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Furball's Greatest XI
- Thread starter Furball
- Start date
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
Gonna have an ace slip cordon.. Lara was decent as a fielder inside the ring, so I think you should stick with Dravid, Strauss, Warne as the slips and maybe Anderson at gully if you do not find someone who fields regularly there in your side... Short leg is gonna be a difficult decision though 
Adders
Cricketer Of The Year
No 6 has got Ian Bells name all over itShort leg is gonna be a difficult decision though
kyear2
International Coach
Just a great write up that captures the intagibles that made Warne, well.............Warne.Shane Warne
If my first wish would be to bat like Brian Lara, my second wish undoubtedly would be to be able to bowl like Shane Warne (I’d be a mirror image of both, but I digress.) Frankly, I could put him in this team for his 2005 Ashes efforts alone. He tormented England’s batsmen every single time he was brought on to bowl, and if Ponting could have bowled him from both ends in the two Tests that McGrath missed through injury, then I think he would have. I’ll never forget the nervy Trent Bridge run chase – 32/0 after 4 overs chasing 129, then Warne comes on, immediately gets Trescothick and gets Vaughan 6 balls later to set the cat amongst the pigeons. I honestly thought we’d blown it when he trolled Geraint Jones into smacking one straight up in the air to leave England 7 wickets down with 13 runs still to get.
That innings, in a nutshell, summed up Shane Warne. A constant menace to batsmen the world over, and a psychological weapon for Australia in their battles against England. As long as Warne was bowling, the game never felt won. Part of this mastery of the psychology within the game was the multitude of deliveries Warne had in his armoury – the topspinner, the zooter, the slider – all of which were basically deliveries that went straight on. He just invented deliveries to toy with batsmen’s minds, famously tormenting Darryl Cullinan of South Africa to the extent that none of us remember him for his fine batsmanship. We just remember the fact that he failed hilariously against Warne and had to seek a psychiatrist.
What places Warne on this list, much like his partner in crime Glenn MacGrath, is the mastery he had over his art. He raised the bar for leg-spin the world over with his accuracy and left the game as its greatest wicket taker. More than that though, was the sheer theatre that surrounded every Warne delivery. The deliberate setting of the field. The slow walk to the crease, and the explosion through it. And the waiting...would it be the leg break, the big leg break, or the ****ing massive leg break? (Warne actually broke HawkEye at the Oval in 2005 by sending down a delivery that turned too much; HawkEye had to be re-calibrated as when they tried to re-create the delivery, they got a “computer says no” error.) Or perhaps Warne had set you up perfectly for one that was going to go straight on and rap your pads dead in front, at which point you’d have to contend with The Appeal. As an aside, how many more wickets would have got in today’s age, with umpires more willing to give front foot lbws and a DRS system to review those ones where the umpires weren’t picking his straight ones?
As an England fan, watching Warne bowl in the Ashes was tortuous at times. But it was engrossing, beautiful, and sporting theatre at its finest. Not only was Warne a marvellously skilled bowler, but he was a useful batsman down the order, a fine slipper and a great tactical mind. Which brings me onto my third wish; not only do I want to bowl like Warne, I’d want to think like Warne as well. I hadn’t realised just how much I missed watching him until his Ashes masterclass on Sky. Cricket won’t see his like again.
Furball's Greatest XI
1. AJ Strauss *
2. R Dravid
3.
4. BC Lara
5. KP Pietersen
6.
7.
8.
9. SK Warne
10. JM Anderson
11. GD McGrath
Lara was a far superior slipper to Strauss and with regard to fast bowling, Dravid. His technique to both pace and spin was superb and he had amazing hands.Gonna have an ace slip cordon.. Lara was decent as a fielder inside the ring, so I think you should stick with Dravid, Strauss, Warne as the slips and maybe Anderson at gully if you do not find someone who fields regularly there in your side... Short leg is gonna be a difficult decision though
Furball
Evil Scotsman
My way or the highway, ****.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
VVS Laxman
Although I can’t actually remember when it was that I first set eyes on VVS Laxman (something tells me it was watching the Sydney Test in 2004), I do know that it was love at first sight. He was the first Indian batting icon I had, and although his supremacy might have been challenged by Dravid, Laxman was a batsman I never tired of watching. An unconventional batsman, what with being Indian and having a back foot game, Laxman like the others in my middle order was glorious to watch in full flight. Those wrists...
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it), Laxman massively flopped against England, which although disappointing does mean that I could enjoy watching a Laxman masterclass whilst remaining neutral. And when he got going I reckon he touched highs of batsmanship that none of his contemporaries did. High praise when you consider his contemporaries. He also developed a fondness for playing the specialist “dig your team out of a massive hole” innings; most famously at Kolkata in 2001, but his 91 against South Africa in the 2010/11 series was a brilliant innings that put India right back into the series after taking their customary First Test drubbing on an overseas tour.
Laxman doesn’t have the numbers of some of his batting contemporaries, but his ability to dig his side out of a hole whilst looking gorgeous in doing so means I’ll always have a fond place in my cricketing heart for him. And he was an absolute genius with the bat. Take yourself to 11:53 in the video below for one shot that exemplifies what made him Very Very Special:
Yes. He’s watched Shane Warne bowl at him round the wicket, into the rough and thought “you know, that extra cover boundary looks appealing if I can get far enough outside leg to hit inside-out.”
Like I said. Genius.
Although I can’t actually remember when it was that I first set eyes on VVS Laxman (something tells me it was watching the Sydney Test in 2004), I do know that it was love at first sight. He was the first Indian batting icon I had, and although his supremacy might have been challenged by Dravid, Laxman was a batsman I never tired of watching. An unconventional batsman, what with being Indian and having a back foot game, Laxman like the others in my middle order was glorious to watch in full flight. Those wrists...
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it), Laxman massively flopped against England, which although disappointing does mean that I could enjoy watching a Laxman masterclass whilst remaining neutral. And when he got going I reckon he touched highs of batsmanship that none of his contemporaries did. High praise when you consider his contemporaries. He also developed a fondness for playing the specialist “dig your team out of a massive hole” innings; most famously at Kolkata in 2001, but his 91 against South Africa in the 2010/11 series was a brilliant innings that put India right back into the series after taking their customary First Test drubbing on an overseas tour.
Laxman doesn’t have the numbers of some of his batting contemporaries, but his ability to dig his side out of a hole whilst looking gorgeous in doing so means I’ll always have a fond place in my cricketing heart for him. And he was an absolute genius with the bat. Take yourself to 11:53 in the video below for one shot that exemplifies what made him Very Very Special:
Yes. He’s watched Shane Warne bowl at him round the wicket, into the rough and thought “you know, that extra cover boundary looks appealing if I can get far enough outside leg to hit inside-out.”
Like I said. Genius.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
I m guessing Punter at 3 and to field Short Leg 
The Battlers Prince
International Vice-Captain
Hell of a middle order so far. Love how the solid Laxman comes in after the flamboyant Lara and Pieterson. Though can produce exciting knocks too. I'm hoping Freddy's in your side
nightprowler10
Global Moderator
Ponting, Gilly, and Freddie to finish out the XI.
Hooksey
Banned
Would you have Trueman batting ahead of Warne? Or are you thinking Titmus to partner Warne?
Adders
Cricketer Of The Year
That's my guess too.
Great list GF, I'd pay top dollar to watch anyone of those players, in fact with the exception of VVS I've been fortunate enough to see them all live.
Coronis
International Coach
Freddie Flintoff
morgieb
Request Your Custom Title Now!
I'm pretty sure he's being a smartarse.