Choose the last player for Post WW 2 XI

[bagapath]

Please choose one player for the last remaining slot in the Post WW 2 Dream XI. The choices are:

Imran Khan
Keith Miller
Brian Lara (top runner up of the middle order poll)

If Lara is chosen, he will bat at no.5 and Sobers will take the all rounder's slot at no.6. If Miller or Imran were chosen they will bat at no.6 or no.7 with Gilly adjusting his position in the batting order accordingly.

Team so far

1. Sir Len Hutton
2. Sunil Gavaskar
3. Sir Viv Richards
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Sir Gary Sobers
6. Brian Lara/ Imran Khan/ Keith Miller
7. Adam Gilchrist
8. Sir Richard Hadlee
9. Malcolm Marshall
10. Shane Warne (leading)
11. Dennis Lillee (leading)

 

[Anil]

the khan for me...

 

[chaminda_00]

Miller should walk this.

 

[bagapath]

am going for lara. with lillee, hadlee and marshall there is enough fast bowling power to take on the entire solar system. warne will get adequate support from sobers when the pitch starts turning. brian lara is the man we need to lend the right kind of balance to this team. i would prefer 4.5 bowlers and an extra batsman than 5.5 bowlers with one batsman less, epecially when 4 of those bowlers are pace bowlers. it would be an overkill.

 

[JBH001]

Some good reasoning there, bagapath. Especially as, if likely, Lillee and Warne win the 3rd and 4th bowlers poll.

Also, I am not sure if Miller or Imran are good enough to bat 6 for this XI (unless, of course, they swap around with Gilly).

 

[SJS]

am going for lara. with lillee, hadlee and marshall there is enough fast bowling power to take on the entire solar system. warne will get adequate support from sobers when the pitch starts turning. brian lara is the man we need to lend the right kind of balance to this team. i would prefer 4.5 bowlers and an extra batsman than 5.5 bowlers with one batsman less, epecially when 4 of those bowlers are pace bowlers. it would be an overkill.

Actually we have three great fast bowlers (and I do not use the word 'great' lightly here as we are all apt to most of the time) and a fabulous fast medium bowler in Sobers who will swing the ball and will move it off the track both ways and bowl a mean bouncer indeed. Plus Warne as a spinner. That makes five world class bowlers. Add the spin of two types that Sobers could bowl and count again. Why would you need more bowlers ??

Unless you are like one of the Indian zonal selectors who wants his own favourite in and the team interest be damned.

My favourite in this lot is Miller but I vote Lara for I do not want to be clubbed with any Indian zonal selector

 

[archie mac]

Some good reasoning there, bagapath. Especially as, if likely, Lillee and Warne win the 3rd and 4th bowlers poll.

Also, I am not sure if Miller or Imran are good enough to bat 6 for this XI (unless, of course, they swap around with Gilly).

I think KM can handle six, especially if he was selected just as a batsman, but yes voting with my heart here, the smart selector would choose Lara

 

[Ikki]

I went with my heart and chose Miller. Usually, for this spot, seeing as the bowling is enough, I'd pick Lara. But Miller can do a great job at 6, still, and will also give the team great fielding, bowling and leadership. Plus I wubz him .

 

[SJS]

I think KM can handle six, especially if he was selected just as a batsman, but yes voting with my heart here, the smart selector would choose Lara

I too almost voted Miller. I ticked his name instinctively but before clicking in my selection, I just thought "let me have a look at the other ten players" and I realised that six bowlers is definitely too many. If I have to make an all time XI and am told that one of these is a must, I would have unhesitatingly chosen Miller before Lara and Imran but then I would have dropped one of the other pacers, probably Hadlee.

I have no doubt Miller can handle number six in the order but I just dont need six bowlers. And if it was on batting skills, Lara can handle even number six better than Miller although one could easily slip Lara a place above and Sobers a place down. Mind you I do not think Lara is a better batsman than Sobers - just that Sobers will score score bigger hundreds at number six.

 

[Uppercut]

I'd quite like both Imran and Miller in the side rather than Lillee.

 

[adharcric]

I too almost voted Miller. I ticked his name instinctively but before clicking in my selection, I just thought "let me have a look at the other ten players" and I realised that six bowlers is definitely too many. If I have to make an all time XI and am told that one of these is a must, I would have unhesitatingly chosen Miller before Lara and Imran but then I would have dropped one of the other pacers, probably Hadlee.

I have no doubt Miller can handle number six in the order but I just dont need six bowlers. And if it was on batting skills, Lara can handle even number six better than Miller although one could easily slip Lara a place above and Sobers a place down. Mind you I do not think Lara is a better batsman than Sobers - just that Sobers will score score bigger hundreds at number six.

Curious about your thoughts here - why Miller over Imran?

