PAT CUMMINS was a mere twinkle in his father's eye when Sachin
Tendulkar made his Test debut but, in a promoter's dream, the men
representing the past and future of the game are set to clash later this
year.
Tendulkar made his Test debut three-and-a-half years before Cummins was born, and the duel between Australia's newest sporting sensation and the biggest name in international cricket will, barring injuries to either party, be a massive drawcard for this summer's marquee series against India.
The Penrith product was aged just seven when Steve
Waugh's team lost that epic series to India in 2001 but he was in the
stands for the former Australian captain's final Test three years later.
On that occasion, Tendulkar carved a breathless 241 but in January he
could be on the other side of the fence forming memories for tomorrow's
budding stars.
''He's one of the greats of all time, I've grown up watching him,'' Cummins said yesterday of Tendulkar. ''For someone who is a bit of a pocket rocket, he's not too tall, even against the fastest bowlers he seems to stand up and lift another gear.
''To get a game, even here in Australia, would be unbelievable. To be versing the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid - it's going to be a massive challenge. He's someone hopefully all the bowlers don't get too overawed versing him and I guess you've got to still imagine him like any other batsmen.''
The problem, however, is Tendulkar is not like any other player. That the incomparable Don Bradman once said the Indian maestro reminded him more of himself than any other batsman is indication of the lofty standing Tendulkar holds in the game.
Cummins said he would not ''waste time'' thinking about how to bowl to Tendulkar ''because he's too good everywhere''. ''It's more imagining the moment of playing people like him, it'd be a massive thrill.''
Not that Cummins is afraid of taking on the very best. On
debut last week in Johannesburg, the seemingly nerveless speedster
claimed the wicket of another of the game's modern greats Jacques
Kallis, who sits fourth on the all-time Test run-scorers' list - behind
only Tendulkar, Dravid and Ricky Ponting. ''Sachin Tendulkar has got a
massive following in India and is a rock star over there,'' Cummins
said. ''Someone like him, all the fame, it'd be on a whole new different
level versing him.''
But Cummins is no stranger to climbing the ladder multiple rungs at a time. Twelve months ago, the teenager was adjusting to his debut season of first grade before a stunning tournament in last summer's Big Bash catapulted him to stardom.
''Even the last year, to get the NSW game when I was kind of looking back at grade cricket, I thought 'gee, I've come up here pretty quickly, maybe too quickly', but to come up here it's a whole new different level,'' Cummins said. ''To get here it's just unbelievable, it's happened so quickly it's all a bit of a blur.''
Another major decision will come next year when the cashed-up franchises of the Indian Premier League come knocking, trying to entice Cummins with huge six-figure sums after his starring role in NSW's Champions League campaign two months ago.
''I haven't really thought about it at the moment, it's still a fair while away,'' Cummins said.
''You definitely don't want it to impact on any cricket back here. It will be a big compliment if they did [show interest] but I haven't heard anything about it yet so we'll see what happens.''
Although he is likely to be on Test duty during the Big Bash, Cummins was unveiled yesterday by the Sydney Sixers in a promotion to mark the start of Cricket Australia's revamped Twenty20 tournament.
''Last year, Twenty20 gave me the opportunity to play for NSW and that opened up the other forms as well,'' Cummins said. ''It's really exciting to be part of it again. I love playing Twenty20 cricket. It's going to be a great atmosphere and bring a lot of media attention and public attention to domestic cricket.''
Tendulkar made his Test debut three-and-a-half years before Cummins was born, and the duel between Australia's newest sporting sensation and the biggest name in international cricket will, barring injuries to either party, be a massive drawcard for this summer's marquee series against India.
''He's one of the greats of all time, I've grown up watching him,'' Cummins said yesterday of Tendulkar. ''For someone who is a bit of a pocket rocket, he's not too tall, even against the fastest bowlers he seems to stand up and lift another gear.
''To get a game, even here in Australia, would be unbelievable. To be versing the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid - it's going to be a massive challenge. He's someone hopefully all the bowlers don't get too overawed versing him and I guess you've got to still imagine him like any other batsmen.''
The problem, however, is Tendulkar is not like any other player. That the incomparable Don Bradman once said the Indian maestro reminded him more of himself than any other batsman is indication of the lofty standing Tendulkar holds in the game.
Cummins said he would not ''waste time'' thinking about how to bowl to Tendulkar ''because he's too good everywhere''. ''It's more imagining the moment of playing people like him, it'd be a massive thrill.''
Not that Cummins is afraid of taking on the very best. On
debut last week in Johannesburg, the seemingly nerveless speedster
claimed the wicket of another of the game's modern greats Jacques
Kallis, who sits fourth on the all-time Test run-scorers' list - behind
only Tendulkar, Dravid and Ricky Ponting. ''Sachin Tendulkar has got a
massive following in India and is a rock star over there,'' Cummins
said. ''Someone like him, all the fame, it'd be on a whole new different
level versing him.''But Cummins is no stranger to climbing the ladder multiple rungs at a time. Twelve months ago, the teenager was adjusting to his debut season of first grade before a stunning tournament in last summer's Big Bash catapulted him to stardom.
''Even the last year, to get the NSW game when I was kind of looking back at grade cricket, I thought 'gee, I've come up here pretty quickly, maybe too quickly', but to come up here it's a whole new different level,'' Cummins said. ''To get here it's just unbelievable, it's happened so quickly it's all a bit of a blur.''
Another major decision will come next year when the cashed-up franchises of the Indian Premier League come knocking, trying to entice Cummins with huge six-figure sums after his starring role in NSW's Champions League campaign two months ago.
''I haven't really thought about it at the moment, it's still a fair while away,'' Cummins said.
''You definitely don't want it to impact on any cricket back here. It will be a big compliment if they did [show interest] but I haven't heard anything about it yet so we'll see what happens.''
Although he is likely to be on Test duty during the Big Bash, Cummins was unveiled yesterday by the Sydney Sixers in a promotion to mark the start of Cricket Australia's revamped Twenty20 tournament.
''Last year, Twenty20 gave me the opportunity to play for NSW and that opened up the other forms as well,'' Cummins said. ''It's really exciting to be part of it again. I love playing Twenty20 cricket. It's going to be a great atmosphere and bring a lot of media attention and public attention to domestic cricket.''
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