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It was a sunny afternoon at Lord's. Sir Len Hutton was softly complaining about a persistent pain in his back. In his early sixties, the moderately-built, slightly stooping first professional captain of the England cricket team was confining in none other than John Arlott, the 'voice of summer'. It was almost a private conversation participated by Denis Compton, Keith Miller and Freddie Trueman in the lounge of a coffee bar at the entrance to the press enclosure. I was in the august company. Thanks to John Arlott who had introduced me to the 'greats' as a ``friend and gentleman from Bangladesh.''

Miller was the temperamental speedster of the Australian side that played England in the forties and fifties. His partner Ray Lindwall was quick himself but batsmen of the time felt 'Miller's faster one was faster than Lindwall's fastest one.' He was once a tormentor of Sir Len. But they were friends now. Tall, sun-burnt and erect, Miller looked as handsome as ever in his flannel and gray blazer. He, too, had been suffering from pain in his back. Long run-up and a fierce delivery stride that entailed a robust follow-through on heavy landing having taken its toll. He was lucky to have escaped with occasional pain. He spoke of his discomfort in his typical Australian accent, but softly and politely.

Compton, sombre but attentive, hardly spoke, nodding every now and then with a thin approving smile on his lips.

'Fiery' Freddy, scourge for many Australians and Indians, was as usual fidgety and ever willing to butt in. He was on a mission of charity, collecting autographs of great cricketers on a small bat that would be auctioned for fund raising. I was standing beside John Arlott savouring the conversation and enjoying every moment of it.

Twenty years later, a crop of great cricketers have been complaining about pains, from Brian Lara to Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar to Shane Warne. They are some of the top names of contemporary cricket, living legends of their times. With them there are others who may not measure up to them, but, nevertheless, brilliant and important cricketers by their own rights and achievements. They have also been sidelined, and fighting for full and complete recovery in hopes of making worthwhile contributions to the World Cup.

Lara had a long run of failures since his world beating records in 1994 until the Aussies arrived in the Caribbeans. The little genius must have been tired of fighting with his body as well as his mind. When a player like Lara fails to deliver day in and day out, he not only encourages his critics to doubt his greatness but takes upon himself the extraordinary pressure that can ruin his career. When everything in the garden looked rosy for him, he has to take time off to come out of his wrist-pain. The injury may not be that serious but it is always vexing particularly with the World Cup round the corner. Imagine the staggering prospect of double and triple centuries that could flow from his bat had he been fully fit and did not have the pains of greatness.

Jayasuriya, still the most dreaded one-day opener, despite Shahid Afridi, or even Tendulkar, has been out of form and out of cricket for quite some time now. His last few onedayers were disasters. He, too, has been struggling hard to come out of his pains, both physical and mental, well in time to make the trip to England. His wrist and elbow had gone through close scrutiny before he returned to the squad and hopes are high once again in the Sri Lankan camp.

Muralitharan's pains have been mainly caused by Darryl Hair, the Australian umpire. At a crucial point of his career he has been devastated by Mr. Hair's misinterpretation of the no-ball rule. Humiliations apart, this classy off-spinner had to pass a pain barrier that is mainly reserved for long-distance runners. His great feat against England has put him on top as one of the best offspinners in the game today. Muralitharan is basically a wrist spinner and it is quite appropriate that he would have problems with his wrist. He was in pain for quite some time, missed a number of Tests and one-dayers during this period, but was back on time to make the team. Sri Lanka depend on his success a lot.

Little Mushtaq Ahmad, the gifted Pakistani leg-spinner, is also in pains.

His is an unusual injury, unlike others in the game, he has pain in his ankle and it has proved to be a nagging one. He is out of touch for quite some time now, missing a number of ODIs and Tests that could have fetched him a number of victims and improve his career records.

The master of 'reverse swing' and until the arrival of Shoaib Akhtar, the fastest bowler of present time, Waqar Yunis, has been fighting hard to get the pain off his back to return to the game. A 'rhythm bowler', according to the modern-day cricket experts, Waqar has not been his usual self and not been performing to his full capacity. As a result, his illustrious career is in jeopardy at 27 and only a few scalps short of 300 in Test cricket.

A passing reference here about the greatest left-arm fast bowler of the game, Wasim Akram, would not be out of place. His pains and problems with groin, a common one for fast bowlers, made his career miserable for some time. But his strong determination coupled with modern medical and surgical methods have brought him back into the attack again. He, too, has lost valuable time.

Shane Warne has been heralded as the king of right-arm leg-spin bowling even by his harshest critics. In quick time he joined the illustrious band of bowlers in the 300-club. Richie Benaud, a right-arm leg-spinner himself, sat with the calculator and predicted a staggering 600-plus wickets for Warne. At the rate Shane was going it might have been possible. But there were elements beyond computation. Warne had to opt for surgery in the shoulder for nagging pain. That put him out of commission temporarily with hopes of one hundred per cent recovery that would give him unfettered chances of reaching the dream figure of 600-plus wickets in Test matches alone.

It was worth the salt for him to endure the pains to become fit again. In the process he, too, missed a number of matches. But the recent series in the Caribbeans have woefully shown the ineffectiveness of this maestro in Tests, in particular, against the West Indies. Gone are his bite and venom and he was dropped from the team. Australia without Warne is like Australia without Kangaroo, unimaginable, unbelievable, unthinkable.

The most recent casualty of pains of greatness is the great Sachin Tendulkar, retreating from the crease with pain in the back. The little master fought against the pain valiantly, played some matches but did not think it wise to continue with it. He took time off from the busy schedule at home and Sharjah, went off to London, consulted specialists and came back home to join the London-bound party, hopefully fully fit.

All these 'greats' are now fit as a fiddle and we are waiting anxiously to watch them in action a couple of weeks from now.

Since the days Len Hutton scored his 364 against Australia, times have changed and so has the game. There has been corresponding changes in attitude, and in physical and psychological fitness. The improvement and inventions in medical science, the quality and technique of treatment and the emergence of the 'barehand' doctors known as physio keep the modern-day cricketers on their feet despite tremendous pressures with which they have to pass through because of hectic schedules.

Sir Len passed away with his pains. Compton and Arlott have also left this world. But the memory of that small rendezvous of galaxies is still fresh in my mind. As I look back, pains for separating company fill my heart. It is not the pains of greatness but pains of being in great company.

Note: The writer is the first journalist from Bangladesh to have covered a World Cup cricket tournament for SPORTSWORLD and KRIRAJAGAT in 1979. - Sports Editor