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Among all of Sachin Tendulkar’s achievements over the years – and there are too many to be recounted – going past Steve Waugh’s world record of 168 Test caps must rank pretty high

Sidharth Monga at the P Sara Oval02-Aug-2010Tendulkar scales another mountain

In a career stretching almost 21 years, Sachin Tendulkar has missed 14 Tests. He missed his first one in his 12th year in international cricket, when he didn’t tour Sri Lanka in 2001 – India lost that three-Test series 2-1. Since then he hasn’t played the following matches: the first two Tests when Australia toured in 2004-05; the two-Test series in Zimbabwe in 2005-06; four Tests in the West Indies in 2006; a Test against Pakistan and two against South Africa in 2008-09.

Tendulkar’s Test career is so far the 11th- longest in international cricket. It’s the longest, though, among players who’ve started their careers after 1971.

Matches missed by batsmen who’ve played 140 or more Tests: Steve Waugh – 21 out of 168; Allan Border – one out of 156; Ricky Ponting – 23 out of 146; Shane Warne – 32 out of 145; Rahul Dravid – 3 out of 141; Jacques Kallis – 17 out of 140. Among the three other Indians to play 125 or more Tests: Anil Kumble: 27 out of 132; Kapil Dev: one out of 131; Sunil Gavaskar: four out of 125. (Click here for a full list of most consecutive matches played.)

The progression of the record for most Tests played since 1975: Colin Cowdrey – 114 (retd 1975); Sunil Gavaskar – 125 (retd 1987); Allan Border – 156 (retd 1994); Steve Waugh – 168 (retd 2004). (Click here for the complete list.)

Among all of Sachin Tendulkar’s achievements over the years – and there are too many to be recounted – going past Steve Waugh’s world record of 168 Test caps must rank pretty high. To have been considered good enough for India for so many matches, to have been fit for so long, to have outlasted almost all his contemporaries. Suresh Raina, India’s latest debutant, was still a toddler when Tendulkar bled on the pitch in Sialkot and said, ” [I’ll play]”.A day before he plays his record-making Test, Tendulkar put it, the “dream that I have been living”, in perspective. “The rest of things can be achieved, but for this you need an X number of years, an X number of tours, that’s when this thing happens,” he says. “And I am quite pleased. It has taken me 20-plus years to get here.”It’s wonderful that we have been able to play so much Test cricket. In the last few years we have played a reasonable amount of Test cricket. At one stage, in the early nineties, I hardly got any Test matches. Couple of Test occasions there were just two or three Tests in a year. It was disappointing. That is not the case now.”The thoughts, he says, go back to his first Test, in 1989, after which he thought he would never play a Test again. One-sixty-seven Tests later he says, “It’s been a long journey. I still remember the first Test I played. It was a completely different feeling altogether, compared to any form of cricket I had played. And since then it has worked out pretty well. Very happy that I have had this privilege of such a long journey at the international level.”Tendulkar spoke of the preparation that goes behind doing well for such a long time. “The journey has gone by very quickly, quicker than I expected,” he says. “Time flies. You just need to enjoy it, it’s a circle. You are not always on the top, sometimes there are rough patches, but the simple formula that I have followed is, whenever I have gone through tough phases, I have found a reason to work harder. And try and spend all my energy at something I have been wanting to get better at.”The pre-match preparation is extremely important. In that factor, I feel I have always been prepared. Sometimes I was able to achieve results, sometimes I wasn’t, but my preparations were always there. Really proud of it.”The journey has indeed been long. The third umpire was introduced in his time, and he is there when we are talking about UDRS too. In between have come enough triumphs, and more than enough heartbreaks to break down quite a few. Tendulkar is still saying, “”

Many Sunderland fans have been left buzzing over some transfer news that has emerged involving Jermain Defoe.

Speaking to talkSPORT, the free agent revealed that the Stadium of Light faithful is one of the options that he has to get back into playing football after leaving Glasgow Rangers earlier this month.

“My phone’s gone mad! If you’re phone’s ringing at 39 it’s a good thing!

“I’ve got a few options! Obviously the Sunderland one’s well documented.”

Defoe has been linked with a return to the Black Cats ever since his departure, and now he has admitted himself that it is an option.

