ESPN Cricinfo's World Eleven

Ian Chappells best World XI team up to 1973
This does not include Australians

1 B Richards
1 G Borecott
3 R Kanhai [he pipped John Edrich]
4 G Pollock
5 E Barlow
6 G Sobers
7 A Knott
8 M Proctor
9 J Snow
10 E Prassana
11 B Bedi


If Australians were included one would think that Greg Chappell and Dennis Lillie would have been in that team

Wisdens all time great X1

1 J Hobbs
2 WG Grace
3 D Bradman
4 S Tendulkar
5 V Richards
6 G Sobers
7 A Knott
8 W Akram
9 S Warne
10 M Marshall
11 S Barnes

Im Knott convinced about the wicket keeper selection
Perhaps either Gilchrist and Redandblack should have been

Thanks Scrappy, but I'll concede that Gilchrist was a slightly better batsman than me (We need a 'tongue-in-cheek' emoticon)

Wisden love people who played a lot of County cricket.
I don't think WG or Knott deserve a place.
Was Grace that much better then his contempories? He dominated County cricket at the time but his limited international record is not great, in many ways it his time in the game and his marketing nous that mke him "great". I doubt he is better then Barnes, Hayden, Hutton or B. Richards as an opener.
Given you have Sobers as an all-rounder, is Akram really a better bowler then Lillee, McGrath or Holding?

A wonderful article
By Tim Hilferty
Advertiser
28/11/2013

AUSTRALIAN MOUSTACHE X1

D Boon
W Phillips
I Chappell
B Murdoch
A Border
V Richardson
R Marsh
M Hughes
D Lillee
M Walker
F Spofforth

Some of Tims comments were a laugh

Billy Murdoch
Australia's answer to WG Grace had a mo you could shelter from the rain under

Victor Richardson
Pencil thin- rumour has it Errol Flynn was inspired by the SA legend

Merv Hughes
His magnificent walrus is like Bradmans average of 99.94 - the pinnacle

If you look at a photos of Chappelli's mid-70s teams, you would be forgiven for thinking it was the Mexican World Cup Soccer Squad.

Some classic "Ringos" amongst them and maybe there is room in the above squad for one Chappell G.

Mitchell Johnson is looking like he would fit in with that squad, with his "Ringo" at the moment. Probably be gone for next week's Adelaide Test. It is probably only a Movember Special.

Shane Warnes best West Indies X1

GREENIDGE
HAYNES
RICHARDS
LARA
RICHARDSON
LLOYD
DUJON
MARSHALL
HOLDING
AMBROSE
GARNER
ROBERTS [12th man]

This appears to be the best team Shane has seen play
Otherwise Gary Sobers would have been in this line up

Clive Lloyd on seeing this team has said Andy Roberts must be in the best X1
Clive has said Malcolm Marshall then Andy Roberts as being the best West Indian quicks

And no room for Walsh either!

LIME MAGAZINES BEST WI ELEVEN

GREENIDGE
HEADLEY
RICHARDS
LARA
WALCOTT
SOBERS
WEEKES
MARSHALL
AMBROSE
HOLDING
GIBBS
WALSH just enough room to be 12th man

Heres a list of excellent WI cricketers not mentioned in Warneys/Lime teams, that could be considered

ADAMS
BISHOP
CHANDERPAUL
CONSTANTINE
CLARKE
CROFT
GAYLE
GILCHRIST
GRIFFITH
HALL
HENDRIKS
HUNTE
KANHAI
MARTINDALE
NURSE
RAMADHIN
ROWE
WORRELL

Off that lot , at least these 3 must be considered in the best ever teams
Wes Hall was a great fast bowler
Rohan Kanhai a  star batsman
Frank Worrell , named a trophy after him, so obviously could play

" The best batsman Ive ever seen was Gary Sobers and Graeme Pollock not far behind him."

