My Greatest World Cup XI

The World Cup fever is now finally getting on. While we wait for the real thing to start on February the 14th, its time to reminisce about the World Cups gone by. And here is me indulging in some typical fanboy hobby of picking a Fantasy XI. Following is my selection of the Greatest XI from the ICC Cricket World Cups. (Link)

The selections have been made on the following criterion.

• World Cup performances - multiple World Cups count more.
• Being a World Cup winner. Hence no South Africans or Kiwis or English players
• Special performances have more weightage

Now based on these criterion, following is my Greatest World Cup XI in batting order.

1. Sachin Tendulkar - (winner 2011) most World Cup runs and consistent across tournaments. It would have been blasphemous for an Indian not to include him in such an XI. Also a handy bowler.
2. Adam Gilchrist (wk) - (winner 1999, 2003, 2007) the greatest keeper-batsman of all time across formats. Also provides a left-right opening combination with Tendulkar. And a gentleman who walked even in the World Cup semi-finals.
3. Ricky Ponting - (winner 1999, 2003, 2007) and once runner-up. Also the man to have played the most World Cup games. And that 140 in 2003 final in Johannesburg to knock India out (a sad moment for Indian fans but still I pick him)
4. Viv Richards - (winner 1975, 1979) The original master blaster. Could change games single handedly, not just with the bat but also with the ball.
5. Aravinda de Silva - (winner 1996) The key player in the 1996 winning campaign for Sri Lanka, was declared the Man of the Match in both the semis and the finals. Another handy spinner.
6. Clive Lloyd (c) - (winner 1975, 1979). Excellent leader, superb batsman and a good fielder. He is in as captain of the team.
7. Kapil Dev - (winner 1983) Fast bowling all-rounder whom India is still to replace. He walks in to the team just on the basis of that 175.
8. Imran Khan - (winner 1992) The man could walk into any team either as batsman or a bowler or just a captain. After all he inspired the maverick Pakistanis to a World Cup victory from a seemigly hopeless situation.
9. Wasim Akram - (winner 1992) The two stump seeking yorkers to break the back of the English chase in the 1992 final. Also undoubtedly the greatest left arm pace bowler of all time. And handy with the bat.
10. Shane Warne - (winner 1999) The best leg-spinner. Very good at most times but excellent at the biggest stage. The ball to get rid of the Herchelle Gibbs in 1999 semis in That match.
11. Glenn McGrath - (winner 1999, 2003, 2007) retired after collecting the most wickets in a single World Cup and being declared the player of the tournament.

So thats my Greatest World Cup XI. 6 batsman who can all maintain a more than handy run-rate, 5 bowlers, 4 fast bowlers including a left handed one, 2 all-rounders, 1 leg-spinner, 1 wicket-keeper, a left-right opening combination, 3 more than handy part-time spinners and some superb  fielders. The batting order seems settled. But not sure who will be the new ball operators. After all these are men who made the ball not just talk but could make it recite poetry if they wanted. 

Truly spoilt for choice.

Forgotten XI... Or Maybe Not

The following is an eleven comprising of Indian cricketers whose names are likely to be remembered only by either their own families or the most diehard of cricket followers. Like any "fantasy XI" I have picked the ones which I recall from my cricket watching career. There can be quite a few alternative XIs.

1. Iqbal Siddique - In his debut Test for India, opened the bowling and batting. Also hit the the winning runs. And never played for India again. 
2. Sujith Somasundar - Opened for India in 2 ODIs with a lineup comprising of Tendulkar, Dravid, Azhar, Ganguly and Ajay Jadeja following up. His failures lead to India experimenting with Ganguly as Tendulkar's opening partner and the rest as they is history.
3. Gagan Khoda - Scored 89 in his 2nd ODI earning him the Man of the Match award. And never played for India again. Just plain bad luck. 
4. Amay Khurasiya - In contrast to Khoda, An attacking 50 on his ODI debut earned Khurasiya place in the 1999 World Cup squad. The innings warded off competition from the likes of VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag. A few games later he was dropped for good.
5. Atul Bedade - Was the Yusuf Pathan equivalent of the pre-T20 era. A high strike rate but not too many runs ensured that Bedade represented India only in 13 ODIs. Would certainly have been in big demand in the IPL.
6. Pankaj Dharmani - Only one game for the Ranji run machine. A wicket keeper with a first class average of over 50 but played only one ODI for India due to a career coinciding with Nayan Mongia's. 
7. Laxmi Ratan Shukla - He is still toiling away in the Ranji and IPL circuits. Hasn't represented India in this millenium, hence the IPL considers him to be an uncapped player inspite of playing 3 ODIs for India.
8. David Johnson - 2 Tests as Srinath's injury replacement. But never stuck around the team
9. Noel David - Noel Who is said to have been the reaction of the then Indian captain Tendulkar, when he heard that this spinner has replaced the injured  Srinath. A brilliant ODI debut and superb fielding were good signs, But his career fizzled out within a few days.
10. Nilesh Kulkarni - A wicket of his first ball in Test cricket followed by one more in his entire 3 Test career. A case of domestic potential not being translated into international performances.
11. Robin Singh Jr. - Not to be confused with the more famous Robin Singh. Both played 1 Test each for India although Robin Singh Sr. played in more  than 100 ODIs also.

