Cricket legends are heading to Lord's

editorial@hamhigh.co.uk
25 November 2009

INTERNATIONAL RESCUE... India's Sachin Tendulkar (above) and Australia's Adam Gilchrist (below) could turn Middlesex's fortunes around.

COUNTY CRICKET

By Ben Kosky

WORLD record run-scorer Sachin Tendulkar is close to finalising a lucrative deal to play Twenty20 cricket for Middlesex next summer.

The Indian batting legend is understood to be keen on joining Middlesex, but the county are still negotiating with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who hold his registration.

Middlesex have already secured the services of former Australian star Adam Gilchrist for next season's Twenty20 tournament and a spokesman said on Tuesday that the county were 'optimistic' of adding Tendulkar to their squad as well.

After winning the Twenty20 Cup in 2008, Middlesex are anxious to improve on last season's dismal showing, when they finished bottom of the South group with only two wins from 10 matches.

And the signing of 36-year-old Tendulkar, who is currently involved in India's Test series against Sri Lanka, would represent a major coup for the county.

At the start of the ongoing match in Kanpur, Tendulkar was closing in on a career milestone of 13,000 Test runs at an average of almost 55 and is also the world's leading scorer in one-day internationals, having so far scored a mammoth total of 17,178 runs.

He is also captain of his hometown side, Mumbai Indians, in the Indian Premier League - where he has crossed swords with Gilchrist, skipper of the 2009 title winners Deccan Chargers.

Gilchrist, 38, who retired from international cricket last year after a sparkling career as wicketkeeper-batsman for Australia, is the IPL's leading scorer with 931 runs.

Meanwhile, Middlesex will be up against their former bowler Alan Richardson when they begin their LVG County Championship Division Two campaign next April with a trip to Worcestershire.

The four-day game at New Road begins on Friday April 9 and Middlesex then return to Lord's for another County Championship game against Glamorgan, starting on April 15.