Want to bowl at scorching pace? Well, a hangover helps!

Tendulkar also makes it a point to touch his elders’ feet before he goes out to bat in any match, a practice he has followed without fail since he was a child playing in Mumbai’s parks.

Steve Waugh, similarly, likes a red handkerchief, a la Mohinder Amarnath, to hang loosely from his trouser pocket. The Australian captain believes it plays no less siginificant role in his team’s success even though on skills and commitment alone his mates are peerless.

Waugh feels the red material really helps him in winning tosses. Since becoming the captain, Waugh has won 10 tosses out of 14 in Tests and called correctly seven times in a row during the last World Cup.

Sourav Ganguly avoids shaving on the day he is supposed to bat. Quite inelegant for someone who bats so elegantly at the crease.

Sunil Gavaskar, through his 17-year-long career, made it a point to wear something new everytime he went out to bat for India. He played 125 Tests and countless innings, not to mention many One-dayers in the latter half of his illustrious career.

Gavaskar would find anything, just about anything, new to put on. It could be a new shirt, trouser, socks, undergarments, handkerchief, arm band, elbow guard, gloves, thigh guard, pads, just about anything before he went out to bat during his long career.

India’s current coach Kapil Dev used to wear a copper bracelet and a chain around his neck. But he discarded the practice in his later years, saying if he was good, he would do well without bracelets and chains.

Rodney Marsh, Australia’s legendary stumper of the 70s, carried a small photo of John Blackham, the first wicket-keeper of the National side, through out the centenary Test against England at the MCG in 1976-77.

Marsh also made it a point to look over his left shoulder every 10 or 15 paces as if he was checking that nobody was following him.

Ian Chappell is supposed to have gone through an entire tour of South Africa wearing the same pair of socks.

Adam Gilchrist always puts his left pad and left glove on first and puts his left foot on to the ground first when he walks out.

Dennis Lillee always thought it was best to be the last person in the team to walk on to the field. He also thought, when training, it would benefit his bowling if he managed to better his previous best time for a five or six kilometre run. Lillee genuinely believed if he did another 100 metres or so then he would get a few more wickets.

Jeff Thomson, before the first Test against England in 1974-75, was spotted sitting in a bar with what looked like a glass of iced water in front of him. It turned out to be Scotch on the rocks. Thomson had then confessed he always bowled faster whenever he had a hangover.

These days Michael Slater likes to kiss the Australian emblem on his helmet when he reaches a century and Ricky Ponting does the same to a little gold bat he wears around his neck.

Former West Indies opener Desmond Haynes always wore a gold chain around his neck with the words live-love-laugh inscribed. (PTI)