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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!