Tendulkar returns

Some six months after he ended his long and celebrated career, Indian ex-cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will once again head back out onto the cricket field at Lord's on Saturday, in what should be a stiff test for the aging star.

The one-off 50 over match sees the 41-year-old veteran lead a Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) team against his old foe Shane Warne, who is set to captain a World eleven.

It's all part of a special set of bicentenary celebrations for the Lords Cricket Ground in central London, the birthplace of modern cricket.

Ahead of the fixture, the world's highest run-getter in both Tests and ODIs said he has been enjoying the retired life and is still struggling to find his touch during warm-up sessions for the past 10 days.

"I have enjoyed my time with the family," Tendulkar told the media, at a pre-match press conference at Lords. "I started practising 10 days ago and it is nice to be back in the gear and hitting a few balls. I'm still trying to find the centre of the bat."

Star-studded lineups

Joining Tendulkar on his team are fellow India batting great Rahul Dravid, West Indies star Brian Lara and Australia's Brett Lee.

"The idea is to celebrate the occasion and give something special to the spectators, compete in the right spirit and compete as hard as possible," Tendulkar said at the press conference.

"It is always a special feeling, whenever I come here it is special. The crowd and the atmosphere is fantastic, no matter how many times you come here."

Warne's Rest of the World eleven includes Kevin Pietersen, Adam Gilchrist, Muttiah Muralitharan and Pakistani superstar Shahid Afridi. The Australian spinner has been his useful competitive self ahead of the fixture, talking up the prospects of good friend Kevin Pietersen, who recently was sacked from England's national team.

"He is a superstar and a wonderful player," Warne said ahead of the game. "He is fantastic to watch, I'm sure he will turn it on on Saturday and smash it all over the park. He has played well over the years at Lord's in his time with England and hopefully he can do that on Saturday."

The earliest known match played on the current Lord's Cricket Ground was a county game between MCC and Hertfordshire on 22 June 1814. The current playing area is actually the third Lord's ground. The first location, now referred to as Lord's Old Ground, was where Dorset Square now stands today.