Of course, he is still loved by SAFC supporters, after scoring 37 goals in 93 matches over all competitions across three campaigns (Transfermarkt), including a memorable winner at home to rivals Newcastle United in the Premier League in 2015.

Nonetheless, at 39 years of age, it would be a dream return to football for the Englishman.

Sunderland fans on Defoe transfer news

These Sunderland fans buzzed as the transfer news was shared on Twitter:

“On my knees”

Credit: @_harrymcbeth

“Pay the man whatever money he wants, bring him home”

Credit: @maxsafc100

“I’d drive him here myself. GET. IT. DONE”

Credit: @Owensara5

“Yeah boii. Come home JD”

Credit: @mickysafc20

“I know I shouldn’t… but ha’wayyyyyyyyy”

Credit: @BryceWilcock

“Make it happen please!!!!”

Credit: @Tanya_M_S

In other news, find out who James Hunter says Sunderland may be ‘close’ to signing here!

Graham Wagg’s last home game as a Derbyshire player ended in defeat after an impressive allround display by James Middlebrook took Northamptonshire to a five-wicket Clydesdale Bank 40 victory

30-Aug-2010
ScorecardGraham Wagg’s last home game as a Derbyshire player ended in defeat after an impressive allround display by James Middlebrook took Northamptonshire to a five-wicket Clydesdale Bank 40 victory. Wagg, who is leaving the club after five seasons and is expected to join Glamorgan, took the first two wickets as the Steelbacks slipped to 76 for 5 before Middlebrook followed his 3 for 34 with an unbeaten 57, his highest one-day score.Skipper Andrew Hall and Lee Daggett also took three wickets to restrict the Falcons to 171, with Chesney Hughes scoring 55 from 62 balls, but the Steelbacks were in trouble until Stephen Peters (53 not out) and Middlebrook shared an unbroken stand of 96 in 14 overs.Hughes had given the Falcons a decent start but the rest of the batting struggled against some disciplined seam and spin bowling on a sluggish pitch. The Steelbacks conceded only three wides and the 16 overs of spin from Middlebrook and Tom Brett cost just 61 which stifled the Falcons in mid-innings.Hughes hit seven fours before he was neatly stumped off a quicker ball from Middlebrook but no other batsman found the boundary until Dan Redfern glanced Daggett to fine leg in the 31st over.There were only 11 fours and a big six onto the pavilion roof from Jon Clare in the entire innings which ended swiftly once Redfern pulled Daggett to deep square leg in the 35th over.Hall mopped up the tail by taking the last three wickets in seven balls at a cost of two runs but the Steelbacks’ pursuit of their target quickly stalled as Wagg removed both openers in the first seven overs. Mal Loye’s lean run continued when he failed to clear mid-on and Wagg took an acrobatic return catch after Rob Newton top edged a paddle sweep with the score on 19.The Falcons’ total looked even more formidable when Tim Groenewald bowled Alex Wakely with one that nipped back and David Sales clipped a full toss from offspinner Jake Needham to short midwicket. At 40 for 4, the game was slipping away from the Steelbacks who had a lot to do when Hall fell to a fine diving catch by wicketkeeper Steve Adshead, but Peters and Middlebrook batted calmly to take their team home.They wanted 60 from the last 10 overs but Wagg’s return to the attack proved a turning point. He had conceded only 11 from his first five overs but his sixth cost 19 including a straight six over the sightscreen by Middlebrook and a free hit which Peters pulled for four. Despite some uncertain running, the sixth-wicket pair did not look like being parted and there were three overs to spare when they wrapped up their fourth victory in Group B.

Tottenham Hotspur are confident of sealing a move for Luis Diaz before the January transfer window deadline on Monday night…

What’s the word?

That’s according to ever-reliable football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, who delivered a very exciting claim to his YouTube channel, where he suggested it was now a more likely deal than Adama Traore, at this stage.

“The latest I understand on that situation is there’s a growing hope that they might be able to get this deal done,” he said.

“They are throwing everything at it. That’s their priority right now. I understand at the moment, and I must stress at the moment, Spurs are more hopeful of this one happening than Adama Traore.”

