Tendulkar is the biggest name

 arely does a walk around Lord's Cricket Ground result in you not bumping into a high profile or influential figure in the game, and last Monday was no exception. After dropping a letter off at the England and Wales Cricket Board offices, I heard the familiar sound of leather on willow and inquisitively wandered over to the Nursery Ground to see what was going on. My arrival at the practice area was greeted by the unmistakable sight of Sachin Tendulkar batting in the nets.

Jock, the MCC Young Cricketers' assistant coach, and Nayan Doshi, the former Surrey left-arm spinner, were throwing to and bowling at Tendulkar. I asked a sweaty-looking Jock how long he'd been throwing balls at Tendulkar. "An hour," he wearily said. "How long does he normally bat for?" I inquired. "Oh, another hour or so," said Jock, "I'm only loosening up."

The encounter told you everything you needed to know about Tendulkar, and why he remains cricket's greatest modern player. Here, after 22 years of international cricket, 730 international appearances, 32,803 international runs and 99 international hundreds was a man still working harder and more diligently at his game than most, if not all, of the young pretenders posturing to take his throne. This was not a man resting on his laurels, a man who believed he had cracked the game. This was a man who knows that getting to and remaining at the top is only achieved through hard work and by paying attention to detail.