Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The first step on the path to positive change is acknowledgement that change is necessary and possible. Open yourself to the possibility of seeing the world in a new way. What do you have to lose?
It doesn't matter how many runs one person puts together. We want to get partnerships and get 400 runs on the board. One person can't get 400 runs on the board if there is nobody at the other end.
My brother shaved a cricket bat out of a coconut branch... we played cricket with anything we put our hands on - a hard orange, a lime, a marble - anything we could use in the backyard or the streets.
When I was 21, I did not have that much pressure. I was sitting down on the bench... you know... cleaning Sir Vivian Richards's boots or doing something... getting ready to play international cricket.
Passion--it's the driving force that you just can't ignore. It's what will make your new adventure seem more like fun, than work. It's the difference between wanting to start a business and craving it.
I think the important thing for budding cricketers is to always put in 100 per cent - to continue to be your best, work hard, don't ever think you are at the top of your ability, you can always improve.
I never have issues in handling the fame. I was in a boarding school, as I am from a middle-class family. We didn't have a lot of money, so we all learned to respect money and understood its real value.
I've played with and against great players. I've been with Viv Richards, Richie Richardson and played against Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jaque Kallis and Virat Kohli is up there with the very best.
A promise kept is trust coming to life. A promise kept is more powerful than a good intention, a thought or any material comfort. A promise kept tells the other person they are valued, respected and loved.
I don't think I ever worked harder at any match during my career to get runs as I did then, nor did I ever have to face in one game such consistently fast bowlers as the Australian pair, Gregory and McDonald.
What you have to understand is that the first day I picked up a bat I made an impression on my older sister Agnes and my dad. It was about seeing people satisfied by what you're doing. I was creating a fan base.
KL Rahul has the technique for all forms of the game and for me more Test cricket than anything else. And if he performs so well in T20s and the 50-overs game, I think Test cricket is really where he's made for.
In the Classical tradition, deriving from ancient Greece and Rome, beauty was perceived as the means by which the artist captured the viewer's eye in order to engage the viewer with truth and so inspire goodness.
For me, fielding is everything - it is a passion that comes from within. You can get a bad ball while you bat, and your bowling may not always be up there, but you are completely in control of how well you field.
If they don't execute well enough then there's nothing much a coach can do. But if they do execute those plans correctly and they don't work, then you need to be able to adapt and come up with something different.
Back in 2006-07 when we completed the first Ashes whitewash in 86 years, the historical significance didn't really filter in to our thinking. We didn't realise it at the time - we were just making amends for 2005.
As and when I get into a relationship, I'll flaunt her to the world. I'm looking for a soul mate, and in any case, I'm not very much for casual dating. I'm such a simple guy away from this dating-shating business.
The highest-ranked team in the world has the responsibility to ensure that the integrity of the game is upheld every single time they play. And that the spirit of cricket is with them every time they enter the field.
You expect to cop a bit wherever you go. In the past there hasn't been any racism or any racist comments that I've seen. I'm expecting a tough time, as we get everywhere we go, but racism hasn't been a problem before.
Begbie offers an additional valuable contribution by rejecting the traditional emphasis on beauty, in its Platonic sense, and instead suggesting that beauty be reconceived in Christological terms-as disorder redeemed.
The difference is that raving fans, unlike satisfied customers, become part of your sales force. They tell friends, family and co-workers about your services and your products. And, of course, good things will happen!
I don't see myself as a father figure but as someone who the younger players can come to and talk to about cricket. Not just batting but cricket in general and I am ready to impart with any information or advice I have.
My strength was probably more the mental side of the game rather than the skill side. I always had that self-belief that I was good enough. You have got to believe you are good enough, otherwise there is no point to it.
You still have to enjoy the tour games. If you go out there and just go through the motions, you can easily get into bad habits, you lose a bit of rhythm or a bit of form and then things can go pretty bad pretty quickly.
You can come up with all the gameplans that you want but the guys in the middle have to execute those plans. If Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad serves up a leg-stump half-volley, you can't turn round and blame Andy Flower.
There's always a little bit of anticipation - some people call it nerves - the night before, and although I always slept pretty well before big matches, you want to be on edge a little bit to get the best out of yourself.
