Selecting an all-time World Cricket Eleven

My X| - my XI - Sachin tendulkar - Jacques kallis - Viv Richards - Clive llyod (Capt) - Gilchrist - Gavaskar - A Border - S Warne - R Hadlee - M marshall - Imran Khan - it was tough to decide among Imran khan and dale steyn .. similarly between clive lloyd and Sor don bradman .. d only reason i didnt pick sir Donald is i found lloyd better and more successfull.. It was also difficult between Ian botham sir gary sobers and Jack kallis also between Warne and Murali .. Mentions - bradman - murali - steyn - botham - akram

How could Sobers NOT be picked in an all time XI? As a batsman alone, he should make it, with an average of around 58. Throw in the ability to bowl good fast-medium, finger spin and wrist spin and you have the most versatile - and perhaps best! - cricketer of all time!

Graeme Pollock way better than Ponting, and no Kallis?

No Graeme Pollock? I wouldn't pick Gilchrest, Alan Knott was a far better keeper.

Matty These are my revised teams . I considered some points and made changes. have made the following all time cricket elevens in the history of test cricket. 1st xi 1.Jack Hobbs 2. Barry Richards 3.Don Bradman 4.George Headley 5. Sachin Tendulkar 6.Garfield Sobers 7.Adam Gilchrist 8.Malcolm Marshall 9.Shane Warne 10.Dennis Lillee 11.Sydney Barnes 2nd xi 1.Len Hutton 2.Sunil Gavaskar 3.Viv Richards 4.Walter Hammond 5.Brian Lara 6.Jacques Kallis 7.Imran Khan 8.Alan Knott 9.Wasim Akram 10.Glen Mcgrath 11.Muthiah Murlitharan 3rd xi 1.Victor Trumper 2.Herbert Sutcliffe 3.Ricky Ponting 4.Greg Chappell 5.Graeme Pollock 6.Sangaakara 7.Keith Miller 8.Richard Hadlee 9.Ray Lindwall 10.Curtly Ambrose 11.Subhash Gupte 4th xi 1.Gordon Greenidge 2.Graham Gooch 3.Rahul Dravid 4.Everton Weekes 5.Denis Compton 6.Alan Border 7.Ian Botham 8.Rodney Marsh 9.Waqar Younus 10.Fred Trueman 11.Bishen Bedi 5th xi 1.Virendra Sehwag 2.Arthur Morris 3.Rohan Kanhai 4.Neil Harvey 5.Ken Barrington 6.Javed Miandad 7.Kapil Dev 8.Ian Healy 9.Alan Donald 10.Michael Holding 11.Abdul Qadir. Bradman had a phenomenal statistical record averaging 99.94.Lillee and Marshall were more complete than any pace bowlers of all combining swing,cut,pace,control and agression more than any paceman.Viv Richards ability to change the complexion of a game surpassed both Lara and Tendulkar and from 1976-81 he was the best after Bradman.However he lacked the consistency of Tendulkarand did not prove himself as much as a crisis as George Headley.Headley is counted as often even Bradman was compared to Headley and called the ‘white Headley.’Averaging over 60 runs ,playing for the weakest of batting sides was an unparalleled feat.Shane Warne was simply the best spinner of all.Sydney Barnes figures make him the best bowler ever taking 189 wickets in 27 test matches.Gary Sobers was the greatest ever allrounder and no cricketer could ever turn the complexion of a game more than Gary. Jack Hobbs phenomenal record on wet pitches and 197 first class hundreds wins him the vote. Adam Gilchrist was the greatset match-winner of his era could turn the course of a match in spectacular fashion.Wasim Akram’sposessed more natural talent and variations than any great paceman and his left arm variety would be an asset.,and just missed out in the 1st team.Sunil Gavaskar’s test record speaks for itself,and the fact that he scored heavily against the best bowling attacks.However Barry Richards was the most talented opening batsman ever and although he never proved himself at the test level, he was the best batsman in World series cricket ,topping the averages.In pure batting prowess he was arguably the most perfect batsman ever with Bradman and Tendulkar.Tendulkar is arguably the best batsman ever in combined cricket dominating the game at the top for 22 years scoring 100 centuries which will probably never be equalled .Brian Lara is arguably the best West Indian test batsman ever and best left -hander of all.At their best Lara and Viv Richards were better than Tendulkar but fell short in terms of consistency compared to the little master. The decisive elements in the 1st 11 would be Sobers and Bradman.

A fantastic side! A few bones to pick after that: - Gordon Greenidge? I would have his parter in crime Des Haynes first. - No place for Mathew Hayden in the top 8 openers of all time? I would have thought is numbers, his dominance for a number of years and his key role in one of the most successful test sides ever would have demanded a place. - Ian Botham was not a good enough batsmen for a test 6 at this level. Your 4th XI has a very long tail. - Great to see Glen McGrath getting some respect as a batsman and being list at 10! - Ponting over G Chappel is a big call. A round-robin between these sides would be something to behold!

