Sachin is close to being the complete batsman: Gower

Gower (41) was accompanied by Roy McGrath, a comedian, actor and writer, for the making of a film for the BBC. “Commentary has been the main thing since my retirement from the game, but with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) accepting the bait from Channel 4 and Sky, cricket would be off the BBC after the World Cup.

“It could well mean that I would have to look out for other avenues as far as my role of commentator is concerned,” he adds with a chuckle.

For the record, Gower played 117 Tests notching 8231 runs inclusive of 18 hundreds and averaged 44.21. His 215 against Australia at Birmingham in August 1985 was his best. In acareer spanning almost 13 years, Gower also featured in 114 one-dayers scoring 3170 runs (avg: 30.77) peppered with seven hundreds.

Excerpts from an interview:
Q: There is the belief that the popularity of cricket is waning in England. Do you subscribe to this view?

A: The situation could be best illustrated in the scenario prevailing in India and England. Any wide open space in India could be the playing fields for cricket, while in England it is soccer. But still there are huge amount of people who still love the game of cricket and the following is there. The focus should be on the schools and clubs. The ECB is well aware of this and they have started a programme to make children aware of the possibilities of cricket. Besides, I have been to clubs where they have active youth programmes. It is a question of building a proper structure.

Q: Are you among those who believe that overseas players competing in county choke the available talent at home?

A: I don’t buy this opinion. Thereis only one overseas player in each of the 18 counties, which leaves out the other 180-odd places for the English. Overseas players of poor calibre should be avoided. But the argument that overseas players are a danger to the English players is all rubbish. I feel that they are missing the point for there are other methods to raise the standard of English cricket.

Q: As a southpaw yourself, who among the present left-handed batsmen impresses you the most?

A: Brian Lara is a very good player, possessing an immense amount of talent when he uses it and an exciting player to watch too. Saeed Anwar is another.Mark Taylor, is a batsman who has faced a lot of criticism in the last couple of years. It takes lots of concentration to come through the pressure and notch a record score for a captain. But Sachin Tendulkar is the best in the world for style, domination and changing the course of matches. He is relatively close to being the most complete batsman.

Q: Mark Taylor’s decision today to declarethe innings when in sight of Brian Lara’s Test best score was stunning…

A: Well, it is a very selfless gesture. Basically what he might have said to himself could be, “we are here in to win a Test match.” Mark has a sense of history. He might have thought that since he has equalled the great Don Bradman’s score it would be rude to go past it and would be gentlemanly to declare.

Q: Which team do you fancy winning the 1999 World Cup?

A: In any order India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka all are formidable teams. It would be an extraordinary performance if the Lankans win it twice in succession. I feel that they are a bit weaker in bowling. If anybody says that a particular team is going to win the World Cup, I suspect he is lying.

Q: Do you approve the concept of having separate captains for Tests and one-dayers?

A: It’s not a great idea as in most cases the man who is the captain of the National team is good enough for both teams. For example, a peculiarsituation arose last summer when Mike Atherton resigned as captain. Alec Stewart, who is a certainty in both teams was leading the Test team but not the one-day side. It is a very strange situation. I don’t think it works psychologically under those circumstances.