Who would you pick in the Greatest Cricket XI of YOUR Lifetime?

[rivera213]

Two questions:

1. When were you born? The Pollock/Sobers selections place you as older than I thought you were.

2. Should your sig team not be your "My Lifetime XI" rather than "All Time XI" given how you don't like rating players you haven't seen?

Completely didn't read the original post.

I'll change it.

I've seen those players, albeit footage, but seen nevertheless.

 

[Slifer]

1982

Gavaskar
Hayden
Ponting
Richards
Lara
Imran*
Gilchrist+
Hadlee
Marshall
Mcgrath
Murali

 

[honestbharani]

Born in 1983 but cricket watching of any level only started around 88...


Hayden
Sehwag
Richards
Lara
Sachin
Gilchrist
Akram
Warne
Ambrose
Murali
Akhtar




Good balance of right and left handers and potentially, that is the most destructive top 4 ever assembled, even in dream teams... Consistently scoring big scores at fast rates, Sachin to provide his genius to either pile it on, steady the ship or take the game completely away.. Gilchrist can be himself at 6, Akram and Warne offer some lower order resistance... The rest will battle for the honour of being #11...


Bowling wise, one amazingly multi skilled bowler (seam, swing, yorkers, bouncers, slower ones all at good pace plus left handed), one tearaway quick who can destroy any batting line up on his day, an all time great fast bowler who will never give anything away and test the batsmen in the corridor at good pace all day, the two greatest modern day spinners...


Tendulkar and Sehwag and Richards to roll their arms over..

Add someone who can bowl a bit of left arm orthodox, this team would cover almost every single base..

 

[Fusion]

77

Hayden
Gavaskar
Richards
Tendulkar
Lara
Gilchrist
Imran
Hadlee
Warne
Marshall
Ambrose


With apologies to Lillee, Murali, Botham, Akram, McGrath, Ponting and Chappell.

 

[zaremba]

73
Watched cricket from c1980 onwards. And on that basis:

1. Gooch
2. Gavaskar
3. Richards
4. Lara
5. Tendulkar
6. Imran
7. Gilchrist
8. Hadlee
9. Warne
10. Marshall
11. Murali

More or less off the top of my head. Might want to include Ambrose, Garner, Waqar etc. Will give it more thought.

 

[bagapath]

born in 1974. but serious cricket watcher only from 1984 (we had no television in south india till mid 1985; all we could watch was sri lankan television's signal on clear days which meant there were only two tv sets in my village of 20,000 people until i was 10).

test xi

gavaskar
greenidge
richards
tendulkar
lara
imran *
gilchrist +
hadlee
marshall
warne
murali

reserves: mcgrath, akram, ambrose, ponting, miandad
coach: allan border

odi xi

tendulkar
gilchrist +
richards *
ponting
lara
bevan
kapil
s.pollock
akram
murali
garner

reserves: d.jones, warne, inzamam, jayasuriya, waqar
coach: s.waugh

 

[zaremba]

Pretty close to my Test XI, bagapath. And there's very little to choose between Gooch and Greenidge.

 

[fredfertang]

Don’t remember when I was born but I will admit to being over 40 – in assessing greatness I have applied no objectivity at all

Barry Richards
Greenidge
Lara
Crowe
Gower
Botham
Engineer
Hadlee
Marshall
Sylvester Clarke
Chandrasekhar

 

[Noble One]

1987

Avid cricket follower since about 1991 (first cricketing memory is the World Cup).

Hayden
Kirsten
Lara
Tendulker
Ponting
S Waugh
Gilchrist
Wasim
Warne
Ambrose
McGrath

Cricketers who just missed out. Muralitharan, Sehwag, Walsh, Kallis, Pollock, Dravid, Inzy and Donald. Plus probably another ten cricketers, great era for cricket.

 

[steve132]

Don’t remember when I was born but I will admit to being over 40 – in assessing greatness I have applied no objectivity at all

Barry Richards
Greenidge
Lara
Crowe
Gower
Botham
Engineer
Hadlee
Marshall
Sylvester Clarke
Chandrasekhar

Crowe and Gower ahead of Ponting and Tendulkar?
Engineer ahead of Gilchrist?
Clarke ahead of Ambrose, McGrath or Wasim Akram?
Chandrasekhar ahead of Warne?

 

[bagapath]

Pretty close to my Test XI, bagapath. And there's very little to choose between Gooch and Greenidge.

people born in between south africa's last test series before the 20 year ban and the first one day international world cup are going to choose at least 8 out of the 11 players in our teams.

having seen hadlee and marshall at their peaks in the 80s it would be impossible for any of us to look beyond them, just as it is impossible to pick any spinner ahead of warne and murali if you've seen them in 90s and '00s.

 

[Athlai]

Crowe and Gower ahead of Ponting and Tendulkar?
Engineer ahead of Gilchrist?
Clarke ahead of Ambrose, McGrath or Wasim Akram?
Chandrasekhar ahead of Warne?

Gower over Tendulkar is a surprise.
Engineer? Na not that surprising.
The fast bowler is a surprise.
Chandrasekhar over Warne? Not a surprise.

Warne was a great mind on the field and a very powerful sporting hero but as a bowler he wasn't that far ahead of other spinning legends.

 

[fredfertang]

Crowe and Gower ahead of Ponting and Tendulkar?
Engineer ahead of Gilchrist?
Clarke ahead of Ambrose, McGrath or Wasim Akram?
Chandrasekhar ahead of Warne?

