Warne inducted into Aussies Hall of Fame

The Sheik of Tweak, Shane Warne was deservedly honoured by being inducted into Australia's Cricket Hall of Fame at the Allan Border Medal presentation which took place at Crown Casino in Melbourne on Monday.

Warne was the first bowler in the history of the game and the spinner to be so inducted.

Australia Cricket's Hall of Fame Chairman David Crow said of Warne. 'Shane Warne's contribution to cricket has been enormous. He revived leg spin combining accuracy with variety and enormous turn, even on unhelpful pitches. 'It was the timing of his performances.... that further underlined his legendary status.

Phenomenal record

'Beyond his phenomenal record, Shane Warne changed the way cricket was played and has inspired a new generation of cricketers worldwide to take up the challenging craft of spin bowling', said Crow.

To be inducted to the Hall of Fame, Warne said: 'Is just a massive honour, and it makes me feel proud. I am glad I am sharing this with my children and my family. When you look back, so many wonderful players have been inducted into the Hall of Fame and to be inducted so soon after my international retirement is a great privilege.

'I am thinking about the Allan Border medals that I've attended and listened to people getting up and talking about those guys who played a long time ago and were wonderful cricketers, watching some of these guys growing up, and as kids pretending I was one of them with my brother in the backyard.

'To be joining such a small company is something I am proud of', concluded Warne.

Clarke wins Allan Border Medal

Australia's Captain Michael Clarke won his third Allan Border Medal as Australia's best cricketer after a wonderful year in which he was elevated to captain the national Test and One-day team.

Vice-Captain Shane Watson who was out of the game for some time won the One-day player of the year award and the T20 player of the year award at a glittering ceremony held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne on Monday night.

Dashing left-hander David Warner won the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award.

Clarke, since taking over the captaincy from Ricky Ponting has been a source of inspiration and encouragement to the younger players in the Australian squad. Aussie cricket is in a transformation stage since losing most of their greats who helped them rule the cricket world.

Clarke has so far led Australia in four Test series. He has won

two Tests drawn two which is good going. He started off with a series win against Sri Lanka. He has given momentum to that success and his team is now in the finals of the Commonwealth Bank tri series best of three finals.

Close to tears

Clarke said that he was close to tears accepting his third Allan Border Medal. 'I did well not to tear up, and I have to thank my family, my extended family for their support over a long period of time.

'As a seven-year-old they took me to every cricket game I wanted to go. And a special tribute to my teammates - everyone that has supported me. Through good and bad they have been there and on nights like tonight they are the people you want to thank.

'The added responsibility of captaining a team has made me standup and lead from the front', he said to loud hand clapping.

This is how Clarke performed since being appointed captain. A fighting 151 out of 284 Australia made in the first innings of the infamous Test against South Africa when it was bundled out for just 47 runs in the second innings.

A grand 139 against New Zealand at the Gabba in his first home Test as captain. An epic 329 not out against India at the SCG followed by a majestic 210 in Adelaide to complete a 4-0 series triumph over India.

Why Sachin Tendulkar is failing

Here is the secret why Sachin Tendulkar is failing to score his 100th 100- It is because -

1. When Sachin made his 10th Test century Sourav Ganguly (dada) was at the other end - 177 in 1996 at Nottinghamshire, England.

2. When Sachin made his 20th Test century "dada" was at the other end - 126 not out at Mohali.

3. When Sachin broke Don Bradman's record 30th Test century "dada" was at the other end - 193 at Headingley.

4. When Sachin became the first batsman to get into 40 Test centuries "dada" was at the other end - 109 at Nagpur.

5. When Sachin broke Sunil Gavaskar's record of most Test 100s - 109 at Delhi to get his 35th 100 "dada" was at the other end.

6. When Sachin went past Brian Lara's record of 11,953 runs "dada" was at the other end.

7. When Sachin broke Mohammed Azharuddin's record to become the highest run getter in One-day Internationals "dada" was at the other end - Nairobi Mini World Cup final 2000.

One cannot be faulted for speculating that Sachin is missing scoring his 100th.100 because his lucky charm Sourav Ganguly is not at the other end! These interesting facts from Soumit Dutt was sent to me by my dear friend in Los Angeles Cosmas Mahagama, a former Sri Lanka Basketball captain.