Richie Benaud’s Greatest XI

[BallOil]

Richie Benaud’s Greatest XI is the title of a 2004 DVD in which cricketing doyen Richie Benaud selected an imaginary cricket team, from the best players available from all countries and all eras. Utilising a tactic he adopted from Don Bradman, Benaud short-listed three players for each position before finalising the team.

The team
Opening batsmen • Jack Hobbs England
• Sunil Gavaskar India
Number 3 • Don Bradman Australia (Captain)
Numbers 4 & 5 • Sachin Tendulkar India
• Viv Richards West Indies
All Rounders • Imran Khan Pakistan
• Gary Sobers West Indies
Wicket-keeper • Adam Gilchrist Australia
Spin bowlers • Shane Warne Australia
Fast bowlers • Sydney Barnes England
• Dennis Lillee Australia

Twelfth man: Keith Miller Australia

Manager: Frank Worrell West Indies

link

what do you think about this side? If you disagree pick your greatest XI...

[BallOil]

only two Windians and four Aussies?

[mapoui]

only two Windians and four Aussies?

yuh expect anything different from Beno?

gih dat side to googly leh we hear wat he have tuh say..who did get first consideration and who sinned fuh dat?

[mapoui]

I wun waste mih time picking no world 11. I have no trustworthy representation of the old white players...people like Jack Hobbs and all dem fellers Beno pik.

I dont trust white representations of them and of their time. white cricket literature of that time...what they call the golden age..is manisfestly untrustworthy, proven so, admitted so!

I would deal with Bradman, Headley, Hutton, Compton etc. and even their times were not untouched by the so-called golden age type journalism also.

I can deal with world playes with confidence only after 1950. from then I can trust the reportage and assesment judged by the type of analysis available to me...also personal experience for I have seen many of the great players since 1965

and I dont know how Beno can pik Tendy and not Lara. that is sacrilidge! ask Murali!

[BallOil]

pick your XI then....

[mapoui]

picking a world 11 is futile...a better exercise would be to list players of worth who may be considered.

for example with the batsmen...I knew Colin Cowdrey, not so much the early W's from the westindies but Sobers, Kanhai and Hunte.

then there were the south Africans who were apart like Graeme Pollock, Richards whats his first name, ah Barry. then Eddie Barlow and Colin Bland. there were the Oz brothers Chappell, Doug Walters, Neil Harvey and now Pontin, and before, Taylor, Hayden, Border.

Pak and India offered batsmen like Gavaskar, Viswanath, Vengsakar, Tendulkar, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Hanif Mohammed, Javed Miandad...

the Kiwis gave few but Martin Crowe was a very good one, the only kiwi I would rate up among the best.

but there is a whole lot more to add and discuss but I am out of time this day...will continue soon

[BallOil]

What about Bradman, flower, ?

Who are the contenders in the bowling dept?

[mapoui]

a list of mentionables is what I will end up making.....

and now dat yu mention andy flower he is the one I would list s he best keepr batsman of all time..not Gilchrist and my former favourie Dennis Lindsay the late apartheid great.

Flower was some kind of play bwoy! a real good one!