Major coup

The Antonio Conte era in north London would be truly underway if Spurs manage to secure a move for the FC Porto star as he’s one of the hottest talents in Europe right now – that much is evident from the interest of Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.

Diaz has been in electric form this season, having provided the Portuguese giants with 16 goals and five assists across 24 appearances in the Primeira Liga and Champions League, primarily from left-midfield. That works out to be a direct contribution of once every 96.7 minutes, via Transfermarkt.

It builds on from his exploits at the Copa America, where he shared the golden boot with none other than Lionel Messi.

The 5 foot 10 winger has earned plenty of praise during this impressive run of form and that should only raise excitement from those around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-thfc-spurs-transfer-rumours-gossip-conte-paratici-levy-updates” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

He has been lauded as “phenomenal” by journalist Alex Goncalves and dubbed a “livewire” by presenter Manas Singh, though one of the most glowing endorsements has come from Portuguese football expert Marino Peixoto, who claimed the £36m-rated dynamo was “genuinely frightening” following a screamer against Vitoria this season.

Valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, it’s thought that Porto are asking for a fee in the region of €60-65m (£55m), which would equal Spurs’ club-record fee.

On the above evidence, he would be quite the signing indeed and supporters should be very excited by Gold’s recent claims.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Dele: Spurs plot swoop for £18m-rated “extraordinary talent” who’s like Zidane…

For the third season in a row now, the Board President’s XI batsmen have done the job of softening up the opposition’s spinners ahead of a Test series

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh27-Sep-2010
ScorecardAjinkya Rahane impressed as the match meandered to a draw•AFPThe Australians like to mentally disintegrate the visiting captains, while the Indians – lesser known domestic batsmen, that is – go after visiting spinners. For the third season in a row now, the Board President’s XI batsmen have done the job of softening up the opposition’s spinners ahead of a Test series.Two years ago, when Australia visited India, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh took Jason Krejza’s 31 wicketless overs for 199 runs. Last season South Africa’s Paul Harris was unsuccessful as Manish Pandey and Abhishek Nayar hit him for 71 runs in 12 overs. Over the last three days, which have been almost ideal preparation for Australia for the upcoming two-Test series, Nathan Hauritz has emerged as a concern.In the first innings, Piyush Chawla, known more for his legspin, repeatedly danced down the pitch and either pushed him for singles or lofted him over his head. In the second, Ajinkya Rahane, the Mumbai batsman, scored a stroke-filled century in two hours. Hauritz’s figures over the two innings: 24 overs, 93 runs, and one wicket. Steven Smith’s flat legbreaks at the other end extracted even less respect. Chawla hit him for a six in his first over in India, and he went for 55 in his 10 overs.Before Rahane entertained the small crowd at the Sector 16 Stadium, though, the Australians had had another good day of practice. They took the remaining four BP XI wickets for 34 runs, and Shane Watson went onto score a second century in the match, hitting 18 boundaries in his unbeaten 104 off 121 deliveries.Gautam Gambhir, Simon Katich and Marcus North chose to go easy on mild injury scares. Gambhir, who was hit in his right hand by a rising delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus on day 2, chose to stay away from action. Katich, who has a bruised thumb, opted out of batting but came on to field. North, who has a mild back strain, stayed away too.The match was always going to be a draw when the Australians gave BP XI just a session to bat. Rahane’s strokeplay, however, made sure it was an entertaining draw. His hook off Peter George, which went for six, and punches through the covers stood out.While it could be argued that this session was just low-key practice, and not much should be read into it, Hauritz would have desperately wanted to improve on his first-innings effort.

Everton have comfortably progressed in the FA Cup, beating Brentford 4-1 at Goodison Park in Frank Lampard’s first game as manager, in a team performance the Toffees haven’t enjoyed for a while.

Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend all found the net in an attacking masterclass from Lampard’s team which saw them play much more offensively than they ever did under Rafael Benitez.

Brentford were incapable of breaking down the Toffees, with only two shots on target throughout the game, but were gifted a penalty by Jordan Pickford when the goalkeeper made a late challenge on Ivan Toney.

The former Chelsea boss set up his team with a back three, playing a 3-4-3 formation, and early in the first half there was another blow to the injury-ridden squad with Ben Godfrey sustaining what looked to be a calf injury in the first 12 minutes, so Lampard was duly forced to replace the defender with Mina.

