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On reaching 10,000 first-class runsAt this point of time I really, really want to cherish this moment. I made my debut when I was 20 back in 2000, and it has been a long journey. But it has all happened so fast, and sometimes it feels like a blur. I have had many failures during these 16 years. I can recall days when I just wanted to leave the game and kill myself. Many times I have thought about getting a nine to five job, but when I look back at all these difficulties, todays success feels sweeter. At this moment I also want to thank my family, my friends, who have had some role to play in shaping my career. I also want to share this moment with all my team-mates over the years.The key milestones before 10,000 runsI cherish my best first-class knock - my 250, which was against Mumbai in Mumbai. As part of the Tamil Nadu team, I reached three finals, and these moments are important to me. Later, I went on to play as a professional for Vidarbha, and in my first year we qualified for the knockouts. It was a new environment, and it was about stepping up as a leader.The first hundredIt came against Karnataka in 2000 at the IIT Chemplast ground in Chennai. It was my second Ranji match, and that hundred made me believe in myself and believe that I belonged to this level. In that match I opened with Rajat Bhatia in both innings. In the first match against Goa I had failed, and the team management asked me if I could open against Karnataka. I was like: Oh my god, I am asked to open in my second match in Ranji. I was scared if I dont open, I may not have a chance of playing in the XI. Hemang [Badani], Robin [Singh], who made a hundred in that match, and S Sharath were all at their best that time.As I went out to bat, I shook everything off and my mind was clear. I was watching the ball well and I was feeling good. As a batsman, I had always dreamed of getting hundreds. Another incident comes to my mind. I was actually saving this for maybe writing in my book. When I was playing a Karnataka offspinner, I went right back on the back foot to play a leg-glance. I just lost the balance and disturbed a stump with my leg. The bail had fallen down, and I simply continued running. I was in the 40s at that time, and Thilak Naidu, the keeper, started appealing. Other Karnataka players joined in the appeal, but the umpire said he did not see it, and gave not out. I knew I had deflected the stumps. I didnt walk, and ended up getting a hundred. I recall it being a very cheeky thing. The most memorable Ranji matchI cant look beyond Tamil Nadu beating Mumbai (draw with first-innings lead) in Mumbai in 2009. The match started at 9am, and by 11am TN were five down for just 50 runs. Mumbai were a champion team, and we went on to get 501. It resulted in one of the sweetest wins for Tamil Nadu. I clearly remember Tamil Nadu were struggling and I went on to hit a double. C Ganapathy, who came in at No. 7, hit a hundred. That was in fact Tamil Nadus first ever Ranji win against Mumbai in Mumbai. First ever. To be part of that was something tremendous.Favourite domestic batsmanI can say two: Wasim Jaffer and [S] Ramesh. Jaffer may not have been at his best last year, but when I was with Tamil Nadu he was at his best. He used to punish the Tamil Nadu seamers and spinners, and although I was in the opposition it was such a pleasure to see him bat. I could describe his batting as smooth as silk. Left-handers are always talked about being elegant. As a right-hander, Jaffer was right there. I was also lucky to share the dressing room with him at Vidarbha.I also adored Ramesh. When he was at his peak, he opened for India. The way he used to leave the ball, and the shot he played off the hips was whoa! The ball used to fly off the bat. I used to wonder how he can flick the ball so gracefully.Most challenging domestic bowlerI have not played a lot of cricket against L Balaji, who was my Tamil Nadu team-mate, but he was among the most difficult bowlers to face. He is also a source of inspiration to me. I played against him mostly in T20s. He was an intelligent bowler, who was always a step ahead of the batsman. He also had a lot of variations and read the mind of the batsman superbly.Pankaj Singh also comes to my mind. He was one bowler who was always at the batsman over after over. He is tall, gets extra bounce, and he bowls long spells. He is more like a bowling machine. I relished batting against these two, though. Cheap Predators Jerseys . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Cheap Predators Jerseys China . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. http://www.adidaspredatorsjerseys.com/ .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Cheap Nashville Predators Jerseys . