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CRICKET ROADSHOWS

Week 9 Review - 6 Jul, Edgbaston Roadshow spotlights the Little Masters

They look alike, they bat alike and one has even admitted modeling himself on the other, but Virender Sehwag, India's new batting sensation, insists there's still one major difference between himself and Sachin Tendulkar, the undisputed "Little Master".

"I am totally different because he has a bank balance which is so high," Sehwag told Channel 4's Cricket Roadshow at Edgbaston.

Financial status apart, the two undoubtedly have a remarkable similarity at the crease when batting, prompting former South African Test star Barry Richards to observe: "He's (Sehwag) like a little clone of him, he's almost a carbon copy."

Sehwag himself is not shy of the comparison, revealing that he's honoured even to be mentioned in the same breath as the world's No 1 batsman. "I saw Sachin Tendulkar batting in the World Cup, I watched him play on television and tried to copy," he admitted.

But while he's happy to draw heavily from his idol's technique Sehwag affirmed: "I am not another Sachin Tendulkar, I am happy that I am Virender Sehwag."

The free-hitting Indian opener added the names of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and the Waugh twins to his list of cricketing heroes, but it's clear from the way he just talks about Tendulkar that while all idols are equal some are more equal than others.

"It's a great honour for me playing with Sachin Tendulkar, I am very happy because he's a great, great player and he's a God of cricket," admitted the master's pupil.

And just to confirm the comparison Channel 4's Simon Hughes gave the pair his Analyst treatment.

"There are some similarities between the styles of Tendulkar and Sehwag. Both are very compact at the crease although Sehwag does have a much higher back lift. One of the biggest differences in their styles is that Sehwag is predominantly a back foot player, even when the ball is pitched up, whereas Tendulkar is more inclined to get forward and get those drives away," he said.

"There's something uncomplicated in the way Sehwag bats. There's a freedom in his strokes because he has very fast hands and a natural flamboyance in the way he whacks bowlers over the top, whereas there's something about Tendulkar that's more clinical, more controlled," concluded Hughes.

Bowlers around the world will no doubt be judging for themselves over the next decade but for the time being they'll be content there is only one Sachin Tendulkar, no matter how much Sehwag looks to imitate the great man.

Elsewhere on the programme there was the usual mix of reviews, previews and a round-up of the county circuit, although the main focus was very much on the current NatWest Series with the Channel 4 team looking back over the games so far and picking out their teams of the tournament.

Just for the record here's how the teams of Michael Slater, Michael Atherton and Richie Benaud shaped up. Not surprisingly all featured Tendulkar.

Benaud's XI: Trescothick, Jayasuriya, Tendulkar, Dravid, Hussain, Yuvraj Singh, Flintoff, Ganguly, Stewart, Gough, Zaheer Khan.

Slater's XI: Jayasuriya, Trescothick, Dravid, Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Stewart, Flintoff, Kumble, Gough, Agarkar, Zoysa.

Atherton's XI: Trescothick, Jayasuriya, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Dravid, Stewart, Flintoff, Gough, Agarkar, Zoysa.

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