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Encouraged by the response of Roar readers to my best ODI 11 I will attempt to name my Test XI.
This will be limited to players I have actually seen live or on TV, hence immortals like Sir Don Bradman and Sir Gary Sobers will not be there.
Openers
Since I have not seen them, players like Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton can’t be there. However there still are some extraordinary batsmen which makes selection a tough task
For the openers I have narrowed it down to Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Geoff Boycott, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Alastair Cook, Graeme Smith, Sunil Gavaskar and Virendra Sehwag to name just a few. Who does one choose from this galaxy of stars?
After deep thought I would go in for Sunil Gavaskar and Matthew Hayden. Sunny handled the feared West Indian fast bowlers in a manner which will remain in memory for a long long time. With him is Hayden who narrowly edges out Sehwag.
Hayden as an aggressive dominating batsman will be a perfect foil to the steady, technically correct Sunny. Hayden also has the ability to hit big hundreds which will help the team immensely. Sehwag also has both these qualities and therefore it was a tough choice
Middle order
Here too, the stars are many. Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Allan Border, Ricky Ponting, Dave Gower, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara and many more.
After due consideration, I will have Richards, Sachin and Lara from 3 to 5. Ponting very sadly misses out as Lara and Sachin get my nod ahead of him. Interestingly in ODI I had preferred Ponting to Lara and this is not a balancing act, I genuinely feel this way.
Richards is my man at 3 as his very presence is inspirational. He edges out Dravid for the spot. Sachin is at 4 and Lara is at 5.
While Sachin will provide stability, Lara will provide brilliance and strokeplay to take the match away from the opposition. Ponting just misses out.
Number 6
What about the crucial Number 6 spot? Will we have a batsman like say Ponting or Laxman or even Younis Khan who has an incredible fourth innings record and has defied age to notch up 33 tons in just 108 Tests?
How about Steve Waugh who can function as captain as well? Or will it be an allrounder like Kapil Dev, or Imran Kahn, Ian Botham or Richard Hadlee.
I am going for an allrounder and it’s Jacques Kallis. As a batsman he has scored as much as Dravid and who as a bowler has taken as many wickets as Zaheer Khan
Wicketkeeper
For wicketkeeper, I will unhesitatingly go in for Adam Gilchrist. So many times we have seen in Test cricket that the opposition has somehow got Australia in a spot of bother at say 160/5 and then Gilchrist takes them to beyond 300 or 350.
Bowlers
Now spots 8 to 11 remain and I would select one spinner and three quicks. For spinner it has to be Shane Warne, who edges out Murali for the spot. Warne had the ability to take wickets at will.
The three quicks create a big dilemma. Will it be Michael Holding, Joel Garner or Malcolm Marshall? Or will it be Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson.
There are so many great players that choosing just three is an extremely difficult task.
After deep thought I will go in for Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath and Marshall. Akram for his variety, and his being a left armer helps him immensely too. McGrath for his unyielding accuracy and Marshall for his frightening pace and ability to extract the maximum even out of batting tracks.
The playing 11 therefore is Sunil Gavaskar, Matthew Hayden, Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath and Malcolm Marshall.
The shrewd Gavaskar is the captain.
Do you agree with my choice of Test 11?
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