We West Indian cricketers are always proud to play for the West Indies and we know we are made up of different islands and different cultures but we have to be able to mesh together, to come together and perform as a team.
I had always had the same pre-match routine that I went through every day - get up, go down for a swim and a stretch, back to the room for a shower, then down for brekkie - the same routine every game, and it got me ready.
I always wondered if I would know the right time to retire. After that first Ashes Test in Brisbane in 2006 I had no intention of stopping. I was still focused and wanted a thousand international wickets. I was still driven.
As an international batsman, I have to come out to bat under any situation. Sometimes a platform has been laid; on others, we have to build one. That's part of our job, and that's why international cricket is so challenging.
The night before a game, I'd think about who I was playing, and then how I'd bowled against those guys, if I had got them out previously. While I was playing, I could recall nearly all my wickets and how I got the batsman out.
Normally players from the hostels don't give much importance to their fitness, but my case was different thanks to my coach. He helped me focus a lot on my batting and bowling which worked out really well for me in the future.
I had a girlfriend when I was 17-18, and when she was 21, she wanted us to get married. I couldn't do that, because my game was my priority. We had to part ways, and there was no guilt because I had never committed to marriage.
My aim is to play Test matches. For me, there is a different feel of Test cricket as it tests your character. You come to know about your mental toughness, and most importantly, there is another level of satisfaction as a player.
I have always maintained that if you work hard, it wont go waste, as recognition will come to you at some stage, whether in studies or sports. You need to have good intentions and intent to move ahead in life as well as in sports.
The most unfortunate thing in cricket is not achieving what I set out to do from the very beginning: to be a part of a successful team over a long period of time. I had a little taste of it when I started in 1989, and up till 1995.
Focus is not a 'business only' thing. Each person has only twenty-four hours per day, and how we spend those hours shows what's important in our lives. The question we must ask ourselves is...Are we focusing on what really matters?
I have always maintained that if you work hard, it won't go waste, as recognition will come to you at some stage, whether in studies or sports. You need to have good intentions and intent to move ahead in life as well as in sports.
By the time I made my international debut Tendulkar was already being counted among the best batsmen in the world. Most bowlers knew that his was the crucial wicket in an Indian batting line-up that boasted of many talented batsmen.
A coach these days is more of a manager than a coach. At this level, you shouldn't really need a coach. You need someone to organise, to come up with gameplans and tactics, rather than someone who is going to do much actual coaching.
I don't think there is any 16-year-old who is going to embark on the sort of career that Sachin Tendulkar has had and walk away from the game at 40 with such great achievements. He's the Muhammad Ali and the Michael Jordan of cricket.
Test cricket is the only thing that counts. One-day and T20 performances are fine, but you rate a player by his status as a Test player. By the time I finish, I want to play at least 80 Tests and be known for my achievements in Tests.
I used to come out and say I was targeting certain players in the opposition team, particularly players I had had success against in the past: Gary Kirsten, Brian Lara and Michael Atherton, for example. It is a mental part of the game.
We definitely have a lot of talent in India for football. It is great to see football's growing popularity and I really hope a larger number of corporate companies invest in the game so that one day we have a great team to boast about.
It's a cliche that cricket is the only unifying force in the Caribbean. It is but there are a lot of other factors that keep us apart. Success in sport and war will always unite but you need to have a greater foundation and greater core.
First and foremost, Tendulkar is an entertainer and that for me is as important factor as any fact or figure. Too often boring players have been pushed forward as great by figures alone. For sheer entertainment, he will keep cricket alive.
I appreciate every batsman in the world for different reasons. If I want someone to tough it out in the middle, I'd pick Steve Waugh. If I want someone who I know is going to have the technique to survive, you want a player like Tendulkar.
An individual's yearning to reach outside his life is a seed of greatness waiting for a stream of inspiration. Carving that stream to people's hearts is a simpler task if the endeavor you are leading them into is attached to a bigger story.
It's always good to bat at the top, where you get more opportunities, but sometimes crucial 30s and 40s can be very helpful for the team. Ultimately it is a team sport. Personal records don't matter much if your team ends up on the losing side.
I am very close to my family. I have learned a lot from my father. He used to tell me to be honest with yourself and not to argue with your seniors. You dont need to be involved in any quarrel, as sometimes you need to remain silent intelligently.