The £120k-p/w machine missed out on the starting line-up, but he made sure he would use his opportunity to prove his new manager wrong on that decision by becoming an absolute force throughout the game both offensively and defensively in his position.

Mina opened the scoring for Everton. rising the highest when the ball was whipped in from the corner to find the back of the net just 16 minutes after he came off the bench, and he delivered a man of the match performance in his defensive position in the back three.

According to SofaScore, the 27 year old was the highest-rated player on the pitch this afternoon (7.70), winning 86% of his duels and completing 91% of his passes despite having fewer touches than his fellow defenders, proving that Lampard should think twice about leaving him on the bench in the future.

The 43-year-old will have plenty to take away from that performance, and Everton fans will surely be delighted that they got to watch an enjoyable game after a series of poor performances and protests throughout the season so far. Mina today went a long way towards proving a point to his manager and putting a smile back on Evertonian faces.

In other news: Everton suffered an injury blow prior to today’s match

Ramnaresh Sarwan, has said he has been getting “mixed signals” from the selectors about why he was left out of the tour to Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2010Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies batsman, has said he has been getting “mixed signals” from the selectors about why he was left out of the West Indies squad for the tour to Sri Lanka.”One time it is my attitude, the next time is my fitness,” Sarwan told . “I am getting mixed signals. I have been working on my fitness so I don’t know what they [selectors] are using, and I have always been committed to West Indies and Guyana’s cricket.”The WICB did not offer Sarwan a central contract last month, ostensibly on fitness grounds, and he was not picked as part of the touring side for the same reason. West Indies coach Otis Gibson called it a tough decision, but one that needed to be made.Sarwan, who averages over 40 in both Tests and ODIs, said getting injured is a natural hazard of any sporting career. He was disappointed not to be part of the tour, but not surprised. “My goal at this time is to commit myself to cricket in Guyana. There is the four-day competition and other competitions in Guyana and I will be meeting with members of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) to discuss strategies on the way forward for cricket in Guyana.”On the subject of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo turning down their central contracts, Sarwan said the two are mature enough to make their own decisions, and that “it is their right to sign or not sign.” He believes the new West Indies captain, Darren Sammy, is a good leader and wished him success on the Sri Lankan tour.Sarwan captained Guyana in the WICB regional one-day tournament, averaging 21.33 with one half-century, in three games. Guyana were knocked out in the league stage, after winning just one of their games. He said he had no plans of retiring from international cricket and that “everything will fall back into its right place.”

Wolves striker Raul Jimenez is reportedly a target of German giants Bayern Munich this summer – if the Bundesliga club are to part ways with Robert Lewandowski.

What’s the latest?

According to El Futbolero, Bayern have started identifying potential striker targets in case the Poland international were to depart Bavaria this summer, with Jimenez on that list.

The Mexican forward has been a sensation at Molineux since arriving from Benfica – initially on loan – in 2018 ahead of the Black Country club’s first season back in the Premier League.

Having sustained a career-threatening skull fracture last season, the 30-year-old has remarkably managed to return to action for Bruno Lage’s men this term, although has endured a goal-shy campaign for his standards.

Wolves must keep Jimenez

Despite scoring six goals in the Premier League this term, the 30-year-old is undoubtedly Wolves’ best striker – with 19-year-old Fabio Silva still struggling to adapt to the English top flight.

However, the Mexican’s quality in front of goal has undoubtedly dipped since suffering his serious injury, having scored a whopping 27 goals in 55 appearances during the 2019/20 season, with 17 of those coming in the Premier League.

Although, this season has seen the entire Wolves squad be rather timid in front of goal under Lage, with the Portuguese manager’s side scoring just 33 goals in 32 matches – with only Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Watford and Norwich City having scored fewer.

That makes Jimenez’s six goals worth 18% of his side’s strikes, with no other Wolves player scoring more in the league this season.

Moreover, there are no guarantees that the striker would be a regular in Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern side, with the German club certainly looking for a goalscorer that could come close to replacing the 341 goals scored and 69 assists registered in 370 appearances by Lewandowski.

The Mexican is brilliant, but his record comes nowhere near that of the Poland international.

