Arguably the greatest batsman of all time, Sachin Tendulkar amassed nearly 16,000 Test runs in a glittering career. Tendulkar is also the highest scorer among Indian batters in Australia. However, when an 18-year old Sachin Tendulkar toured Australia in the summer of 1991/92, he wasn’t so 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 had dismissed not only Tendulkar, but also Ravi Shastri in the ‘Prime Minister’s XI vs India’ game in 1991. The latter was a renowned all-rounder at that time. A fast bowler, Rowell ended the game with stunning figures of 7/27.
“Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t such a big name then; Ravi Shastri was,” said Rowell, in a conversation with The Indian Express. “Oh, by the end of the series though, I would know who Tendulkar really was,” Rowell added.
That was because Tendulkar had made a serious mark on Australian soil even at the age of 18. Although Australia had demolished India 4-0 in the five-match Test series, Sachin Tendulkar had shone bright.
Tendulkar had finished the series as India’s highest run-scorer. The 18-year-old slammed 368 runs in five Tests, including two centuries.
Interestingly, Shastri also performed well in the series, scoring 300 runs in just three games, and finishing as India’s second-highest run-scorer.
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.
“It was televised nationally, and for us first-class players, it was a game where the country saw and judged you,” revealed Rowell.
Rowell made it as far as Australia A, playing against the senior Australia side, but failed to carve out a long career in professional cricket. Rowell switched professions, becoming a lawyer, before eventually winding up as a board member of Cricket Australia.
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