About Me
- Ishtiaque
- I am a dreamer, procrastinator, last-minute worker. Music is my passion--I am an obsessive music collector. Often I collect gigabytes of music only with the hope to listen to'em "someday". I like writing, reading, and I also cherish to learn to play the guitar someday...
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
My All Time Favorite ODI XI
I started watching cricket seriously since 1992, so I have mostly considered people from that time on-wards while selecting my team.
Well, here's my pick:
1. Saeed Anwar
2. Adam Gilchrist (WK)
3. Brian Lara
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Sakib Al Hasan
6. Jacque Kallis
7. Michael Bevan
8. Wasim Akram (C)
9. Muttiah Muralidharan
10. Curtly Ambrose
11. Allan Donald
12th Man: Jonty Rhodes
Some logic behind the selections:
Saeed Anwar was the first batsman to go near the 200 run mark in ODIs. He is one of the most iconic left handed batsman to ever walk on the cricket grounds, and till today he serves as a big inspiration to all opening batsmen. Few batsmen could destroy the opponent's bowling like he did.
Also, he will make a great pair with Adam Gilchrist. Just like Saeed, Gilchrist, too, has been one of the most demonic openers ever, and Australian ODI XI has never been the same since he retired. His wicket keeping skills gives me the luxury of picking an additional batsman, and thus I will go with him.
Brian Lara, enough said! He is one of the most creative players ever, and he can turn the tides of a game anytime.
I am not a very big fan of S.R.Tendulkar, but he is highest scorer in ODIs, so, yes, he gets the number 4 slot. He can dominate any bowling lineup anyday, so...
Sakib Al Hasan has proven himself to be a very versatile and effective all rounder, and he has been topping the best ODI allrounder's list on a frequent basis. He can be the 5th bowler and the 2nd spinning option for the team, as well as being an effective number 5 batsman. He is also a great fielder.
Kallis is such a great player to have in the team! He can score loads of quick runs, and grab some tricky wickets with his much effective medium pace.
Bevan is arguably the best finisher cricket has ever seen. He is also one of the most underrated players. I firmly believe that he deserved more opportunities and accolades. His left handed chinaman spinners can also come in handy in the ODI games.
Wasim Akram can spearhead any pace attack and bring excellent results. There won't be any other bowler like him. He is also a great batsman who can hit sixes and fours during the penultimate overs of a game.
While Warne was a great test bowler, Murali was great in all formats of cricket--he even left his mark in T20s. He is a match winning bowler, and he is the team's primary spinning option.
Ambrose was part of the West Indies team when they were in their decline stage, and yet he shone above his contemporaries in many ways. An effective bowler in the ODIs, he didn't shy away from hitting a few sixes also.
Finally, Allan Donald will be the new ball partner of either Wasim or Curtly, and he is the kind of bowler who can set fire even on a very much flat or batsman friendly pitch.
Arguably the best fielder ever, Jonty Rhodes comes in as the 12th man.
So my team has 3 specialist fast bowlers, 1 fast medium bowler (Kallis), 3 spinners (Murali, Sakib and Bevan). As for batting, there are 4 specialist batsmen and 4 all rounders. I think this is a much balanced game.
Few names I considered, but had to leave out:
1. Steve Waugh (one of the game's most successful all rounders)
2. Chris Cairns (records will never do proper judgement to this great all rounder)
3. Sanath Jayasurya (This was a tough call; he could add a great spinning option in the team and can be considered as a great replacement for Saeed Anwar)
4. Imran Khan (The most charismatic captains of all; his captaincy and all round skills are difficult to be matched)
5. Glen Mcgrath
6. Andy Flower
7. Mark Boucher
Well, here's my pick:
1. Saeed Anwar
2. Adam Gilchrist (WK)
3. Brian Lara
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Sakib Al Hasan
6. Jacque Kallis
7. Michael Bevan
8. Wasim Akram (C)
9. Muttiah Muralidharan
10. Curtly Ambrose
11. Allan Donald
12th Man: Jonty Rhodes
Some logic behind the selections:
Saeed Anwar was the first batsman to go near the 200 run mark in ODIs. He is one of the most iconic left handed batsman to ever walk on the cricket grounds, and till today he serves as a big inspiration to all opening batsmen. Few batsmen could destroy the opponent's bowling like he did.
Also, he will make a great pair with Adam Gilchrist. Just like Saeed, Gilchrist, too, has been one of the most demonic openers ever, and Australian ODI XI has never been the same since he retired. His wicket keeping skills gives me the luxury of picking an additional batsman, and thus I will go with him.
Brian Lara, enough said! He is one of the most creative players ever, and he can turn the tides of a game anytime.
I am not a very big fan of S.R.Tendulkar, but he is highest scorer in ODIs, so, yes, he gets the number 4 slot. He can dominate any bowling lineup anyday, so...
Sakib Al Hasan has proven himself to be a very versatile and effective all rounder, and he has been topping the best ODI allrounder's list on a frequent basis. He can be the 5th bowler and the 2nd spinning option for the team, as well as being an effective number 5 batsman. He is also a great fielder.
Kallis is such a great player to have in the team! He can score loads of quick runs, and grab some tricky wickets with his much effective medium pace.
Bevan is arguably the best finisher cricket has ever seen. He is also one of the most underrated players. I firmly believe that he deserved more opportunities and accolades. His left handed chinaman spinners can also come in handy in the ODI games.
Wasim Akram can spearhead any pace attack and bring excellent results. There won't be any other bowler like him. He is also a great batsman who can hit sixes and fours during the penultimate overs of a game.
While Warne was a great test bowler, Murali was great in all formats of cricket--he even left his mark in T20s. He is a match winning bowler, and he is the team's primary spinning option.
Ambrose was part of the West Indies team when they were in their decline stage, and yet he shone above his contemporaries in many ways. An effective bowler in the ODIs, he didn't shy away from hitting a few sixes also.
Finally, Allan Donald will be the new ball partner of either Wasim or Curtly, and he is the kind of bowler who can set fire even on a very much flat or batsman friendly pitch.
Arguably the best fielder ever, Jonty Rhodes comes in as the 12th man.
So my team has 3 specialist fast bowlers, 1 fast medium bowler (Kallis), 3 spinners (Murali, Sakib and Bevan). As for batting, there are 4 specialist batsmen and 4 all rounders. I think this is a much balanced game.
Few names I considered, but had to leave out:
1. Steve Waugh (one of the game's most successful all rounders)
2. Chris Cairns (records will never do proper judgement to this great all rounder)
3. Sanath Jayasurya (This was a tough call; he could add a great spinning option in the team and can be considered as a great replacement for Saeed Anwar)
4. Imran Khan (The most charismatic captains of all; his captaincy and all round skills are difficult to be matched)
5. Glen Mcgrath
6. Andy Flower
7. Mark Boucher
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