SACHIN TENDULKAR made his mark on the record books at Trent Bridge yesterday when he became the third batsman in history to score 11,000 Test runs. The India batsman also made an impression on Allan Donald, the England bowling consultant. “In my era, I think he’s the best player I’ve had the pleasure of playing against,” Donald said. “He’s something special, very freakish. What’s he done for the game and for his country is absolutely phenomenal. He’s a credit to cricket.”

Though many believe that journey’s end is close to hand for Tendulkar, Donald was not about to join the chorus. “I hope there’s a lot more cricket in him,” he said. “He still looks so boyish. It’s unbelievable how many years he’s stuck it out and achieved what he has. It’s scary to see how many hundreds he’s clocked up in Test matches [37], not to mention one-day internationals [41]. I hope he goes past Brian Lara’s tally [of 11,953]. I think he deserves that, simply because he’s such a humble, wonderful guy.”

Donald first crossed swords with Tendulkar during the South African’s one-day debut. In front of a full house at Eden Gardens in November 1991, he scalped five Indian batsmen for 29 in as fiery a spell of pace bowling as any seen on the subcontinent. One of the wickets he picked up was the 18-year-old Tendulkar. The only problem was that Tendulkar had already chiselled out a polished 62, setting India on course for victory.

Another player praising Tendulkar was Dinesh Karthik, who set the tone for India with a stylish 77. “He’s the greatest player I’ve ever seen,” said Karthik. “I’m honoured that a person like Sachin even knows my name. I’m 100% sure he’s going to beat the record. It’s just a matter of time.”

Leading Test Scorers (Runs, Tests)

B Lara (WI) 11,953, 131

A Border (Aus) 11,174, 156

S Tendulkar (Ind) 11,032, 140

S Waugh (Aus) 10,927, 168

S Gavaskar (Ind) 10,122, 125

R Dravid (Ind) 9,414, 111

R Ponting (Aus) 9,368, 110

G Gooch (Eng) 8,900, 118

J Miandad (Pak) 8,832, 124

Inzamam (Pak) 8,813, 119

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