‘To bat with Tendulkar and still be noticed, you need to be special’

Barry Richards, the great batsman who might grudgingly acknowledge praise of his own abilities, is quick to recognise and appreciate those q...

Barry Richards, the great batsman who might grudgingly acknowledge praise of his own abilities, is quick to recognise and appreciate those qualities in others. One modern Test batsman whom he has long thought to have that touch of Lara-like genius is VVS Laxman.

So it didn’t surprise Richards when he switched on the TV in his hotel room near the Cape Town waterfront today to discover that Laxman had reached 140 and India were well in control of the crucial fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. ‘‘He scored a brilliant century in Sydney on the last tour and, for the first time since I saw Sunil Gavaskar, I had seen a batsman with that extra touch of class.’’

‘‘Sure, we know all about Sachin Tendulkar and what a great batsman he is: a lot has been written and said about him’’, Richards went on to say. ‘‘But Laxman is different and this innings of his against Australia in Sydney prove the point. You have to be someone out of the ordinary to bat alongside Sachin and still be noticed.’’

Story continues below this ad

His innings, the former South African batsman said, proves the point that the Indian batting order wasn’t all about Sachin. ‘‘There are other great players in the India side. I mean the way this guy (Laxman) puts runs together: that cut of his, his drives have that extra quality.’’

Laxman’s exuberance showed on reaching three figures for the seventh time in his brilliant, if underachieving career and was a moment of reassurance of his magnificent performance on the tour so far. Richards also wondered why Laxman was left out of India’s World Cup squad in 2003 as he would have at least added substance to the middle-order in crucial innings.

What was impressive was how Laxman quickly caught up with Tendulkar, elegantly driving and making deft use of leg-side flicks as well as rocking on the front or the back foot with equal flair and touches of confidence. As the TV highlights showed, Brett Lee was often in Laxman’s firing line early on and was taken out of the attack. And his well-executed cut and drive had Richards bubbling with the sort of enjoyment that such strokeplay evokes in the mind of a coach and thoughtful analyst who in his day was acknowledged as a genius in his own right.