I am sure neither Nasser Hussain's Indian background nor his lack of affinity with Australians had anything to do with his statement about Sachin Tendulkar being greater than Sir Donald Bradman.
We have grown up in the belief that no one could come near the great Australian, and Hussain's opinion has to be respected because he has been an international captain - a successful one too - but it is not an opinion which will be supported by even some of Tendulkar's most ardent fans.
Hussain said Tendulkar is a greater player than Sunil Gavaskar and Viv Richards.
Huge praise indeed, since Gavaskar played against some of the best fast-bowling attacks in his 16-year international career. Thirteen of his 34 Test hundreds came against the mighty West Indies and Richards decimated, demolished and destroyed attacks with powers of a sheer genius.
It is not Tendulkar's fault that he did not face the same quality attacks that Gavaskar and Richards did, but, the fact is, he did not. That said, only a fool would believe that he would not have had the measure of the express fast bowlers.
Dennis Lillee, arguably the greatest fast bowler of all-time, gave me one of the best quotes of all time about Tendulkar when I asked him during the India and Australia Test at Bangalore in 1998 how he would have bowled to the little Indian.
"With a helmet on," he said, just after watching Tendulkar score 177 against Mark Taylor's Australians for his second hundred of the three-Test series.
So why should Tendulkar not be rated higher than Bradman? Old timers would point to uncovered wickets which batsmen of yesteryear had to put up with.
Hussain can surely only shudder at the prospect of how challenging uncovered pitches in England would have been. The quality of both pace and spin were of a high standard, although one must stress that Bradman played only against England, India, South Africa and the West Indies.
A minimum amount of protective gear has to be a factor. A batsman's protective gear for the abdomen region was minimal in size, shape and probably protective value.
Tendulkar has also played under the intense pressure of an expectant India but Bradman experienced more than his fair share of pressure in the Bodyline series of 1932. Douglas Jardine, England's India-born captain, instructed his bowlers to persistently bowl round the wicket in an attempt to contain Bradman, who had taken England's bowlers apart in the previous series. But he stood up to the task, although his series average of 56.57 was way below his career average of 99.94.
It would be interesting to see if Tendulkar reacts to Hussain's claim. I suspect he will be embarrassed and leave the compliment in much the same way he would shoulder arms to a delivery outside off stump.
So, Mr Hussain, as much as you have made yourself popular with Indian fans, there is no guarantee your statement will attract universal approval. We will still enjoy your commentary and opinion pieces though.
Now, to that one-day double century last week. Not only did the South Africa attack comprise the world's finest fast bowler in Dale Steyn, the Proteas also pride themselves on their fielding. How someone could play that innings at the age of 37 against that quality of opposition is the amazing part of the feat. Some of the Indian newspapers had "God" in their headlines the following day. Little did those headline writers know the fascinating exchange the Little Master had encountered with some star-stuck fans the previous night. As Tendulkar made his way to the media conference in Gwalior a group of fans yelled: "We have seen our God."
Tendulkar is believed to have stopped, smiled and replied: "I am not God. I am just a human being."
Tendulkar's greatest gift is the ability to stay grounded and he has his upbringing to thank for that. When we spoke some time after midnight following the Gwalior innings, he shocked me by saying that he had not been celebrating.
And in his message to his fans, who have good reason to believe that there is more brilliant performances in store, he said: "All I can say is, the passion is still there. I will always go out and give my best and whatever has to happen will happen. From my side, there won't be a lack of commitment."
Cricket has proved several times it can be cruel and players have come out saying that there is no justice in the game. Tendulkar's latest record ridicules that theory because it could not have happened to a better player. Bradman does not fall into the one-day category. How he would have coped with the rigours of limited-overs cricket one would never know.
Just like Tendulkar is no Bradman, the legendary Australian cannot be a Tendulkar.
Clayton Murzello is the Group Sports Editor of the Indian newspaper Midday
sports@thenational.ae
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Tips%20for%20holiday%20homeowners
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TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]
Not before 7pm:
Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]
Court One
Starting at midday:
Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)
Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)