Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Tendulkar to get Order of Australia honour



Australia’s Prime Minister, Julia Gillard has announced that India’s veteran batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, will be made an honorary member of the Order of Australia.The Master Blaster will receive the honour after completing his assignment with Mumbai Indians, who are currently in South Africa to defend their Champions League T20 title.

In accepting the honour, he will join only a handful of non-Australians who have been bestowed with the prestigious crown. In the past, three West Indies cricketers had received the honour which includes Sir Garfield Sobers for his service to cricket in disadvantaged areas and group, Clive Lloyd 'for his outstanding and positive influence on the game in Australia', and most recently, Brian Lara for 'promoting good will' between the two related countries.

Tendulkar, who is the leading run-getter in both, Test and One-Day Cricket, will be the first Indian cricketer to be awarded an AM, after Attorney General Soli Sorabjee was conferred the membership of the Order of Australia in 2006 ‘for service to Australia- India bilateral legal relations’ in 2006.

"Cricket is of course a great bond between Australia and India. We are both cricket-mad nations. I am very pleased that we are going to confer on Sachin Tendulkar, membership of the order of Australia (AM)," Gillard, who is on a visit to India, told reporters in New Delhi.

"This is a very special honour very rarely awarded to someone who is not an Australian citizen or an Australian national. The award will be conferred on him by cabinet minister Simon Crean when he visits India," she said."So, a special honour and a very special recognition of such a great batsman. The honour is very special and Sachin is a very special cricketer."

The Little Master became only the first player in history to score 100 International centuries, and is widely ranked among the best cricketers of his generation. His record against Australia also speaks volume of his talent where in 106 matches (across all formats); the right-hander has scored 6515 runs at an impressive average of 50.50, including 20 centuries and 30 scores of at least 50 – the highest by any individual player.

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