It’s a World Cricket XI with a mysterious twist
Columnist By Kersi Meher-Homji, 28 Jun 2010 Kersi Meher-Homji is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- Cricket, International Cricket, Joel Garner, Richard Hadlee
One of the biggest fascinations amongsst cricket-lovers is selecting Best Elevens: a World XI, Post World War II XI vs. Pre WW II XI, Best left-handers XI vs. Best right-handers XI, Best ambidextrous XI, Best Northern Hemisphere XI vs. Best Southern Hemisphere XI, and so on. I have selected an Unusual World XI and it is up to you, Roarers, to guess the logic and method in my madness behind my selections.
Here it is in batting order (with striking statistics):
Barry Richards (508 runs at 72.57 in 4 Tests for South Africa)
Kepler Wessels (1761 runs in 24 Tests for Australia and 1027 runs in 16 Tests for South Africa)
Majid Khan (3931 runs in 63 Tests for Pakistan)
Viv Richards (8540 runs and 122 catches in 121 Tests for West Indies)
Garry Sobers, vice-captain (8032 runs at 57.78, 235 wickets and 109 catches in 93 Tests for
West Indies)
Rohan Kanhai, wicket-keeper (6227 runs in 79 Tests for West Indies)
Imran Khan, captain (3807 runs and 362 wickets at 22.81 in 88 Tests for Pakistan)
Richard Hadlee (3124 runs and 431 wickets at 22.29 in 86 Tests for New Zealand)
Michael Holding (249 wickets at 23.68 in 60 Tests for West Indies)
Wes Hall (192 wickets at 26.38 in 48 Tests for West Indies)
Tony Lock (174 wickets at 25.58 in 49 Tests for England).
Hall and Holding will open the attack. Then Imran and Hadlee will take over. The spin will be in the palm and fingers of Lock and Sobers. Kanhai will keep wickets.
Sadly, Lock will be there only in spirit.
12th man: Alvin Kallicharran (WI). Reserves: Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Winston Davis (WI), Jeff Crowe (NZ), Younus Khan (Pakistan), Colin Milburn, weighing 18 stone, Graeme Hick and Gladstone Small (England) and Rusi Surti (India).
Roarers, could you spot the rationale in my squad selection? Hint: England’s John Hampshire will be one of the umpires.
Second hint: Chris Gayle and David Murray from West Indies, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis were considered, but were found ineligible by my strict criterion.
So have you decoded my rationale? Leave your theories below this post.
I’ll be unveiling the answer at 4pm today!
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- Explore:
- Cricket, International Cricket, Joel Garner, Richard Hadlee
June 28th 2010 @ 11:41pm
MattyP said | June 28th 2010 @ 11:41pm | Report comment
Watching Michael Holding training in the University nets in Hobart was a sight to behold for a young cricket player… Apparenlty his work in the night clubs was a sight to beholf also but I was too young to see that.
Jack Simmons was a massive contributor to Tassie cricket. Part of the Gilette Cup winning side of the 78-79, from memory. Now that was a big day! Helped dull the summer’s pain of being flogged 5-1 in the tests by Boycott and co.
Great side!
June 29th 2010 @ 8:23am
sheek said | June 29th 2010 @ 8:23am | Report comment
Kersi,
The WA front-line attack that Barry Richards demolished in his 356 run innings were all past or future test players.
Graham McKenzie & Laurie Mayne had toured India & South Africa in 1969/70, while Dennis Lillee would make his test debut in 1970/71. He had also toured NZ with the Australian B team in early 1970.
Tony Lock was then around 42-43, but had played as a replacement for England in the Caribbean as recently as 1967/68. He flew in as a replacement after Fred Titmus lost some toes in a boating accident.
Anyway, a pretty decent bowling line-up to demolish for 325 runs in a single day. There’s an amusing story sideline to the day’s events. Richards had scored 7 & 44no in his first encounter against WA in Adelaide.
Anyway in Perth, after Richards had swung & missed a few times at the beginning of the day, keeper Rod Marsh remarked to first slipper John Inverarity, “I think he’s over-rated, & can’t bat much”. Or something like that.
After Richards hit Lillee for one final 4 to end the day on 325no, & the players began walking off the field, Inverarity with quick recall of the comment made at the beginning of the day, turned to Marsh, & with great understatement said, “I think he can bat a bit”…..
July 6th 2010 @ 6:27pm
Greg Russell said | July 6th 2010 @ 6:27pm | Report comment
It’s a surprise to have got to the end of this thread and realize that no-one has mentioned Sir Ian Botham, who had a season at Queensland with his great mate AB. It was a poor season, but that doesn’t change that Beefy is eligible for Kersi’s World XI, and really would have to be selected.
July 6th 2010 @ 6:53pm
Kersi Meher-Homji said | July 6th 2010 @ 6:53pm | Report comment
Oops, that was a bad miss. I mean forgetting Botham.
Thank you Greg for pointing out it out.
Also enjoyed your Hookes – Collingwood story, Greg.
November 25th 2010 @ 6:49pm
JohnB said | November 25th 2010 @ 6:49pm | Report comment
Ludicrously late, but haven’t seen this topic before. English test player Tom Graveney played for Qld across a few seasons in the late 60′s/early 70′s, at a pretty advanced age cricket wise.
Botham had a decent season for Qld without quite being at his best. Started well but faded a bit – overall 11 games, 646 runs at 34, 7 fifties; 29 wickets at 27.75; 18 catches. You’re not going to get dropped with those numbers.