Therefore, if the 30-year-old were to depart for Munich it would certainly aggrieve Wolves supporters seeing him struggle for game time, given how fond of the striker they have become over the last four years.

It would also mean that the West Midlands club would have to invest in a high-quality striker this summer, although, that may already be in the plans for the upcoming transfer window.

Jimenez has been a cult hero at Molineux and a departure would certainly infuriate the Old Gold faithful, with Lage agreeing to the centre-forward’s sale potentially being an unforgivable decision for many involved with the club.

AND in other news: Lage could unearth Wolves’ next £100m talent as Fosun plot offer for 19-year-old “missile”

Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has sought clarity on several points from the regional passport office in Mumbai over the notice issued by it earlier this month, including the deadline and the basis for the notice

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2010Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has sought clarity on several points from the regional passport office in Mumbai over the notice issued by it earlier this month, including the deadline and the basis for the notice. He has also said through his lawyer that, though travelling abroad, he was not absconding.The notice was sent after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which looks into foreign exchange violations, wrote to India’s external (foreign) affairs ministry on October 5 asking it to revoke Modi’s passport since he had not appeared before the ED to answer allegations of financial irregularities.Modi’s counsel Mehmood Abdi said that, before filing his reply, Modi needed to know the ED’s reference to the RPO, following which the notice was issued, and the documents on which the RPO based its notice.Modi has 15 days to reply to the notice and, though it was issued on October 15, Abdi said this period should start from the date of receipt of the notice, which was October 20. “According to us, the deadline expires on November 4. We sent the RPO a letter on October 26 seeking clarification but there has been no reply.” Abdi said he had also sent a reminder to RPO today but has not received a response.Modi has been living abroad for the past few months and said he fears for his life. “There is a threat to his life and he will not return till the situation changes,” Abdi said. He denied that Modi was absconding and said he was communicating with the ED and other authorities from London.Two days ago Abdi had said that his client was ready for interrogation by the ED in London and would bear the expenses of ED personnel travelling there to question him.The ED is examining whether Modi violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act during his time as IPL commissioner. Earlier this month, the directorate issued a blue corner alert for Modi, which makes it mandatory for law-enforcement agencies around the world to detain him wherever they spot him and inform the ED accordingly.

Everton have not been shy when it comes to signing players from fellow English clubs over the years.

Players such as Richarlison, Dele Alli, Andros Townsend and Ben Godfrey, among many others, have all made moves to Goodison Park from other clubs in the Premier League and the lower divisions in recent memory.

Looking ahead to the upcoming summer transfer window, it seems as though the Toffees could look to add another familiar face to their ranks that many Premier League followers will be aware of.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Football Insider, Everton are eyeing up a potential summer transfer move for winger Adama Traore.

The attacker joined Barcelona on loan from Wolves back in the previous January transfer window.

While the La Liga giants reportedly have the option to sign him on a permanent basis in the summer, the Merseyside club are apparently keeping an eye on the situation and would be ready to pounce should Traore find himself back at Molineux instead.

A force of nature

With a total of 154 appearances under his belt for Wolves across all competitions, the Spaniard has scored 11 goals and provided 18 assists.

Since arriving at Barcelona in January, the 26-year-old has only started three of the ten La Liga games he’s appeared in prior to their midweek match against Real Sociedad.

This suggests that Xavi doesn’t see the Wolves loanee as a first-choice option, meaning that the club may not be inclined to use their option to sign him for a fee of £29m in the summer.

Even though he waved goodbye to Molineux in January, only three other players have managed to rack up more shot-creating actions than Traore (50).

Also, only Francisco Trincao (90) has made more dribbles than the £25.2m-rated speedster, who Jurgen Klopp dubbed as being “unplayable” on the pitch.

This highlights just how much of an attacking force Traore was for Bruno Lage’s side and what he’d be able to offer Everton if he ends up making a return to the Premier League in the summer.

Labelled as an “unstoppable force of nature” and being like “an express train” by Tim Spiers, the Spaniard certainly has what it takes to be a deadly attacking figure in Frank Lampard’s side at Goodison Park.

In other news: Fewer touches than Pickford: Everton’s “clumsy” 17-pass flop was a liability vs Foxes