12th Man - Connor Williams - Slight cheating done here. He never played an international for India. or rather never played in an "official" international game for India. His only India cap came in a "Test" against South Africa which was not given Test status post the Mike Denness fiasco of 2001. 

So 4 batsman, 1 wicket-keeper who can bat, 2 seam-bowling all-rounders, 2 fast bowlers and 2 spinners - in all a very well balanced side.  

Some unable to use their chances and some plain unlucky. But all (with one exception) being part of the very few to have worn the India cap.

IPL Expendables XI: 2014 Edition

During the last edition of IPL, I had prepared a team of grizzled, battle-hardened veterans. And inspired by the movie franchisee had named it as the IPL Expendables XI. And having started it have decided to compile a similar list this year.

The list had to undergo a major revamp as lots of the Expendables cast have finally hung up their boots. Though some of them are have taken non-combat roles in different teams (like the Mickey Rourke character in the first Expendables movie). With fresh auctions held this year, only 3 of last year's XI have survived. Sachin, Ponting, Dravid, Gilchrist & Agarkar have all retired. Hogg & Badrinath have not been picked while Sourav Ganguly is now showing signs of permanent retirement. Only Tambe, Murali and Shukla have survived into this edition.

This year's list was tougher to make and so I had to make a few concessions defining a veteran (but then Jason Statham is a key cast member of the Expendables and he is still in his prime). Sticking to the IPLpolicy of maximum 4 foreign players in the Eleven made it just that bit more difficult. 

1. Michael Hussey - Mr. Cricket is the perfect person to open the batting for this veteran's lineup. This year has been picked by Mumbai Indians who do like having seniors playing and opening for them.
2. Virender Sehwag - The man who destroyed many a bowling attack but now is a pale shadow of his former self. Coming off a very poor Ranji season but got a century for MCC. Lets see if any of the fire is still left.
3. Jacques Kallis - Statistically the greatest all-rounder of all time. Recently retired from test cricket but is available for selection in the limited overs setup where South Africa do not pick him. Has been the goto man for his all round skills  for all Fantasy Leaguers.
4. Brad Hodge - After years of being ignored he has made a comeback into the Australian national T20 squad. Also has scored the most runs ever in the T20 format.
5. MS Dhoni (c & wk) - With Gilchrist having retired and Sangakkara not being picked, the choice of a veteran wicket keeper for the Expendables was very difficult. But given how much Dhoni has greyed over the years, he looks perfect for this team.
6. Laxmi Ratan Shukla - Retains his spot from last year. Still plays Ranji and still plays the occasional IPL game though hasn't played for India this millenium.
7. Muttiah Muralitharan - he retired from international cricket around the time IPL started. And in the seventh edition, he is still around. Though this might turn out to be one season to many for the highest wicket-taker in test cricket.
8. Murali Kartik - One of the mysteries of Indian team selection has been the way they have handled left-arm spinners. Last time he played for India picked up a 6-wicket haul against Australia but never got picked again. English counties though love him and he is the only Indian to have played for a non-IPL team in the Champions League.
9. Ashish Nehra - Last act in international cricket was getting a finger broken while attempting a diving catch in the World Cup semi-finals against Pakistan. Still hanging around the domestic circuit. Outscored Sehwag during the last Ranji season.
10. Laxmipathy Balaji - The smiling assassin. Destroyed and bowler over Pakistan but injuries ruined a potentially great Indian career. However IPL has helped him make a couple of comebacks into the national team.
11. Pravin Tambe - Made his first appearance in senior cricket in last year's IPL at the young age of 42. A decent IPL followed by a great Champions League and Tambe was made his first clss debut for Mumbai as well. A story of never giving up on the dreams.

There were a few other contenders (likes of Ryan ten Doeschate, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan etc.) but they may have to wait a season or two to make an appearance in the Expendables starcast. Not as populated with big names as last year but this team certainly won't be pushovers.

The IPL Expendables XI

The Expendables - a lovely movie with a starcast comprising of veteran action stars. They may have grown old but the spirits are still young. And these veterans packed enough punch to create a movie good enough to go on to become a series on its own right.

