Tendulkar, Gavaskar in Weekes's
top 6 list

No roll of honour of all-time great batsmen seems to be complete without Sachin Tendulkar. And the list of West Indian legend Sir Everton Weekes is no exception.

Weekes, one of the three Ws of cricket history along with Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrel, rated Tendulkar amongst the six greatest batsmen ever.

"Tendulkar has to be one of the six batsmen of all-time in my list. He has to be one of the best. A few shots he managed during this Test spoke of his class," Weekes said, referring to the Indian's 79-run knock in the rain-interrupted first Test, which ended in a tame draw on Monday.

"And there is one more Indian in this six; and you know who I am referring to."

Weekes was, of course, referring to another little genius, Sunil Gavaskar, who made 10,122 runs from 125 Tests with 34 hundreds, which included 13 against the fearsome West Indian fast bowlers. Gavaskar averaged a superb 65.45 against the West Indies, totalling 2749 runs from 27 Tests.

Weekes, however, did not reveal the other four names that comprise his top six. And he is too modest to even suggest that he himself could easily have found a place in the list.

His record of 4455 runs from 48 Tests, at an average of 58.62, with 15 centuries is formidable enough and includes a world record of five consecutive Test hundreds that has not been bettered even after more than 50 years. Weekes was run-out on 90 while going for his sixth straight century.

Four of those centuries came against India during the 1948-49 series, his first abroad. Weekes is clearly the best batsman to have ever played against India. His record of 1495 runs in ten Tests with seven centuries at an average of 106.79 is a testimony to the fact.

No wonder, Weekes has a special bond with India and Indian cricketers.

But he sprang a surprise by revealing his admiration for Vinod Kambli, once a very promising batsman who shared the world record for scoring double centuries in two consecutive innings but who has faded out of international scene since.

Weekes remembers Kambli, a childhood chum and contemporary of Tendulkar, as a player with tremendous potential and feels sorry for the left-hander for not being able to continue for a long time in international cricket.

"When I was in India as a match referee in 1992-93 during a India-Sri Lanka series, I was mightily impressed with Kambli," Weekes said. "I thought the chum of Tendulkar was loaded with talent but then more than talent is required if you have to be the best in this game."

There are quite a few other Indian players who remain vivid in Weekes's mind after decades have rolled by.

"I remember Vinoo Mankad, a great all-rounder. He could bowl six different balls in an over and it was the first time I was experiencing something like this," said Weekes, remembering the 1948-49 series.

"Mankad used to do so many things, using crease, different angles and was a fascinating bowler. But the wickets were great and very good for batting, but for Calcutta where there was a bit of grass.

"I was only 22, 11 months older than Clyde (Walcott) and we used to travel by train in those days. It was also a tour in which I had to stand in queue to receive my daily allowance from the team management every Friday," Weekes said.

This was Weekes's first overseas series having made his debut against England earlier in the year at Kensington Park where "I helped to roll the pitch". He played in the Barbados League from the age of 12. At 17, he joined the army and kept playing until he was demobilised in 1945 and moved on to Empire Cricket Club and into the Barbados team.

Weekes remembers Subhash Gupte, now settled in the West Indies, as "easily the best leg-spin bowler of all time".

"He had no flipper but two leg breaks and two googlies. Gupte was to leg-spin what Alec Bedser was in pace, the greatest of all time."

Asked to compare Tendulkar with Brian Lara, Weekes said Lara, of course, has carried his team through a few more times than the Indian, but then, "I feel it is the bowlers who take 20 wickets and decide the games."

Talking about the first Test, Weekes was very happy to see Carl Hooper do justice to his talent at last. "It was a great performance from Hooper. All the players recognise Hooper is talented. His only fault is he is not consistent. He is beautiful to watch and coming into his own now."

Weekes though is saddened to see the declining standards of West Indian cricket. "It is difficult for me to put my finger on one point. We were at the top long enough but we didn't spend enough time on preparing for their replacements. We are paying a price now."

Mail Cricket Editor