long 50 over cricket has left)?  Whatever the case, it is fitting that the greatest One Day batsman ever has set the high water mark.

While debate can rage about who is the best batsman ever (i.e. in all forms of the game), or at least  the second best, there can be little double about Tendulkar’s place at the top of the ODI heap.  Tendulkar has scored more than 17,500 ODI runs – 4,000 ahead of 2nd.  He has scored 46 centuries – 17 in front of second.  His average is 45.12 – better than everyone else in the top 25 ODI aggregates except for Kallis (and he is just 0.3 behind him).

Whatever you think of One Day cricket, it is exciting that someone has finally broken the 200 barrier.  Many have been poised to do it but only one has succeeded.  The Little Master.

Oh, India scored 401 and won at a canter.