Sachin has a lot of fire left in him: Gooch

There are a few individuals in international cricket who could teach Sachin Tendulkar a thing or two. The master batsman has seen it all

There are a few individuals in international cricket who could teach Sachin Tendulkar a thing or two. The master batsman has seen it all, been there and done that in the 18 years of cricket he’s played for India so far.

However, among those who could give Tendulkar a few tips, Graham Gooch is certainly one name that counts. The former England captain, retired at 42, played 118 Tests, scored 20 centuries — 12 after the age of 34 that Tendulkar is at the moment — and went on to become the highest scorer that top class cricket has ever seen.

When Gooch had hung his boots, Wisden wrote that the player had amassed more runs than anybody else in top class cricket, 44,846 first class runs and another 21,086 runs in one-dayers that put him ahead of Jack Hobbs. Taking this as a cue, Tendulkar if compared to the former England batsman has eight more years to go before he can call it a day. “The golden period of my cricket days was when I was 34-35. It was during that period my batting got better like never before,” remembers Gooch.

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At the Chelmsford County Ground here in Essex — it is home to him — Gooch watched Tendulkar smash 171 runs against the England Lions on Saturday. When he spoke the next day, he admitted there was no reason to believe why Tendulkar cannot continue to bat like that for a few more years to come. “There is nothing to suggest so,” he said when asked if Tendulkar was on the decline.

“Fitness is important but there has to be this desire in you to remain fit, work hard and stay focused. Unless you do that there’s no point,” he says.

At Essex, old hands reckon that Gooch was the only skipper with the guts to win the toss and invite the opposition to bat on wickets that would be flat and dead. For all the oddity, today he insists that he always saw it as a challenge and that is precisely the way he played his cricket.

“These guys — Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly (in the same age bracket) — should also take it up as a challenge. If they believe they have another few years of cricket left in them, they should stay focused. There’s no reason why they can’t stay for another four to five years,” he adds.

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Tendulkar has showed in form in patches, particularly the last month or so has seen him in glorious form. “Having been around for a reasonable time, I know when to accelerate and when to hold back and be patient. I read the situation and it’s a lot to do with the way my body is moving, the way I’m thinking. You can’t go out everyday and try bang, bang, bang every time and say it’s my natural game,” he said after yesterday’s century.

Gooch echoes his sentiment: “He’ll hope he has that one last flurry that he thinks will help him keep entertaining fans all over and as long as he knows what it is, it’s fine.”