Tendulkar, Gavaskar in Weekes's
top 6 list
Ashish Shukla
No roll of honour of all-time great batsmen seems to be complete without Sachin
Tendulkar. And the list of West Indian legend Sir Everton Weekes is no exception.
Weekes, one of the three Ws of cricket history along with
Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrel, rated Tendulkar amongst
the six greatest batsmen ever.
"Tendulkar has to be one of the six batsmen of all-time in
my list. He has to be one of the best. A few shots he managed
during this Test spoke of his class," Weekes said, referring to
the Indian's 79-run knock in the rain-interrupted first Test,
which ended in a tame draw on Monday.
"And there is one more Indian in this six; and you know who
I am referring to."
Weekes was, of course, referring to another little genius,
Sunil Gavaskar, who made 10,122 runs from 125 Tests with 34
hundreds, which included 13 against the fearsome West Indian fast
bowlers. Gavaskar averaged a superb 65.45 against the West Indies,
totalling 2749 runs from 27 Tests.
Weekes, however, did not reveal the other four names that
comprise his top six. And he is too modest to even suggest
that he himself could easily have found a place in the list.
His record of 4455 runs from 48 Tests, at an average of
58.62, with 15 centuries is formidable enough and includes a
world record of five consecutive Test hundreds that has not
been bettered even after more than 50 years. Weekes was run-out on 90 while going for his sixth straight century.
Four of those centuries came against India during the
1948-49 series, his first abroad. Weekes is clearly the best
batsman to have ever played against India. His record of 1495
runs in ten Tests with seven centuries at an average of 106.79
is a testimony to the fact.
No wonder, Weekes has a special bond with India and Indian
cricketers.
But he sprang a surprise by revealing his admiration for
Vinod Kambli, once a very promising batsman who shared the
world record for scoring double centuries in two consecutive
innings but who has faded out of international scene since.
Weekes remembers Kambli, a childhood chum and contemporary
of Tendulkar, as a player with tremendous potential and feels
sorry for the left-hander for not being able to continue for a
long time in international cricket.
"When I was in India as a match referee in 1992-93 during
a India-Sri Lanka series, I was mightily impressed with
Kambli," Weekes said. "I thought the chum of Tendulkar was
loaded with talent but then more than talent is required if
you have to be the best in this game."
There are quite a few other Indian players who remain
vivid in Weekes's mind after decades have rolled by.
"I remember Vinoo Mankad, a great all-rounder. He could
bowl six different balls in an over and it was the first time
I was experiencing something like this," said Weekes, remembering the 1948-49 series.
"Mankad used to do so many things, using crease, different
angles and was a fascinating bowler. But the wickets were
great and very good for batting, but for Calcutta where there
was a bit of grass.
"I was only 22, 11 months older than Clyde (Walcott) and
we used to travel by train in those days. It was also a tour
in which I had to stand in queue to receive my daily allowance
from the team management every Friday," Weekes said.
This was Weekes's first overseas series having made his
debut against England earlier in the year at Kensington Park
where "I helped to roll the pitch". He played in the Barbados
League from the age of 12. At 17, he joined the army and kept
playing until he was demobilised in 1945 and moved on to
Empire Cricket Club and into the Barbados team.
Weekes remembers Subhash Gupte, now settled in the West
Indies, as "easily the best leg-spin bowler of all time".
"He had no flipper but two leg breaks and two googlies. Gupte was
to leg-spin what Alec Bedser was in pace, the greatest of all
time."
Asked to compare Tendulkar with Brian Lara, Weekes said
Lara, of course, has carried his team through a few more times
than the Indian, but then, "I feel it is the bowlers who take 20
wickets and decide the games."
Talking about the first Test, Weekes was very happy to see
Carl Hooper do justice to his talent at last. "It was a great
performance from Hooper. All the players recognise Hooper is
talented. His only fault is he is not consistent. He is
beautiful to watch and coming into his own now."
Weekes though is saddened to see the declining standards
of West Indian cricket. "It is difficult for me to put my
finger on one point. We were at the top long enough but we
didn't spend enough time on preparing for their replacements.
We are paying a price now."
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