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After batting for 26 hrs, marathon man slept for 17!

Englishman Alby Shale who broke the record for the longest batting stint talks to dna about the inspiration behind his feat, and what he did after achieving it.

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Alby Shale, 22, is not a professional cricketer. He last played competitive cricket in school. One evening, his friends suggested he attempt the record for the longest-ever batting stint at the nets. The beer banter bore fruit. And Shale decided to chase his dream.

In fact, it was his father who prompted him to do the unthinkable and raise money for the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation — a charity set up to build the first proper ground in the African country. However, six months later, Christopher Shale passed away.

But the youngster did his father proud by achieving his dream on Tuesday. He batted for a mind-boggling 26 hours non-stop at The Oval. “I discussed the idea with my close friend Alan Sendorek while having a drink. It was stupid to go for it but then I was game for it since my dad, a cricket buff, wanted Rwanda to have a proper cricket ground. So I went for it,” Alby told dna from Oxfordshire.

So what did he do after achieving the feat? “I was exhausted. But I completed another record of sleeping 17 hours at stretch. I could not move, but then it was all worth it,” he said. Shale broke the Guinness World Record of 25 hours held by Australian Jade Child set in October 2012.

Batting for more than a day is no joke. And Shale slugged it out before embarking on his mission. “I worked out in the gym, did weight training and worked on strengthening my lower body. I kept batting too — eight hours was the longest I’d batted before this. So it wasn’t like I just decided to do it one day and went into the nets the next,” he said.

The English graduate faced 200 bowlers, including British prime minister David Cameroon. “I got out bowled for the first time to Ravi Bopara. In all, I got out just seven times. I did not get out for 15 hours. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s James Woodroof was the toughest bowler to face,” the right hander added.

So how did he ‘survive’ the ‘ordeal’? “I took a five-minute break at the end of every hour. So I had a chocolate bar or a protein bar to give me strength and had Red Bull to stay energised. I did whatever I wanted to in those five minutes. I also visited the loo,” he said.

According to Shale, he did lose focus at times. “It started after 13th hour and during the 21st and 22nd hours. It was pretty tough, but then I thought of my father and that helped me get my focus back,” he revealed.

Shale is a Mumbai Indians fan and would love to play for them. “I had been to India a couple of years ago as a part of cricket tour. It is a great country and cricket is really big there. I would love to come to India and do something in cricket. That’s my aim,” he said.

And like many of his generation, Shale loves Sachin Tendulkar. “Sachin is the most naturally gifted cricketer of all time and someone I have looked up to for years now. He hasn’t batted for 26 hours straight, but has got 51 Test centuries to his name. I know which one I’d rather have!” he said.

However, his favourite cricketer is none other than Andrew Strauss. “Strauss (Shale went to the same school as the former England skipper) is one of the most successful English captains of all time. He is a great representative of English cricket.”

What about the Ashes? Shale (like his countrymen) believes England will humiliate Australia. “The Ashes is, and will always be, incredibly tense. A hard-fought battle which ebbs and flows and keeps you on the edge of you seat.
The first Test showed us that the Australians will fight for ever y wicket. Having said that, we will send them back home humiliated with a 4-0 victory,” he said.

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