What do the likes of Frank Woolley, Bret Sutcliffe, Vijay Merchant and Geoff Boycott have in common? They scored centuries prolifically when their prime years were way behind them.
Interestingly, each of them had a Test hundred when they were past 40 — an age when your skills are meant to be on the wane.
There’s a more fascinating piece of statistics. Graham Gooch retired at 41, and scored 12 Test hundreds after he was past 35.
India’s erstwhile coach Gary Kirsten had five three-figure knocks during this period. By that token, what do we expect from the unfinished phase of Sachin Tendulkar’s career? Yet, India are losing sleep over the hundred that’s taking a bit of time. He’s been nearly there on three occasions. The 85 against Pakistan in the World Cup, 91 against England at the Oval and now the 76 at Kotla.
The journey from 75 to 100 is excruciating if we factor in the defensive fields, a batsman’s own unease and the mental reserves burned up. Tendulkar’s case study is particularly interesting. At 37, how arduous it is to put up with the strain of getting the last 25 runs? To understand a Tendulkar Test innings in its totality, it’s essential to comprehend the way he prepares himself.
It’s said, no Indian cricketer has access to his inner chamber when he’s waiting to bat. We are told the process starts with him first getting into an intense visual zone. Before he takes guard, the innings has already been graphed in his mind. He plays his first ball long before he walks into the middle. Assessing the conditions, playing each ball visually, deciding the right back-lift against the wind — it’s a complex sphere.
So, by the time he’s into his 80s or 90s, how much of mental energy has he consumed?
Given his conversion rate of hundreds in 2010, the theory seems drivel. Last year (when he was 36), he had 12 scores of 50-plus, converting seven of them into hundreds. And there’s been a refreshing change in the way he constructs his innings these days: playing a shade conservatively in the 70s and 80s but opening up his shoulders in the 90s.
Remember how he stepped out to Paul Harris to loft him over long-off at Centurion when he was within an ace of his 50th Test ton.
It was different at the Oval, where he made a laboured 91 with the Test hinging on his presence, and Kotla where he turned down two leg-byes quite uncharacteristically. Yes, there’s a limit to which the mind can take.
Dr BP Bam, noted sports psychologist, says, “Factors such as match situation and conditions often have a cumulative effect on a batsman. As you approach a landmark, it becomes more difficult. At times, the anticipation of a milestone makes you lose focus.
How you’re going to get that all-important run, or how you will celebrate, things like that. Somehow you then become more defensive and are desperate not to lose your wicket. You should know when to switch on and switch off.
“There are expectations too when you’re on the verge of an extraordinary record. All these factors do pile up in your mind,” Bam adds, referring to his impending hundredth hundred which has become a national obsession.
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, however, believes the story would have been different had India played on better surfaces. “Such wickets assist neither batsmen nor bowlers,” he says.
Vengsarkar agrees, though, that it’s a lot different when you’re 27.
“Both the physical and mental aspect of batting becomes demanding as you grow older. Your reflexes and eyesight are not the same. But Sachin and Sir Donald Bradman are exceptions. It’s a matter of time before he gets there.”
Over to Kolkata.
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