 

[zaremba]

Lara, for the reasons given by bagapath. We don't need another quick bowler and, great players though they both were, Imran and Miller therefore must miss out.

Lara was an amazing player and gives the team a beautiful balance. Hutton / Gavaskar need to be followed by - and hopefully one of them will bat with - an attacking middle order; and a line-up of Richards, Lara, Tendulkar, Sobers, Gilchrist, Hadlee is pretty darned formidable. Miller and Imran were both very able batsmen, but neither is in remotely the same league as Lara.

I'd have Sachin at 5 and Lara at 4 so that we mix up the right- and left-handers a bit more. Otherwise we have 4 RHBs at the top followed by 4 LHBs.

 

[SJS]

Curious about your thoughts here - why Miller over Imran?

Miller (1946-1956) was always the same as a batsman and his bowling also was good from the beginning till almost the end.

Imran (1971-1992) was a fabulous bowler till 1986 and a very good lower middle order batsman from 1982 onwards. So in a twenty year career, he has five years (1982-86) when he was both batting and bowling well.

Of course Miller played much less - one because the war took away 6 years from his career and second because fewer Tests were played in those times.

 

[Maximus0723]

Lara, for the reasons given by bagapath. We don't need another quick bowler and, great players though they both were, Imran and Miller therefore must miss out.

Lara was an amazing player and gives the team a beautiful balance. Hutton / Gavaskar need to be followed by - and hopefully one of them will bat with - an attacking middle order; and a line-up of Richards, Lara, Tendulkar, Sobers, Gilchrist, Hadlee is pretty darned formidable. Miller and Imran were both very able batsmen, but neither is in remotely the same league as Lara.

I'd have Sachin at 5 and Lara at 4 so that we mix up the right- and left-handers a bit more. Otherwise we have 4 RHBs at the top followed by 4 LHBs.

makes too much sense.

 

[Ikki]

Surprised that when I mentioned the extra batting in the post WSC team everyone was picking the bowler, now it's gone the opposite.

 

[bagapath]

Surprised that when I mentioned the extra batting in the post WSC team everyone was picking the bowler, now it's gone the opposite.

with sobers in this team i think everyone has got the confidence to hand over the fifth bowler's duties to him and go for an extra batsman. also, lillee coming in (in place of murali) means there is enough pace bowling in the team already.

 

[Fusion]

Imran Khan for me, obviously. To me the 2nd greatest AR after Sobers. He's got a legitimate case to be a top 5 greatest fast bowler. In his last 50 tests, he averages 50 with the bat and 20 with the ball. That's a large enough sample to state that he was a great batsman and bowler at the same time (and sorry Ikki, "not outs" should not be exlcuded from the average, they are a legitimate factor in calculating batting averages). He'll captain the side superbly and will know how to manage the big egos from experience. Lastly, come on people, how can you have a Post WW2 XI without the great Khan? Where's Bhupinder Singh when you need him?

 

[bagapath]

Lastly, come on people, how can you have a Post WW2 XI without the great Khan?

since this exercise is coming to a close it is probably a good time to acknowledge the true legends who wont be part of this team. on another day, another time they could have replaced some of the players in the present team.

g.chappell
ian botham
ponting
ambrose
imran
miller
murali
trueman
g.pollock
s.pollock
dravid
weeks
worrell
walcott
compton
a.morris
garner
akram
miandad
border
kallis
davidson
benaud
bedi
laker

 

[Slifer]

Picked Imran, but in retrospect should have gone with Lara and move him up to 5 and drop Sobers down to 6. Shame G Chappell missed out on this team but oh well

 

[JBH001]

I think KM can handle six, especially if he was selected just as a batsman, but yes voting with my heart here, the smart selector would choose Lara

Dont know if I would agree with that myself, AM. I sometimes think Miller's batting is a little over-stated. And I dont think he was as good an AR as Imran or Sobers (or perhaps even Kallis and Botham). But I have already voted Lara anyway, primarily for the reasons mentioned by Bagapath, and also summarised by Zaremba thus:

Lara, for the reasons given by bagapath. We don't need another quick bowler and, great players though they both were, Imran and Miller therefore must miss out.

Lara was an amazing player and gives the team a beautiful balance. Hutton / Gavaskar need to be followed by - and hopefully one of them will bat with - an attacking middle order; and a line-up of Richards, Lara, Tendulkar, Sobers, Gilchrist, Hadlee is pretty darned formidable. Miller and Imran were both very able batsmen, but neither is in remotely the same league as Lara.

I'd have Sachin at 5 and Lara at 4 so that we mix up the right- and left-handers a bit more. Otherwise we have 4 RHBs at the top followed by 4 LHBs.

Definitely agree with the rejigging of the batting side.

Something sumptuous about a line-up of:

Hutton
Gavaskar
Richards
Lara
Tendulkar
Sobers
Gilchrist