The little blaster

Simply stunning - that was John Emburey's verdict after seeing Sachin Tendulkar help himself to another slice of cricketing history in Gwalior.

Tendulkar, dubbed 'the little master', crafted his way to an unbeaten 200 in the second one-day against South Africa - the highest individual score ever made in an ODI.

Reflecting on the 36-year-old's innings, former England spinner Emburey said on Sky Sports: "It was absolutely spectacular. There are no more superlatives you can say. Every superlative about that guy has been said.

"Straight from ball one he was timing the ball beautifully. Ok, South Africa didn't quite get their lines right but you've still got to put the ball away and time it.

"He was just measured in everything that he did including his footwork. He was going for the gaps. There was no slogging, they were all great shots. It was top-quality hitting.

"To go on and get a score like that was phenomenal. He knew where he wanted to hit the ball and he's got the ability to do it. He could perhaps have got a few more if Dhoni had not hogged the strike at the back end of the innings!"

Humble

One of Emburey's former counties, Middlesex, had hoped to pull off a major coup by signing Tendulkar for their Twenty20 campaign.

However, with 47 Test centuries and 46 one-day hundreds already under his belt the Indian batsman reportedly declined the offer in favour of achieving more personal milestones on the international stage.

Yet despite his ambition, Emburey revealed that Tendulkar remains modest and unassuming in person.

"He is very humble and very down to earth; he is not someone you'd see out too often," he said. "He'd go out to a restaurant but he's not able to go out much because otherwise he'd be mobbed.

"He'd sooner come to London and spent time here where he is able to walk down Oxford Street and do some shopping without 2000 people around him. He is held in such high esteem not just in India but around the world."