Among the immortals, perhaps the most unrivaled batsman of all times is Sachin Tendulkar. This glory unit in a well-groomed career is near 16,000 Test runs. He is the highest scorer among Indian batters in Australia. However, when 18 years of age Sachin Tendulkar went to Australia in the summer of 1991/92, he was not as popular. On the eve of India’s warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI, Greg Rowell, an Australian lawyer who used to be a first-class cricketer, has narrated a heartwarming story of how he got Tendulkar out in the same game 23 years ago.
Rowell not only took the wicket of Tendulkar, but also of Ravi Shastri in the ‘Prime Minister’s XI vs India’ of 1991. Shastri was an established all-rounder then. Rowell, a fast bowler, ended the match with a tremendous performance of 7/27.
“Tendulkar wasn’t such a big name then
; but Shastri was,” Rowell, talking to The Indian Express, said. “Oh, by the end of the series, though, I’d know who Tendulkar really was.”.
Indeed, Tendulkar brought himself to the attention of Australians at the tender age of 18. Meanwhile, they had beaten India by 4-0 in the five-match Test series, but Sachin Tendulkar scored like a star against that haul.
The 18-year-old boy scored 368 runs in five Tests with two centuries to emerge as the lead scorer for India in that series.
Shastri also did not disappoint and scored 300 runs in just three games to finish as India’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament.
Rowell had been part of a Prime Minister’s XI that included several future Australia greats and regulars. The likes of Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden, Michael Bevan, Damien Fleming and Damien Martyn were all Rowell’s teammates in that game. Allan Border had captained the side.
“For us first-class players, it was a game where the country saw and judged you: it was televised nationwide,” said Rowell.
Though he made it up to Australia A in his time playing against the senior Australia side, Rowell could not hack it over a long career in professional cricket. Eventually, this former cricketer diverted and became a lawyer after which he later came to serve in the position of board member of Cricket Australia.
