It’s been nearly forty years since the first ODI between Australia and England. We have seen brilliant Test players turn into brilliant one day players. And now, a lot of players start their careers in the limited overs format before moving into the Test arena.
Now, we have even seen brilliant one day specialists.
So I have compiled my selection of the greatest XI in ODI cricket that I think would be very hard to beat.
With different styles of batsmen and good variation of bowlers, it’s a well-balanced side. I didn’t just go by stats and performance, I went by value to the one day game.
Here it is in batting order:
Sachin Tendulkar
436 matches 17,000+ runs 44.50 Ave. 45 hundreds and 91 fifties at a strike rate of 85.79
Adam Gilchrist
287 matches 9,619 runs 35.89 Ave. 16 hundreds and 55 fifties at a strike rate of 96.94 and 472 dismissals
Ricky Ponting
330 matches 12,000+ runs 43.19 Ave 28 hundreds and 73 fifties at a strike rate of 80.50
Viv Richards(c)
187 matches 6,721 runs 47.00 Ave 11 hundreds and 45 fifties at a strike rate of 90.20
Dean Jones
164 matches 6,068 runs 44.61 Ave 7 hundreds and 46 fifties at a strike rate of 72.56
Michael Bevan
232 matches 6,912 runs 53.58 Ave 6 hundreds and 46 fifties at a strike rate of 74.16
Imran Khan
175 matches 3,709 runs 33.41 Ave 1 hundred and 19 fifties at a strike rate of 72.65
182wkts 26.61Ave 3.89economy
Wasim Akram
356 matches 502 wkts 23.52 Ave 3.89 economy
Shane Warne
194 matches 293 wkts 25.73 Ave 4.25 economy
Joel Garner
98 matches 146 wkts 18.84 Ave 3.09 economy
Glenn McGrath
250 matches 381 wkts 22.02 Ave 3.88 economy
Most people would question the selection of Dean Jones, but the reason I pick him is that he played in the days of ODIs where a good score was 210 to 220.
He changed the whole method of limited overs batting, with Viv Richards, in the eighties and used the technique of getting your eye in then going ballistic with all range of shots.
This team has a great mix of bowling, with McGrath line and length, Wasim Akram, left arm fast that can swing both ways, and the awkward Joel Garner, with great bounce and a toe crushing yorker – one of the best death bowlers ever.
Then there’s Imran, who was a top all rounder, with Warne to bowl spin.
With the batting, Tendulkar has a great technique at a quick rate. Gilchrist would keep hammering the bowling. Ponting would build and score heavily. Viv Richards would intimidate, and Jones would keep the score ticking over and hit heavy at the death.
Then there’s Bevan ‘The Finisher’ if top the five gets into strife. He would come to the rescue, like he always did for the Aussies.
marees
Guest
I would have preferred Miandad, Klusener instead of Jones, Bevan because of thier 6 hitting abilities. and where is the 2nd spinner who can bowl accurately and strangulate the flow of runs like Vettori/Kumble etc.? Your squad also seems to be short of genuine all-rounders except Gilchrist/ImranKhan. Otherwise I wouldn't fault the logic behind your selections.
bever fever
Guest
WE could have a father son combo in Lance and Chris Cairns quite easily in this team.
Robert Townshend
Guest
Is there any point in positing an ultimate team if they are to play against nobody? Just a selectors' wet dream, with nothing to do? To make it a worthwhile exercise, we need to imagine an opposition, though nameless, that will test our all-timers in a typical ODI crunch situation. In which case... Five overs to go. Runs needed. Just a couple of wickets in hand... Bevan!
The clint
Guest
Well Jayasuriya just missed out for me, reason being that he was just a bit to hit and miss. However id still have him in the squad of 15 if i had one. And for the comment about using Tendulkar or Bevan if a bowler broke down, what about Richards? The man was a great limited overs spinner. He remains the only man to hit a tonne and take 5 wickets in the same game in a one dayer!
Burgey
Guest
Kersi, I'm interested in your exclusion of Garner. Are you looking for a purely attacking option with the ball? I just raise this because, given his ER (albeit in an era where scores were generally lower) Garner could lay claim to being the greatest ODI bowler of all time.
Aaron
Guest
I can't believe you could leave out Greg Chappel, he was arguably our 2nd best batsman ever. I also throw my hat in with the Jayasuriya camp, as far as I am concerned he invented modern day batting mentality for One day-ers. Nobody was trying to hit a six off the first ball until Jayasuriya turned up on the scene. As for M.Waugh Vs S.Waugh, I'd take Mark for his fielding and pinch hitting.... Mark wouldn't drop a sitter in the out field ;-)
jus de couchon
Guest
Khan , Kapil dev , Botham , Hadlee , Warne. My Neices could fill the other 6 places and theyd still win.