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Adidas P.K. Subban Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Matthew Hayden was recently bitten by a dog while out jogging, which got us thinking about animals that have been associated with cricket, in one way or another. Here are 11 of the finest, but if you can think of others, please send them to feedbackBotham the Pig By the Ashes tour of 1982-83, Ian Botham was beginning to fill out around the waist and was no longer the swing-bowling sylph of his heyday. That was good enough for the crowd at The Gabba, who smuggled a piglet in through the turnstiles (by stuffing an apple in its mouth and convincing the steward he was soon to be lunch), then released him on the outfield with Botham scrawled on one flank, and Eddie (in tribute to the equally rotund Eddie Hemmings) on the other. For anyone contemplating a similar stunt this winter, make sure your pig isnt sponsored. Concerns about ambush marketing mean youd probably have more chance of getting it in than a can of Coke.Cock-eyed SparrowsThere are several instances of sparrows being felled in flight, but the most famous casualty was the bird struck at Lords in 1936 when MCCs Tom Pearce bowled to Jehingir Khan of Cambridge University. The dead bird was stuffed to add insult to injury and can still be seen in the Lords Museum. It is not the only avian victim at Lords. In 1866 during Middlesexs match against Nottinghamshire, Tom Hearne was about to bowl when he spotted a pigeon fluttering overhead. He took aim and brought it down dead as a doornail. It too was stuffed and kept as a Hearne family heirloom.Snakes in the standsWhen Pakistan visited India in 1999, Shiv Sena, a Hindu extremist movement, were less than happy with the idea of sporting contact between the two nations. In the build-up to the Test, they threatened to release poisonous snakes onto the outfield during the game. In response, the police hired 30 snake charmers to patrol the stands and be ready to pounce should the need arise.Mackerel barrageIn 1986 during a match in the Cricketer Cup, Simon Hazlitt, batting for Old Cliftonians against Stowe Templers, was almost felled when a mackerel was dropped from a great height, narrowly missing him as he took guard. The assailant was a seagull who had stolen the fish from the sea-lion enclosure at the nearby Bristol Zoo.Beefy the BullAt Dunstall in June 2005, the players and spectators at Derbyshires second XI match against Leicester got more than theyd bargained for, when a bull leapt over the fence from a neighbouring field and rampaged around the ground for 20 minutes, pursued by a hapless farmer. I think one of the bulls got amorous with a cow or perhaps another bull - I am not sure about the sexual orientation of bulls, said Karl Krikken, Derbyshires coach, who was one of many onlookers sent scattering.Jacko the MonkeyThe Poona Monkey disrupted play in the match between MCC and Maharashtra in December 1951. Local reports state the creature, known as Jacko, quietly ambled onto the field and was spotted by one of the umpires fielding at midwicket. A groundsman was summoned and it was chased away with sticks.Donkey on a lengthIn 1918 a Priestley Cup game between Undercliffe and Lidget Green in Bradford had to be reeplayed after a mystery damp patch appeared on a length.dddddddddddd After subsequent investigations it emerged that the culprit was the club donkey which had relieved itself while pulling the roller during pitch preparations. Lidget Greens suspicions were raised as the animal had hit the spot where England offspinner Cecil Parkin landed to ball to such good effect. Although Undercliffe won the replay, they were banned from playing any future cup matches at home. The donkey was given a severe reprimand.Merv the Mutt The teams were out on the field, ready for the first ball of third Test between England and Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993, but there was an unexpected hold-up. Running up and down at the Radcliffe Road end of the ground was a sandy coloured mongrel with absolutely no intention of leaving the field. Eventually, Merv Hughes took it upon himself to deal with the problem, and got down on his hands and knees to coax the hound to heel. Given Hughes feral reputation, the question on most peoples lips was who was more likely to give rabies to who? But Hughes eventually won the battle of minds, and Michael Slater was on hand to dump the mutt into the arms of the steward on the boundary rope. More than 60 people immediately rang the RSPCA to adopt him, with Graham and Sally Bosnall of Derby winning the race, and naturally enough, naming him Merv.Peter the Cat The most famous mog in Marylebone, Peter was the Lords cat for 12 years from 1952 to 1964, when his ninth life finally ran out on Bonfire Night (it is unknown whether any firecrackers were involved). He is the only animal to earn a mention in the Wisden Cricketers Almanack where, in the obituaries section, it is written that he was a cat of great character and loved publicity ... [whose] sleek brown form could often be seen prowling on the field of play when crowds were biggest. He has since earned an unexpected tenth life, after lending his name to a new anthology. Surprisingly no pictures are known to exist of Peter, although his successor, Sinbad, was snapped during a Southern Schools v The Rest match in 1963.Shark in the deepIn 1934 R Townshend Stephens wrote to The Times to recall an incident in Sohar when a game was taking place on a matting wicket laid out on a beach. A ball was swung out to the deep, but it fell not into the sea but was swallowed by a shark, he explained. Townshend Stephens, who was umpiring, gave the batsman out and the entry in the scorebook read caught Fish bowled Burkitt Ullah.Hansie the rabbit Peter McIntosh, an 11-year-old cricket nut from Northampton, had the misfortune of naming his new pet rabbit Hansie just three days before the match-fixing scandal erupted in April 2000. As Cronje Srs name was dragged through the mud, his bunny namesake sat chewing lettuces and going about his rabbity business, oblivious to the fact that he was now the talk of the town. We couldnt believe it, said Pauls mother, Elaine. Our nine-year-old, Lauren, has been telling everybody that our rabbit has been arrested. ' ' '