" Another one who dosent get mentioned ,and he just turned 80 in the last day or 2 is Rohan Kanhai , boy he could play and wasent much between Kanhai and Sobers."

By
Ian Chappell

Yes, immediately thought Kanhai.

Scrappy wrote:Wisdens all time great X1

1 J Hobbs
2 WG Grace
3 D Bradman
4 S Tendulkar
5 V Richards
6 G Sobers
7 A Knott
8 W Akram
9 S Warne
10 M Marshall
11 S Barnes

Im Knott convinced about the wicket keeper selection
Perhaps either Gilchrist and Redandblack should have been

My post might be misleading ?
I must re-iterate that Alan Knott deserves his spot in the best X1 off all time
He is one of the very best glove man Ive seen
He deserves his spot in the best off all time team selections

Scrappy wrote:

Scrappy wrote:Wisdens all time great X1

1 J Hobbs
2 WG Grace
3 D Bradman
4 S Tendulkar
5 V Richards
6 G Sobers
7 A Knott
8 W Akram
9 S Warne
10 M Marshall
11 S Barnes

Im Knott convinced about the wicket keeper selection
Perhaps either Gilchrist and Redandblack should have been

My post might be misleading ?
I must re-iterate that Alan Knott deserves his spot in the best X1 off all time
He is one of the very best glove man Ive seen
He deserves his spot in the best off all time team selections

I know that I often quote Ian Chappell, but he is my guru as far as cricket knowledge is concerned. One day he was commentating with Ian Healey when Healey suggested that Gilchrist might be the best wicket keeper ever to play the game. Chappell just said to him "wash your mouth out with soap, Ian Healey." If Chappell were picking his best ever World XI, Alan Knott would have been third picked after Bradman and Sobers.

Just recently Chappell was saying that oppositions should use a leg slip for Steve Smith because his first movement was back and across. Chappell had the same first movement and England always used a leg slip for him. He said that it was actually a wasted fieldsman because he certainly gave many chances there, but Alan Knott was always across to take the catch in front of leg slip.

That foot movement was why Chappelli was such a proponent of the hook shot.
Smith doesn't seem to be so inclined. But then not many are these days.

The 10 best of all time?
This is a list from one cricket web site.
If (a big if) you can go along with that, what order would you put them in?
Or who goes in and who goes out?
Note it is not a best Test X1, but the best cricketers.

Don Bradman
Probably the greatest batsman ever

Sachin Tendulkar
Probably the second greatest batsman ever

Garfield Sobers
Just maybe the best cricketer ever. Many think so.
As an all-rounder he just walks into any top ten list like this.
Probably would have walked in if he had just batted or bowled

Vivian Richards
In full flow, he was a mighty storm. Destructive and beautiful

Adam Gilchrist
Wicketkeepers: the least appreciated class of cricketers.
A terrific batsman o boot
.
Malcolm Marshall
They called Holding "whispering death." Marshall was just called "death." Enough said.

Jacques Kallis
Critics are still tearing their hair over whether he or Sobers is the greatest all-rounder of all time

Shane Warne
Talent, with all its eccentricities, its f*** you to rules, its beauty is epitomized by Warne

Richard Hadlee
Look at his stats. His bowling average.
After you pick your jaws up from the floor, look at his batting too.

Wasim Akram
The amazing allrounder who never was.
He reached his potential as a bowler, but not as a batsman.
He scored a 200+ in Test.


For mine the top 3 (not necessarily in that order) plus Warne pick themselves.
I think I like Imran Khan before Wasim Akram. His leadership beats Akram for me.

Anyone got any thoughts on an order? Or substitutes in the list?

ADAM GILCHRIST
Where does one draw the line ?
He is without doubt the best Batting keeper Ive ever seen, and statistically the best ever batting keeper
On pure wicket keeping, Ive seen better


The 10 cricketers are all worthy of being considered as top 10
My Exacta in order Bradman/Sobers