Was watching Expendables (again) the other day and found it similar to the Indian Premier League in some respects. The IPL can be considered to be a haven for recently and should-be retired stars who are past their prime but still playing on - some successfully, some not-so-successfully. So thought of making an Expendables XI for this year's IPL. And have followed the IPL policy of limiting the number of foreign players to four.

1. Sachin Tendulkar - How old is he? He has been going on and on since 1989 when half of the players in the IPL were not even born. And one of them (Sachin Baby) is even named after him.
2. Ricky Ponting - Recently retired from all international cricket. And then goes on to be the top scorer of the Australian domestic first class season. Though finding it difficult to sustain in the slam bang IPL mode
3. Rahul Dravid (C) - captain of the expendables. Leads Rajasthan Royals, a side which has a battalion of veterans (Hogg, Hodge, Tambe) and a squadron of babies (Sachin Baby, Sanju Samson)
4. S Badrinath - not retired yet but chances of playing further international cricket is now very limited. Will take over from the likes of Wasim Jaffer & Amol Mazumdar as the next Ranji legend.
5. Saurav Ganguly - all right, he is not in any of the squads as on date, but like Chuck Norris in Expendables 2 he might return out of nowhere and be leading one of the side. With Dada you never know.
6. Adam Gilchrist (wk) - The wicket-keeping slot simply can not go anywhere else.
7. Laxmi Ratan Shukla - He made his debut for India in 1999 and hasn't played since. And neither has he been close to national selection since. IPL considers him to be an uncapped player (?). But Shukla continues to toil on in Ranji trophy and IPL.
8. Ajit Agarkar - Sir Aggie hasn't played for India for more than 5 years. One of the enigmas of cricket. His Test career highlights are (a) scored a century at Lords and (b) a six-wicket haul which lead to India winning in Adelaide. And he has been one of the best one-day bowlers for India of all time yet one of the most unsung in that regard. Still toiling on in domestic cricket.
9. Brad Hogg - He was happily retired from all forms of cricket. Then the Big Bash happened and at the age of 42 Hogg was making his T20 international debut for Australia.
10. Muttiah Muralitharan - Another legend who is still clinging on. His Test records are unlikely to be broken.
11. Pravin Tambe - The most off-field inclusion in the Expendables XI. At the age of 42, Tambe gets selected for the first time to the Mumbai team. And then gets picked up by the Rajasthan Royals. Yet to make an appearance though.

This was my Expendables XI for IPL. One thing I can safely bet, they won't be pushovers in the competition.

P.S. Wondering how many of these warriors survive into IPL7.

ICC's World Test XI for 2010-11

The ICC yesterday announced it Test Team for the year. The players selected are as follows, in batting order:

Cook, Amla, Trott, Tendulkar, Sangakkara (captain/wk), de Villiers, Kallis, Broad, Swann, Steyn, Anderson with Zaheer picked as the 12th man.

Some very deserving names in here. But I have a couple of issues with this team.

Firstly, how has Kumara Sangakkara been picked as the wicket-keeper of the team, when he does not keep wickets for Sri Lanka in Tests? Also if I remember correctly, Dilshan was keeping wickets in a couple of tests last year, with Sangakkara in the team. Given the options and performances over the last year, I believe Matt Prior, Brad Haddin or even Mushfiqur Rahim as a better choice for the keeping duties.

And then there is a minor issue of choosing the openers. Seems Cook is the only opener selected in the team. Amla opens in ODIs but in Tests he generally comes in at 3. Now here I don't have any alternatives though. If there hadn't been the debacle in England following the absence in the West Indies, Sehwag & Gambhir would have been the front-runners here. But given the context its better to have Amla open in this fantasy exercise like Dravid did for India.

Otherwise looks a good all round team though I might have gone in with Zaheer ahead of Broad.

World Cup Thoughts - Feb 25

Writing this while New Zealand & Australia are facing off for the Chappell - Hadlee Trophy (preview here).The 7th wicket pair of Nathan McCullum and Jamie How are trying to stage a recovery as the Kiwis are now at 118/6 in the 28th over. Now for the previous 2 games.

• Kenya are on the wane. Sad to see them reduced to such a state.
• Pakistan are mercurial and now I consider them to be the dark horses for the tournament. But then you never know with Pakistan. Though the team is playing as a unit these days.
• West Indies don't look like having any sort of bowling attack. And if the batting misfires then the game is as good as over.
• Darren Bravo is probably the best batting talent to have emerged from the West Indies for quite a few years.
• AB de Villiers was awesome.
• South Africa played 3 (yes THREE) spinners, one of whom opened the bowling (Still cant think of anything to say about that)
• Imran Tahir lived up to the hype. It was a good performance on debut for the cricketing nomad.
• My Fantasy cricket team had a few nervous moments with the rains but they stopped and ABdV (also my trump player) completed his century and got the Man of the Match.
• And why has ICC scheduled a day match (and a big one at that) on Friday and only one game each on Saturday & Sunday.
• Today's predictions - Australia to win Chappell - Hadlee Trophy, while Bangladesh will beat Ireland (Aside - Ireland & Netherlands certainly are in the wrong group)

As I write the 7th Kiwi wicket has fallen.

