Object in the rearview mirror

Ricky Ponting is on a tear and Sachin Tendulkar better watch his back! When November (2005) rolled around, Sachin had scored 34 centuries and had a healthy lead on Ponting, who had 23.

Since then Sachin has played 13 Test innings and added to his tally by 1.
Since then Ricky has played 16 test innings, and added to his tally by 7! In his last 7 innings, the Aussie captain has scored an incredible 5 centuries (all against South Africa who appear helpless to stop him).

Ponting is just 5 centuries from Tendulkar and in my mind it is inevitable (considering how many more Tests Australia plays, and how many more years Ponting has at the top) that he will cross Sachin.

I hope Sachin can keep Ricky at bay for a few more years.

Just in case you were wondering:

• Australia is scheduled to play 8 more Tests this year - one more against SA, two against Bangladesh, and 5 against Australia this year (at home).
• India is scheduled to play between 4-10 more Tests this year - 4 against West Indies, and a series against Bangladesh and South Africa, all away from home.

(In typical fashion, the Bangladesh and SA series have not been confirmed by the Indian Board, while the venues and dates for all of Australia's matches and first-class fixtures have already been confirmed).

Post script: As of March 27th, Sachin has been ruled out of the tour of the Caribbean after undergoing shoulder surgery. So strike those 4 Tests off, too. Now, it seems even more inevitable that Ponting will cross him within a calendar year or so.