The passage of time and a multitude of injuries which have ravaged nearly every part of his body have necessitated changes to his style of batting, but the one constant has been the weight of expectations that Sachin Tendulkar has managed to carry with aplomb for so long, without complaint or visible signs of irritation.

Selflessness. Professionalism. Excellence. Three words that could so easily be used when the misfit in India's Test side dons the blue one-day kit.

Sachin Tendulkar looked back at his stumps and appeared to check himself in the act of throwing his bat in frustration. It was a rare moment of McEnroe-esque angst.

Like any Yuvraj Singh fan, I can't wait to see him back on the field, hitting those sky-tearing sixes, flying at point and seeing off batsmen with some pie-cracking bowling.

In so many matches, at so many crucial points, VVS Laxman walked in for India, seized the moment, made it his own, and left the match indelibly altered, even if the innings itself didn't become a classic.

Right now, the New Zealand team wears an even more forlorn look. Partly because the only truly world-class performer in the country - Vettori - isn't around for the Tests.

Many years ago, Mohinder Amarnath called the Indian selection committee 'a bunch of jokers'. These days, Amarnath is a member of that same committee, but some of the calls the body takes still make as little sense as they did then - before the selectors became paid employees of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.