ICC All time ODI XI

To mark the coming 40th anniversary of One Day International cricket on January 5, 2011, ICC has come up with a shortlist for selecting the greatest ODI XI of all time. As usual picking all time XIs is not exactly an easy task and would involve lota and lots of debate. Here is my lineup for the alltime ODI XI picked from the ICC shortlist.

Openers: Sachin Tendulkar & Saeed Anwar.

Middle Order: Vivian Richards, Aravinda de Silva, Brian Lara

All rounder: Imran Khan

Wicket Keeper: Adam Gilchrist (could have opened as well)

Fast Bowlers: Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, Allan Donald

Spinner: Shane Warne

Likely Bating Order

Gilchrist, Sachin, Anwar, Richards, Lara, de Silva, Imran, Akram, Warne, McGrath, Donald.

And for the greatest ODI of all time. My vote goes to the tie between Australia & South Africa in Edgbaston on June 17, 1999.

P.S. The team is being picked via an online poll. Somehow I can see more Indians in the list when the ICC announces the results.

The World Test XI

Cricinfo has decided to pick an all time world test XI from the national all time XIs which have been picked by them. Here is my selection of the all time Test XI.

1. Sir Jack Hobbs - the highest scorer ever in first class cricket

2. Virender Sehwag - batting appears different when he is on the pitch

3. Sir Don Bradman - 99.94 enough said, also the captain of this team

4. Sachin Tendulkar - Sir Don has said & he is God

5. Sir Viv Richards - the destroyer

6. Sir Gary Sobers - the all rounder

7. Adam Gilchrist - redefined the qualities being looked in a wicketkeeper

8. Wasim Akram - the best fast bowler I have seen; toe-crunching reverse swinging yorkers & left armer also

9. Malcolm Marshall - the best from West Indies

10. Shane Warne - the greatest ball ever bowled (ask Mike Gatting)

11. Harold Larwood - the only bowler to have kept the Don under slight control.

And just for the fun of it I pick a second XI to face this team

1. Sunil Gavaskar

2. Gordon Greenidge

3. Brian Lara

4. Zaheer Abbas

5. Wally Hammond

6. Imran Khan (captain)

7. Allan Knott

8. Fred Trueman

9. Michael Holding

10. Dennis Lillee

11. Muttiah Muralidharan

A match between these two would be pretty interesting to say the least.

The Indian Test XI

Cricinfo has been picking the all time greatest Test XIs for all countries. And after an endless wait today they have started the process for picking the Indian Test XI. Here are my picks for the all time best Indian line-up for test matches.

1. Sunil Gavaskar

2. Virender Sehwag

3. Rahul Dravid

4. Sachin Tendulkar

5. Mohammed Azharuddin

6. Kapil Dev

7. Syed Kirmani

8. Anil Kumble

9. Javagal Srinath

10. Bishan Singh Bedi

11. B Chandrasekhar

This was a pretty easy selection. I guess most would agree with at least 9 spots. The only really debatable ones are Azhar & Bedi's spots.

And for the reserves (or the other shortlisted)

Openers - Vijay Merchant, Gautam Gambhir

Middle Order Batsmen - Gundappa Vishwanath, Saurav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mohinder Amarnath

Wicketkeeper - MS Dhoni, Farokh Engineer

Allounder - Manoj Prabhakar, Vinoo Mankad, Ravi Shastri

Fast Bowlers - Zaheer Khan, Venkatesh Prasad

Spinners - Harbhajan Singh, Venkatraghavan, Prasanna, Subhash Gupte

Now for the captain.
India's best captains Nawab Pataudi Jr. & Saurav Ganguly have missed out being selected in my lineup. 8 of the 11 have captained India in Test cricket. So just going in for Azharuddin as captain. (Hardly lost in India, hardly won abroad)

Lets see what the experts come up with.

The Game

The IPL is here. And so is the cricinfo fantasy league. And this time around I have got my own league within this fantasy league. Its simply called "The Game" for the lack of any better description. So, anyone reading this, with some spare time, some craziness about the game of cricket and access to an internet connection can join in. 

If you have a team registered and want to join in the league the LPIN code is: 98975-3021637c4ae8225e

May the luckiest team win :)