Sachin Tendulkar's double century blows away talk of 50-over demise

On fire: India's Sachin Tendulkar (left) celebrates his double century as team-mate Mahendra Singh Dhoni 

So 50-over cricket is dying, and only muscle-bound, switch-hitting and reverse-sweeping batsmen can survive in the modern one-day jungle. Pah! Sachin Tendulkar certainly blew those couple of absurd and trendy notions asunder last week with his record-breaking one-day international double century against South Africa.

Its greatest glory was that it was an innings with which any era could identify; one of stunning convention and wonderful simplicity, full of straight-blade shots from a bat that somehow appears broader than any other.

There were cover-drives aplenty, all directly from the text book, which was not bad for a man who was so concerned about the stroke that he recently made a Test century with barely a single drive.

The area behind the bowler was explored relentlessly and the leg-side boundary found regularly with a late flick of the wrists. This truly was a victory for placement over power.

I hope the myopic county chairmen who voted against 50-over cricket were watching. This is a form of the game that must prevail. And if properly marketed and scheduled (is it any wonder that county 40-over matches are more popular when played in high summer rather than the Arctic April afforded 50 overs?), it can do.

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