I did say it lacked objectivity!

A word on the controversial ones

David Gower - We are fortunate that Gower was born 80 years later than he should have been - he belonged with the likes of Ranji, MacLaren and Trumper rather than Border and Gooch. I always used to try and arrange for the world to stop when he was at the crease.

Martin Crowe - Somehow combined the style and grace of a Gower with the power and aggression of a Viv Richards - even if NZ were playing England I always wanted him to score runs, and he usually did

Farokh Engineer - My first cricketing hero - a wonderful stumper and he looked like an amazing batsman - with the bat, of course, he always flattered to deceive, but his quick 20's were breathtaking - I remember how crestfallen I felt when I was told he wasn't actually a Lancastrian ...... but the passage of time proved that in fact he was

Sylvers - There may have been faster bowlers, though I won't actually concede that, but there has never been such a mean bastard on a cricket field - truly terrifying - I found it frightening enough watching him from the stands at the Oval - get within 22 yards of him? I'm no coward but no way would I ever have done that!

Chandra - Mesmerising and the only quality leggie around in my formative years - he inspired me to become a wrist spinner - I got the googly ok but always had trouble bowling a leg break so gave up after a few years - last season in my "comeback" match I tried again, no nets for over a decade, and bugger me but I could bowl a leggie but not a googly - all that Warne watching perhaps?

If it were a 13 I'd have had Ollie Milburn and Tony Greig - or Abdul Qadir perhaps - not forgetting Clive Lloyd - but it was only XI

 

[zaremba]

I like your team Fred. Particularly Gower.

Working along similar lines - with an emphasis on players I'd want to watch, and playing at their best - I'd go for something like this:

1. Vaughan
2. Sehwag
3. Viv Richards
4. Gower
5. Lara
6. Sangakkara (w)
7. Botham
8. Wasim Akram
9. Waqar Younis
10. Abdul Qadir
11. Murali

Honourable mentions to R Smith, Flintoff, Warne, Gilchrist, Marshall.

 

[TT Boy]

Test

Haydos
Smith
Punter
Sachin
Lara
Gilly
Polly
Akram
Warne - Captain
Younis
Ambrose

ODI
Jaya
Gilly
Sachin
Lara
Roy
Bevan
Zulu
Polly
Akram
Warne - Captain
Younis

 

[SJS]

Again ??

Okaaaay

Tests
1. Gavaskar
2. Richards B
3. Richards V
4. Tendulkar
5. Lara
6. Sobers
7. Benaud
8. Knott
9. Marshall
10. Lillee
11. Roberts
12. Murali

ODI's

1. Sachin Tendukar
2. Mathew Hayden
3. Viv Richards
4. Zaheer Abbas
5. Brian Lara
6. Adam Gilchrist
7. Kapil Dev
8. Shaun Pollock
9. Wasim Akram
10. Muralitharan
11. Joel Garner

 

[Prince EWS]

August 6th, 1988

1. Matthew Hayden
2. Graeme Smith
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Jacques Kallis
6. Steve Waugh
7. Adam Gilchrist
8. Shaun Pollock
9. Shane Warne
10. Curtly Ambrose
11. Glenn McGrath

I'm only considering players based on their performances after that date; not just anyone who played after it or Imran, Marshall etc would be there.

Donald, Lara, Murali, Wasim and Flower all exceptionally unlucky not to be there.

EDIT: In fact, Wasim in for Pollock would probably balance the attack out a little better. Leaving Pollock in on sentimental grounds though; one of my favourite cricketers ever so he stays.

 

[bagapath]

August 6th, 1988

1. Matthew Hayden
2. Graeme Smith
3. Ricky Ponting
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Jacques Kallis
6. Steve Waugh
7. Adam Gilchrist
8. Shaun Pollock
9. Shane Warne
10. Curtly Ambrose
11. Glenn McGrath

I'm only considering players based on their performances after that date; not just anyone who played after it or Imran, Marshall etc would be there.

Donald, Lara, Murali, Wasim and Flower all exceptionally unlucky not to be there.

EDIT: In fact, Wasim in for Pollock would probably balance the attack out a little better. Leaving Pollock in on sentimental grounds though; one of my favourite cricketers ever so he stays.

awesome team. but for the lara vs waugh question (kallis is also in as the fifth bowler i assume) it is picture perfect. since waugh was a specialist at no.6, i guess you've got everything right.

 

[Prince EWS]

awesome team. but for the lara vs waugh question (kallis is also in as the fifth bowler i assume) it is picture perfect. since waugh was a specialist at no.6, i guess you've got everything right.

Yeah, Lara v Waugh was my hardest selection. If you really pushed me I'd admit that I rated Lara a (very slightly) better batsman than Waugh, but Waugh gave me a proven captain and he also batted down the order a lot more than Lara throughout his career as you said. I also thought that with Gilchrist already there at 7, a backs-to-the-wall/grinding-innings type player would add more to the team balance in the lower middle order than another take-the-game-away-from-the-opposition type player.

 

[bagapath]

Yeah, Lara v Waugh was my hardest selection. If you really pushed me I'd admit that I rated Lara a (very slightly) better batsman than Waugh, but Waugh gave me a proven captain and he also batted down the order a lot more than Lara throughout his career as you said. I also thought that with Gilchrist already there at 7, a backs-to-the-wall/grinding-innings type player would add more to the team balance in the lower middle order than another take-the-game-away-from-the-opposition type player.

your top 4 are also that type of batsmen. so, good call.