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The ICC's All time ODI dream XI

smash84

The Tiger King
I know that you did pick one of them in the end, but I'd have one of Dhoni/Bevan because it's a pretty specialist skill coming in in the middle/end of the innings and be able to sum up the situation and score from the get-go. Someone like a Ponting has very little experience in the role, and while he would be decent at it, I would rather a guy who has spent the best part of his career doing it for me.
good point.
 

slog sweep

Cricket Spectator
I am surprised that more people wouldn't choose Jayasuriya in their team. I haven't seen to many greater match-winners in this form of the game. I understand that Tendulkar has the more complete record, but he has never been the game-breaker that Jayasuriya was. Seeing as it is only a hypothetical scenario, I think you could probably move Tendulkar down to number 4, a position he has occupied at various stages, in order to squeeze Jayasuriya in at the top.

If I was the opposing captain, an opening combination of Gilchrist and Jayasuriya, with Viv Richards coming in at number 3, is the top order that I would most fear, because all of those guys could simply rip the game away from you with an hour of brilliance. If two out of those three got going in the first 15 overs, then the game might be as good as over, before it even begun.
 

Nate

You'll Never Walk Alone
No Bevan? What a joke. Also feel that Hussey deserves to be mentioned, what a record.
 

weldone

Hall of Fame Member
Sehwag shouldn't be anywhere near an All-Time ODI World XI (heck, he doesn't even deserve to open the batting with Tendulkar in an All-Time Indian ODI XI)...otherwise good choices.

Drop Sehwag, make Lara open with Tendulkar and bring in Zaheer Abbas in the empty middle-order slot...and it becomes a good team.
 

Migara

International Coach
Wow Migara, Moin Khan didn't even make the list of 100 qualified players.

Feel free to vote for your top 25 ODI Cricketers of all time in the appropriate thread :)
Well I was left with no other good wk batsman who could finish well. Sanga, Stewart and Flower are there but never were good finishers. Moin and Boucher are the big hitters. So ad to go for a big hitting wicket keeper.

If I had the choice of naming only one wk to first XI, would have named Gilly or Dhoni here.
 

Migara

International Coach
I just don't personally like the idea of having a keeper running around in the field in an all time side. I know that Gilchrist did it a couple of times early in his career (poorly), and I haven't seen Dhoni in the field when I've watched.
Never mind his fielding. he's an ATG batsman in ODIs. He should be in the same sentence with Bevan.
 

Hit Wicket

School Boy/Girl Captain
Kapil definitely has Botham and Imran covered. As a genuine allrounder to bat seven he has Hadlee covered too. I don't think the great Test allrounders of the 80s quite converted that to ODIs as well as the more modern allrounders in general though, and that's coming from someone who'd be considering Abbas, Chappell and Greenidge for this team so I hardly have much of a modern bias.
Imran and Kapil did well. Hadlee, of course as a bowler, but not much as a batsman. One reason they did not seem to have as much impact as modern all rounders might be because, and it's just a perception as I don't have any actual data to back it up, is that in those days top order batsmen used to bat out a greater percentage of overs than today. Due to weaker lower order batting and more conservative top order batting, a number 7 did not get as many chances as today. Imran did well in the top order, but really his slow batting and limited strokeplay makes him an ill fit for number 7. Kapil has quite a few match turning innings from number 7 and of course was a great fielder.

Kallis and Flintoff are both players I'd like to include in theory but they'd need to bat in the top five, and I don't think I can really justify that with the other middle order bats available. I think I'd go with Klusener at seven and Pollock at eight. I'd have Viv in the team to chip in with the ball too, and maybe even Symonds, so I'm more comfortable with Klusener as the fifth bowler in an all-time team than I would be with Kapil Dev batting seven.
That's another approach to take of course - selecting a batting all rounder (Klusner) and a bowling all rounder (Pollock) over a bowling all rounder (Kapil) and a genuine bowler and good lower order batsman (Akram). Your team would have the stronger batting, mine the stronger bowling. In selecting all time XIs I tend to be biased towards a stronger bowling than the other way round because in case of a contest with an evenly matched team, that is one aspect more likely to be exploited. But at the end of the day, it's just an exercise in mental masturbation, so what the heck!
 
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Shri

Mr. Glass
Meh, who cares? Its all down to personal preference when the good players to select are so many.
 

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
It is, but, TBF, I don't see a good argument in leaving McGrath, Ponting, Bevan and Gilchrist out of any side.
 

Hit Wicket

School Boy/Girl Captain
It is, but, TBF, I don't see a good argument in leaving McGrath, Ponting, Bevan and Gilchrist out of any side.
Tendulkar, Gilchrist, and Richards are the only 'locks' in an all time ODI team. Every other position has a fair number of comparable competitors and it's just down to personal preference at that point.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
Tendulkar, Gilchrist, and Richards are the only 'locks' in an all time ODI team. Every other position has a fair number of comparable competitors and it's just down to personal preference at that point.
I'd much rather leave Gilchrist out than Pollock, TBH. Dhoni is an all-time great alternative. I'd still pick Gilchrist, but yeah.
 

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