He may have swatted away the fiercest bowlers of his era with ease, but Sachin Tendulkar also possesses a quick wit besides the abundant batting talent that sealed his place among the cricket greats. Tendulkar, known for his elephantine memory, was quick to remind commentator Mark Nicholas that he may not have gotten his name etched on the famous Lord’s honours board, but he did score a hundred at the venue against some of the finest bowlers a memorial game. For scoring a century or taking a five-for at international level, players get their names on the honours board of the historic venue, often referred to as ‘Home of Cricket’. Tendulkar is among some of the greatest cricketers to have not had their names on the famous board. Recently, a portrait of Tendulkar was unveiled at the MCC Museum during which Nicholas quipped, “You (Tendulkar) didn’t get on the Lord’s Honours Board. What happened? High-quality English bowling, I imagine.” Tendulkar recalled from the memorial match of 1998 when he won player-of-the-match award for a match-winning century for Rest Of World XI against MCC. “I thought that in 1998, when we played a memorial game, I got a hundred then,” Tendulkar responded. “Glenn McGrath, Allan Donald, Srinath, Kumble, and McMillan… But one normally thinks about having your name on the Honours Board. Somehow it wasn’t meant to happen, but it did happen.” The portrait, painted by artist Stuart Pearson Wright, is from a photograph taken at Tendulkar’s home in Mumbai 18 years ago. This is the fifth portrait of an Indian player in MCC’s Collections, with four of them (Kapil Dev, Bishan Bedi, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Tendulkar) painted by Pearson Wright. Unlike the previous full-length paintings, Tendulkar’s portrait is a larger-than-life depiction of his head and shoulders. Tendulkar remains the most prolific run-getter in international history, having scored 34,357 runs across formats. He also holds the record for the only batter to have hit 100 international centuries.