I have reassessed my analysis and made the following all time cricket elevens with changes. 1st xi 1.Jack Hobbs 2.Sunil Gavaskar 3.Don Bradman 4.Sachin Tendulkar 5.Garfield Sobers 6.Adam Gilchrist 7.Malcolm Marshall 8.Shane Warne 9.Wasim Akram 10.Dennis Lillee 11.Sydney Barnes 2nd xi 1.Len Hutton 2.Barry Richards 3.George Headley 4.Viv Richards 5.Brian Lara 6.Jacques Kallis 7.Imran Khan 8.Alan Knott 9.Ray Lindwall 10.Glen Mcgrath 11.Muthiah Murlitharan 3rd xi 1.Arthur Morris 2.Herbert Sutcliffe 3.Walter Hammond 4.Greg Chappell 5.Graeme Pollock 6.Sangaakara 7.Keith Miller 8.Richard Hadlee 9.Fred Trueman 10.Curtly Ambrose 11.Subhash Gupte 4th xi 1.Gordon Greenidge 2.Graham Gooch 3.Ricky Ponting 4.Denis Compton 5.Everton Weekes 6.Ian Botham 7.Rodney Marsh 8.Waqar Younus 9.Michael Holding 10.Alan Donald 11.Bishen Bedi Sachin Tendulkar’s domination of cricket at the top for a period of 22 years scoring 100 centuries wins him a place in the top 11 although at their best Viv Richards and Brian Lara made a bigger impact.At their best both were better than Sachin ,particularly in winning matches but they lacked the same consistency.Bradman had a phenomenal statistical record averaging 99.94.Lillee and Marshall were more complete than any pace bowlers of all combining swing,cut,pace,control and agression more than any paceman.Shane Warne was simply the best spinner of all.Sydney Barnes figures make him the best bowler ever taking 189 wickets in 27 test matches.Gary Sobers was the greatest ever allrounder and no cricketer could ever turn the complexion of agame more than Gary.Sunil Gavaskar’s test record speaks for itself,puls the fact that he scored heavily against the best bowling attacks.Jack Hobbs phenomenal record on wet pitches and 197 first class hundreds wins him the vote. Wasim Akram’sposessed more natural talent and variations than any great paceman and his left arm variety would be an asset.Adam Gilchrist was the greatset match-winner of his era could turn the course of a match in spectacular fashion.Barry Richards was more talented than any opening batsman ever but never proved himself at the test level,although he was the best batsman in World series cricket ,topping the averages.In pure batting prowess he was arguably the most perfect batsman ever with Bradman and Tendulkar. The decisive elements in the 1st 11 would be Sobers and Bradman.

I cannot pardon the ommission of Sir Garfield Sobers,not only the greatest allrounder,but the greatset Cricketer of all.No cricketer has changed the complexion of a match as consistently as Sir Gary in every department of the game.His allround efforts in the 1966 English season and for the Rest of the World 11 in 1970 have never been equalled No Cricketer ever came closest to genius and he could have won himself a place in an all-time 11 just as a batsman.Imagine he bowled pace ,spin and chinaman!No allrounder could dominate great bowling as well as Sobers who tore the most letha l attacks like a tiger tearing his prey.At the peak of his bowling career he captured 125 test wickets at an average of 27runs in 31 test matches.Imran Khan has rarerly performed outstandingly with both bat and ball in the same test or series.Infact in his peak he was champion fast-bowlling allrounder and when he championed the cause with the bat from 1988-1992 he rarely shone with the ball.Imran maybe the best cricketer after Sobers as a match-winner but is still not on th e same pedestal as Gary who was the equivalent of a great prophet to the game.Infact Ian Botham at his peak,was closer to Sobers as a genuine allrounder. It is no use promoting Bradman as an opener .He always batted at one down.It is injustice to JackHobbs,Len Hutton or Sunil Gavaskar to have Grace and Bradman opening.Grace hardly played test Crocket.Infact Barry Richards or Sehwag could have been a more appropriate choice.I insist on the inclusion of Sir Jack Hobbs,the most complete batsman after Bradman who was champion on wet pitches and a match-winner against great attacks,scoring 12 centuries against Australia in addition to a mammoth haul of 197 first-class centuries. The team need not have 2 allrounders and I still vote for the inclusion Dennis Lillee the most complete paceman of all.He had 23 ,5 wicket hauls; 7, 10 wicket hauls ;and morally captured 446 test wickets.(adding the Packers stats and games against Rest of the World)at an oustanding rate of 5 wickets per test.Lillee posessed every ingredient for the package of the perfect test match bowler be it agression,pace, control ,action,ability to swing and cut the ball both ways, versatlity and above all phenomenal killer instinct. I applaud your selection of Viv Richards,Sachin Tendulkar,Adam Gilchrsist,Shane Warne and arguably Wasim Akram,Imran Khan and Richard Hadlee.I don't think Ponting deserves aplace in the 1st 11 as he has not exhibited the same talent as Lara or Tendulkar or been tested facing such graet pressure.Ponting,remember played for achampion Australian team.Lara at his peak,was ahead of Ponting and Sachin ,with his devastating strike rate and ability to compile mammoth scores.A t his best he overshdowed both of them,in a crisis ,bearing the brunt of one of the weakest batting sides.Arguably Imran maybe the 2nd best cricketer to Sobers,but i see no point in his batting at n0.8-an injustice to his batling abilities.Richard Hadlee,wa sthe best paceman amongst the allrounders and could be the ideal accomplice. This is my all-time world XI 1.Jack Hobbs 2.Sunil Gavaskar 3.Don Bradman 4.Viv Richards 5.Sachin Tendulkar 6.Gary Sobers 7.Adam Gilchrist 8.Richard Hadlee 9.Malcolm Marshall 10.Shane Warne 11.Dennis Lillee