Brian
Guest
Sorry for a World XI they're a bit light-on if one of the bowlers get injured. They'll be resorting to Tendulker or Bevan wrist-spin? For that alone Jayasuriya has to play. Team - Jayasuriya, Gilchrist, Lara, Tendulker, Richards, Bevan, Khan, Akram, Warne, Garner, Ambrose. 12th - Pollock. Honestly if the opposition got 300+ I'd much rather Lara than either Jones or M Waugh. In fact I'd rather S Waugh, Ponting or Symonds over M Waugh.
Mad Mex
Guest
Dean Jones revolutionised one day cricket. Yes, I'm a perochial Victorian however the suggestion to omit Deano for Mark Waugh is a travesty. No doubting Waugh's polish and skill as a batsman but he didn't reconfigure the game like Deano did. For what its worth, I'd be more inclined to pick Steve Waugh than Mark. Anyone who saw one of the finals between the Windies and the Ausies in late 80s when Steve Waugh belted Ambrose for 6 off the last ball of the innings and when Deano crafted 93 off 82 will understand where that call s coming from. Unfortunately the Duckworth (lewis?) system was not as it is today and the Ausies were severely penalised after a rain delay and the Windies coasted home :-(
mattamkII
Guest
Botham would be first pick for me every time. The guys ability to turn it on when really needed was 2nd to none!
Go_the_Wannabe's
Guest
Both Kluesner and Chris Cairns have to be in there if you're serious about the best ODI team. Who was a harder, cleaner hitter than Kluesner at the death? Cairns wasn't far behind either. Drop Imran to the bench. Jayasuria in as an opener as well. Sachin to 3, Punter to 4. Drop Bevan and Jones, great players but not required in this team.
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Clint, I like your XI, except I'd like Imran to captain. And Lillee or Marshall instead of Garner. One can pick a strong XI from those not selected by Clint. Greenidge, Sehwag, Jayasuriya, Lara, M Waugh, Botham, Kapil, Dhoni (WK, capt), R Hadlee or Muralitharan, Lillee, Bracken or Marshall. Hey, but what about Sangakkara, Gayle, C Cairns, Afridi, Pietersen, C Lloyd, Flintoff, Kallis, Gilmour, Symonds, Harbhajan, Ambrose, Holding, Kumble .... ? Well, even a third XI would be aweinspiring!
The clint
Guest
In response to jez... Are you telling me that richards, jones and imran cant hit big at the end of an innings? I think that they were more than capable. Should watch some of there innings at the death. Particularly jones against sri lanka 1985 i believe at adelaide oval. He brought up his 50 in the 45th over and finished 99not out!!! I think they were more than capable personally though.
The Link
Guest
Good team, could do with a few tweaks. Bevan needs to be there, the best ODI Australian batsman of all time. Jayasuriya should be an opener. I'd drop Deano, put Sachin down the order and put Jayasuriya as opener An Aussie ODI all time side could almost be harder to pick
Brett McKay
Guest
Clint, there's been some pretty handy alternates suggested here, but I quite like your XI as you've named it. I did have to laugh at "Then there’s Bevan ‘The Finisher’ if top the five gets into strife" though. Can't see that top five getting into much strife. Bevan might not get a bat!!
Darwin hammer
Roar Rookie
Hadlee for McGrath every day of the week
Jez
Guest
Aside from the concerns raised by others, there is no-one in this team that can really go big in the latter overs... Someone like Lance Klusener or Chris Cairns coming in with 5 overs to go and clearing the rope consistently... Now I'm not saying that either of those two players specifically should be included but I think it's a weakness of your team...
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
I cant go past Sehwag and Gilchrist for openers. I would have Kallis instead of Imran and Pietersen instead of Bevan. Agree with Sheek about Ambrose. And finally Mark Waugh instead of Dean Jones.
sheek
Guest
Clint, Well thought out & very strong team. However, I agree with Formeropenside there are better options than Mick Bevan. While Bevan's place in an all-time Aussie ODI XI is a given, when you have the best of the best available, surely some of the other names thrown up are worthy. I wouldn't drop Ponting for anybody. While selecting Jarasuriya is a worthy consideration, it should not be at Punter's expense. Jones or Bevan are more likely expendable. Kaluwitharana was breath-taking, but far too hit-&-miss to be considered among the best ever. Curtley Ambrose must run his fellow Caribbean compatriot Garner very close.
Chunks
Roar Pro
I don't who I would drop from the top 2, but I would prefer to see Kaluwitharana or Jayasuriya open the batting for the same reason that you chose Dean Jones (rather than their statistics which decreased over the course of their careers). These two blokes changed the way one dayers were played at the 96 world cup - within 6 months adequate scores shifted from 230-250 to 260-290. And who could forget the 398 they scored (admittedly against Kenya). I would possibly drop Ponting, shift Tendulkar to No3, and put Jayasuriya in there as my first preference. I like the bowling attack but regret that there is no room for Hadlee (Ave 21.5, Econ 3.3) or Allan Donald (Ave 21.7, Econ 4.15).