Three Figures That Will Give Bombay's Finest a Special Place in the Pantheon

A couple of years ago, in the Asian magazine Outlook, the writer Suresh Menon was moved to quote Neville Cardus on the conflict between hero worship and patriotism. Cardus worshipped Victor Trumper, an Australian. So, Menon reminds us, Cardus' prayer would be, " Lord, let Trumper score a hundred for Australia in England's win."

Tomorrow the throngs of English and Indian supporters will shuffle their noisy way out of the Oval tube station and up Harleyford Road from Vauxhall for the climax to the summer. England fans will be hoping for a comeback against the odds, Indians for another overwhelming victory.

Transcending any allegiance, though, will be a common desire to see Sachin Tendulkar score a century and one in his 100th Test at that. Then, in years to come, they can say they were there and saw at first hand one of the wonders of the age.

This match will be a landmark for a young man who modestly understands his place in the pantheon. Other Indians - first his great mentor and hero Sunil Gavaskar, then Dilip Vengsarkar and Kapil Dev - have exceeded 100 Tests. Tendulkar will be the 25th in the game's history to do so since Colin Cowdrey in the Ashes summer of 1968.

But, if it is no longer a rare occurrence, Tendulkar will be the first to do it in his twenties. And, had India played more than three five-match series since his debut, who knows what might have been achieved?

He will be saluted, and rightly so, and in time will no doubt become the most capped player of them all. This is one of the greats, not just of his time but in the game's annals.

"This will be such a proud moment for me," Tendulkar admitted yesterday. "In 13 years I have learned a lot and there is much still to learn. Each and every moment I have enjoyed and cherished. It is good to feel you have achieved something in life and contributed to the best of your abilities."

Since he first appeared for India at the age of 16 against Pakistan in the steaming cauldron that is Karachi's National Stadium he has played his cricket under intense scrutiny.

Is there another sportsman in the world who operates with the same measure of expectancy weighing on him? He is revered by a billion people, elevated to the level of deity, his life no longer his own.

If he succeeds, there is national rejoicing, failure brings mourning. His abilities have the capacity, literally, to alter the mood of his country. It is a situation he accepts stoically, in the understanding that the attention has brought its rewards as well.

"Besides which," says Tendulkar, "life would be boring if no one expects from you. But I try to live up to my own expectations and set targets for myself which are attainable, not those of others which may be very, very tough. You have to be realistic."

This match, though, is special - doubly so. When Cowdrey, in a less effusive age, walked his beaming way out to face the Australians at Edgbaston, he would have felt it "nice" to grace the occasion with a century and, although it was not incumbent on him, duly did so.

Javed Miandad achieved a double that remains unique by scoring a century in his first and 100th Tests, the latter in late 1989 against India in Lahore.

The following spring Gordon Greenidge plundered a big hundred against England at the Recreation ground in Antigua to mark his century of caps for West Indies.

And it was entirely in character that Alec Stewart, fiercely patriotic in an old fashioned way, celebrated simultaneously his hundred caps and the Queen Mother's 100th birthday with another Test century - and received for his trouble arguably the longest and most sustained standing ovation ever accorded a cricketer.

But these four stand alone. No one else has managed it. Perhaps no one else has wanted it that much. If it comes, it comes; if not, then the champagne is already out.

But this is Tendulkar, on whom a nation expects each and every day of his working life. And they are expecting now all right.

When he returns home there will be ceremony and presentation as only the Indians can do. Before that, though, the century.

Just days ago, before leaving to play in South Africa, Vinod Kabli, the former Test batsman whose friendship with Tendulkar goes back to the Sharadashram Vidyamandir school in Bombay for whom they compiled their record unbroken 664- run partnership, visited the Siddhivinayak temple to pray for Tendulkar's century.

He will not have been alone in his devotions. Tendulkar will feel this and not just acknowledge the expectancy but himself feel an obligation to deliver as perhaps never before.

How will this affect a man who has come to terms with all the demands of his celebrity. When he made his debut, he freely admits, he had huge doubts as to whether he belonged in such lofty altitudes.

"I was in a terrible shape. When I batted I did not know what was going on around me. My feet were not moving, just my hands and even those things way outside off-stump I was going for. I just felt out of place."

Waqar Younis flattened his stumps. He is 99 Tests and 30 centuries further on now. The nerves should have dissipated. But for this one match he might need to dig deep as never before.

A billion people are banking on it. It is down to him now.

Centurions in their 100th test

Colin Cowdrey

(England)

Made 104 in third Test against Australia at Edgbaston in July 1968

Gordon Greenidge

(West Indies)

Made 149 in partnership of 298 with Desmond Haynes in fifth Test against England in Antigua in1990

Javed Miandad

(Pakistan)

Made 145 against India in third Test in Lahore in 1989, having scored a century there on Test debut

Alec Stewart

(England)

Inspired 105 against West Indies in third Test at Old Trafford in August 2000 was chanceless

Sachin Tendulkar

(India)

Born Bombay April 24 1973

Teams Bombay, Yorkshire, India

Height 5ft 5in

Test debut age16 v Pakistan

Tests 99

Hundreds 30

Average 57.99

Average v England 77.57

No of wickets 27

No of catches 65

Bat weight 3lb 2 oz

Highest score 217

Favourite disguise Beard

Bogeymen Allan Donald, Glenn McGrath,Hansie Cronje (5), Chris Lewis (4)