Cricket: 'In' is delighted, but 'out' says it's a fake

NEW DELHI - India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar is "on top of the world" after being named to the late Sir Donald Bradman's cricket Dream Team

But former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar - who missed out - says the star-studded list is a fake.

Tendulkar was the only current player, and the only Indian, to be included in Bradman's all-time World XI, revealed in a book launched in Sydney on Monday.

Five specialist bowlers and allrounder Gary Sobers made up the Dream Team, with Tendulkar batting at No 4.

"It's a great honour to be among those names, especially when Sir Don himself chose the team and made me bat at No 4 ... that's really something," Tendulkar said.

"After Sir Don bats and before Gary Sobers. What else can you ask for? All I can say is that it is a great honour," said Tendulkar, who has scored 6919 runs, including 25 centuries, in 84 tests.

"There are a lot of great names missing in that list, and my name was considered. I'm on top of the world."

Among the missing is Indian legend Gavaskar, who was reportedly on a shortlist of 69 players, but did not make the final cut.

The 52-year-old, who has scored a world-record 34 test centuries, insisted that the list attributed to Bradman was a fake.

"I refuse to believe the Bradman Dream XI was actually Sir Don's personal selection for the world's greatest-ever combination," Gavaskar told the Hindustan Times.

"Sir Don was a man who steered away from all controversies in his lifetime. Even when he was the target of bodyline tactics in 1931-32 he never uttered a word.

"I am sure that he would not have stuck out his neck for something like this which is bound to give rise to a huge debate."

Gavaskar declined to speculate as to who, apart from Bradman, might have drawn up the list.

"All I know is that after Sir Don's death, a lot of things have been attributed to him, like his having come to (Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah) Muralitharan's defence over chucking. I do not believe he (Bradman) would have said that."

Bradman's publisher has claimed that Sir Don believed Muralitharan was not a chucker.

"Clearly, Murali does not throw the ball. For me, this was the worst example of umpiring that I have witnessed and against everything the game stands for," Bradman wrote to his publisher Tom Thompson.

* South Africa's tour of Zimbabwe is to go ahead next month despite the land-grab crisis there. But Gerald Majola, chief executive of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, said the Government would be monitoring the Zimbabwe situation.

Rushdi Magiet, the convenor of selectors, announced a test squad of 13 players for the tour. Two other players - Justin Ontong and Jonty Rhodes - would join the squad after the two-test series for the one-day internationals.

Fast bowler Allan Donald has been included in the test squad despite indicating this year that he would prefer to be selected only for one-dayers.

Magiet said Donald had "changed his mind" and made himself available for test cricket.

The squad leave for Zimbabwe on September 5. The itinerary includes two tests, from September 7 to 11 in Harare and September 14 to 18 in Bulawayo, and three one-day internationals, on September 23 in Bulawayo, and September 29 and 30 both in Harare.

Squad: Shaun Pollock (capt), Mark Boucher, Allan Donald, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Claude Henderson, Neil McKenzie, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini.

- AGENCIES