"I recentrly saw an interview with the guy who first invented the Doosra, sorry cant think of his name right now, But he was convinced that it was impossible to bowl the doosra with a straight arm unless the wrist is locke" in your vacant moments in life, try to think of his name, will you? because wrist movement has never been an issue for the chucking law. its the elbow that matters, and its the elbow that was subjected to biomechanical analysis, at the UWA. but then again who would take an aussie at his word, ai, even a scientist?

He gave his team more then enough time to win the test match. Look at the average amount of time/overs team require to win matches.......i think putting the man down because his bowlers were not good enough to win the match is not fair!

Actually...if you take away richards 21 not outs...as compared to Lara's 6 you will find that In actual fact Lara's real average is higher then Richards, who will drop below the sub 50 mark. Also if you look at some of the best innings played of all time....153no and 213 against australia by Lara you will find that he is amazing. Just to make my point, i'm not saying Lara is better then Richards, but I am definately saying that you cant say that Richards is better then Lara. Consider the fact that Richards had 2 outstanding opening batsman in front of him and LAra had none. Another fact, Lara scored 9 hundreds ( Inlcusive 3 double hundreds) againsta Australia, the best attack of his generation and one of the best ever. Lara was outstanding against the best....hardly scored runs agauinst bangladesh and zimbabwe.... I would have both Richards and Lara in My dream team. They are both great. I will shortly post my world eleven dream team/squad.

Well all have our opinions and as I say it what makes blogs such as this what they are - but as I think it may have touched on previously - there are some topics that'll never be settled .... this minefield is one of them .. as I'd place Hadlee easily above 4 of the 5 you've mentioned and as already mentioned ahead of Lillee ... swings and roundabouts - with no correct answer

Ah!,Hombre,seeing as we are in the 4th Estate I am struggling to have Hadlee in my fourth XI solely as a bowler. 2nd XI bowlers Trueman and Barnes,3rd XI Roberts and Ambrose,4th XI Imran and Wasim Akram. Gilchrist changed the template for keepers. He would always be required. Down the order if the team is in trouble. Up the order looking for a quick declaration. So before you accuse me of bias I have omitted Kapil Dev(a favourite)Tendulkar, Lara,Graeme Pollock et al . So Richard Hadlee is in very good company. In fact he is in exalted company.

Obviously what makes opinion sites tick is that we all have differing views - ask a kiwi or west indian about their teams and selections and I've no doubt both Hadlee and Marshall would romp in ahead of Lillee - and in my opinion rightly so, Aussies of course will always differ. What I find amazing though is that for some Hadlee wouldn't make their 4th best team. Now obviously if you look purely at his classification of being an alllrounder then I could see where such a statement might come from, however, if you treat him as he should be - that is a bowler first and foremost who over his career improved his batting to a point where he was considered to be worthy to be classified with the great allrounders of that era then he is streets ahead of some the bowlers being mentioned and balances any attack with the variation he would offer, and I think the original line up in the article places him correctly in this category - Khan is in as the allrounder, who no doubt should make way for Sobers. If you simply classify Hadlee as an allrounder and then rank him accordingly should you then not apply similar logic to the team wicketkeeper - for most Gilchrist is a lock and for VV above "Gilchrist at 7 have no argument from anyone" - well as Brucy B points out below Gilchrist was a "batsman first, wicket keeper a distant second", his glove work doesn't rank up there with the best ... given the batting line up above him the age old argument then arises is his batting going to be deemed necessary - on such an argument then would / should Gilchrist actually make anyones top 4 all time team - I'd probably plumb that he may make that 4th line up - when his batting may be required more

rugbyguy,if you were/are an opening bowler then it explains a lot!

FP - Statistically you might be right. Not necessarily disagreeing with you, but Lillee was aclaimed as "the man" by most of his peers who played against him in the 70s & 80s - Botham, Hadlee, Imran, Kapil Dev, Roberts, Holding, Garner, Croft & Marshall, etc. A pretty stellar cast, you would agree. No higher honour can be bestowed on a man than by his peers.....