The Asians are unsurpassed when it comes to piling up records but fall short of what matters most -- winning matches and titles consistently and dominating the rest of the world.

Eleven of the 12 spots in most one-day appearances are held by Asian players led by Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan captain Inzamamul Haq's record tally of 367 apiece.

The lone man out is former Australian captain Steve Waugh who played 325 one-dayers.

Of the top 10 batsmen in the game, eight are Asians. Among bowlers, seven of the top 10 hail from the region.

Yet, in the eight World Cups played so far, Asian teams won only three with India taking the title in 1983, Pakistan in 1992 and Sri Lanka in 1996.

Of the four Champions Trophy tournaments featuring the Test-playing nations together for the only time outside the World Cup, Asians lost out three times. India and Sri Lanka shared the trophy in 2002 when the final in Colombo was rained out.

In comparison, Australia have won the World Cup three times, including the last two editions in 1999 and 2003. West Indies won the first two tournaments in 1975 and 1979 with their all-conquering team under Clive Lloyd.

Are Asians too concerned about statistics to bother about winning?

India celebrates a century from Tendulkar, one-day cricket's leading batsman, even though the team may have lost the match, as happened in the recent Malaysian tri-series.

The nation went wild over Tendulkar's 40th hundred on his return to competitive cricket after shoulder surgery. Forgotten was the fact that India had been beaten by the lower-ranked West Indies.

Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, who captained India during its lone World Cup success 23 years ago, said any defeat should hurt the players so much that they come back strongly next time.

"I am not sure that happens every time," he said. "Records may impress fans and the media, but the important thing is to win."

Former India batsman Navjot Sidhu, who has made his mark as a witty television pundit, compared statistics to a drunkard leaning on the lamp post.

"He is leaning for support, not for illumination," said Sidhu. "We do tend to get carried away with statistics sometime."

Australian captain Ricky Ponting, whose magnificent century won his team the last World Cup against India in Johannesburg, said in a recent television interview that he never bothered about records.

"Taking note of your records means you are looking back. That could distract from what lies ahead," he said. "I prefer to concentrate on what lies ahead."

Tendulkar, who has scored more one-day runs (14,370) and centuries (40) than any other batsman in the game, agreed winning was what mattered most.

"If you play as long as I have, the records will be there," said the 33-year-old, now in his 17th year in international cricket.

"I think the public is more keen on my records than I am. The more important thing is to contribute to your team's victory. That makes me happy."

So what will it take for an Asian team to win the next major one-day competition?

"All-rounders," stresses Kapil Dev. "They are the key. They give the team more options"

"When we won the World Cup, we had all-rounders like Roger Binny, Mohinder Amarnath, Madan Lal and myself who could contribute with both bat and ball.

"Pakistan had Imran Khan and Wasim Akram in 1992 and Sri Lanka had Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva in 1996."

The ageing Jayasuriya is still around for Sri Lanka, but India don't have a genuine all-rounder and Pakistan has only one in Abdul Razzaq.

Is that bad news for Asia?