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Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer walk out onto the ground - AAP Image/Jenny Evans
It was interesting going through Cricinfo’s Best Australian Cricket XIs: one selected by the experts, the other by the readers.
The expert panel of Peter Roebuck, Mike Coward, Gideon Haigh, David Frith, Phil Wilkins, Jim Maxwell, Malcolm Conn, Warwick Franks, Chris Ryan and Chloe Saltau selected the following XI in batting order:
Victor Trumper, Arthur Morris, Don Bradman, Greg Chappell, Allan Border, Keith Miller, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Bill O’Reilly, Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath.
12th man Ricky Ponting.
A poll taken by the readers of Cricinfo picked the following XI in batting order:
Matthew Hayden, Bill Ponsford, Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Keith Miller, Shane Warne, Bill O’Reilly, Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath.
12th man not named.
Seven cricketers are common in both the teams; Bradman, Miller, Gilchrist, Warne, O’Reilly, Lillee and McGrath.
Only one from the current team, Ponting, has made it into the readers’ team. Ponting was the 12th man, according to the Experts.
Among the recent (post 2003) retirees, Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath have been picked by both the experts and the readers, while Steve Waugh and Hayden are also chosen by the readers.
It must have been a huge undertaking as it involved analyzing the statistics, charisma, and reputation of over 400 cricketers in 133 years of Test cricket involving more than 300 Tests.
I am surprised that two of Bradman’s 1948 ‘Invincibles,’ fast bowler Ray Lindwall (whose bowling action has been described as poetry in motion) and Neil Harvey, the elegant left-handed batsman, were not selected in either XI.
Although a McGrath fan, I would have preferred Lindwall over him. Imagine, Lillee and Lindwall to open an attack. What ecstasy for the spectators and agony for the batsmen!
And Harvey could have replaced Border or Steve Waugh.
It must have been very hard to leave out Clarrie Grimmett and Richie Benaud. If the choice is between O’Reilly and Grimmett, I would go for the latter.
What do you say?