Warrior of the worlds

I found an article, slightly dated, that talks about Virender Sehwag. What makes it different is that I found it in the New York Times and, unlike most other articles that try to explain cricket to the average American, this one does it in a rudimentary, off-hand manner, while playing up Virender Sehwag's credentials as the cricketer of the 21st century. I kid you not.

As sporting awards go, it lacks the status, hallowed in years, of prizes like the Cy Young in baseball or even Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year. Yet there is an impressive ring to “The Leading Cricketer in the World.”

That is the title Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the game’s 146-year old annual work of record, has again bestowed on the Indian batsman Virender Sehwag. He is the first repeat holder since the prize was created in 2004.

The winner is decided by the Almanack’s editor, Scyld Berry, after consultation with an informal panel of experts. The question they ask themselves is: Who would be the first name on the team-sheet for a notional World XI to play Mars?