All Time XIs – G for Glory

Today I choose an all time XI of players whose given names begin with Gs. This letter poses particular challenges which I will explain in the course of the post, and there are a vast number of honourable mentions.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

1. *Graeme Smith (South Africa, left handed opening batter, captain). A superb playing record and an outstanding captain.
2. Gordon Greenidge (West Indies, right handed opening batter). One half of the West Indies greatest ever opening pair. His highlights include twin tons on the most difficult surface of the 1976 series, two contrasting double centuries against England in 1984, one a brutal match winning knock at Lord’s after England had the temerity to declare their second innings closed on the final morning (and some reckoned they should have done so earlier), and the other a ten hour marathon innings which put his side fully in control of the match at Old Trafford.
3. George Headley (West Indies, right handed batter). Nicknamed ‘Atlas’ because he seemed to carry his side on his shoulders, he is among the select few to have played over 20 test matches and have an average of above 60 – 60.83.
4. Graeme Pollock (South Africa, left handed batter). Another member of the select club referred to above. In what proved to be South Africa’s last series before isolation he set an individual scoring record for that country with 274 against Australia. That score has been beaten by four players since South Africa’s readmission – Daryll Cullinan, Gary Kirsten, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.
5. Greg Chappell (Australia, right handed batter, occasional medium pacer, occasional leg spinner). A superb batter, one of the safest slip fielders the game ever saw and a part time bowler of two types.
6. Garry Sobers (West Indies, left handed batter, left arm bowler of every type known to cricket). The most complete player the game has ever seen, and therefore, as always when he is eligible for selection, the first name on the team sheet for this XI.
7. Gilbert Jessop (England, right handed batter, right arm fast bowler). The ultimate X-factor player, with an approach to batting ideally suited to someone coming at number seven in a strong side.
8. +George Duckworth (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). A great wicket keeper, and in a side with the batting guns possessed by this one I am not worried about his limited skill in the latter department.
9. George Lohmann (England, right arm medium fast bowler, right handed batter). Of bowlers to have taken at least 100 wickets he has the best average by some way, a barely believable 10.75, and also the best strike rate – a wicket every five and a half overs on average.
10. George Dennett (Gloucestershire, left arm orthodox spinner, left handed batter). Never capped for England, but 2,151 FC scalps at 19.82 a piece. England were exceptionally well served by left arm spinners in his playing days – Rhodes, Blythe, the all round skills of Frank Woolley and Roy Kilner etc.
11. Glenn McGrath (Australia, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). We have our ‘enforcer’, one of the greatest of all time.

This side has a stellar top six, including the most complete player the game has ever known, the ultimate in x-factor players at number seven, a great keeper and three great specialist bowlers. The bowling does not have quite the dazzling array of options possessed by some of my sides, but I do not think that McGrath, Lohmann, Dennett, Jessop and Sobers would be likely to find capturing 20 opposition wickets beyond them on any surface.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

This will require a systematic approach, so I shall work my way down the order…

OPENING BATTERS

Glenn Turner, the only New Zealander ever to score 100 first class hundreds is the biggest miss here, but Gautam Gambhir of India would also have his advocates, Gary Kirsten of South Africa deserves a mention (and can have the head coach job that England infamously refused to give him allegedly because his power point presentation wasn’t good enough) and George Gunn, who played for England many years ago, and absolutely did things his way also deserves a name check.

MIDDLE ORDER BATTERS

These guys missed out because of the stellar cast available to fill these slots. Geoff Howarth of New Zealand, Gundappa Viswanath of India and Gilbert Parkhouse of England would all have merited serious consideration for a letter less well stocked with world beating batters, but none can get in here.

ALL ROUNDERS

The presence of five of the greatest ever specialist batters and Sobers limited the scope for the inclusion of all rounders. Luminaries such as George Giffen (Australia, right handed batter, off spinner), George Hirst (England, right handed batter, left arm fast medium) and two leg spinning all rounders, Greville Stevens (England) and Garnet Lee (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire) all missed out. Had I been picking with limited overs in mind Glenn Maxwell of Australia would have been one of the first names on the team sheet, but I preferred Jessop at seven, and the only one of the top six who I could even have contemplated not picking was Greg Chappell. George Pope of Derbyshire and England was a good enough all rounder to merit a mention as well. George Ulyett, who played for England in their very early days and had an HS of 149 and a BB of 7-36 was also unlucky.

WICKET KEEPERS

Godfrey Evans was the nearest challenger to Duckworth, wkith Graham Manou, a fine keeper who was scurvily treated by the Aussie selectors of his day and Gil Langley of Australia also in the mix.

SPIN BOWLERS

George Simpson-Hayward, the last underarm bowler to make a serious impression at test level (over 20 wickets in his only test series, against South Africa in South Africa) was close to dislodging Dennett. George Macaulay of Yorkshire and England never managed much at test level.

PACE BOWLERS

It is in this category that we meet the greatest number of top cricketers to miss out for this letter. Garth Le Roux, the giant South African quick of the 1970s and 80s never got to play test cricket, otherwise he might well have had a slot. Graham McKenzie, the best Aussie pacer between the retirement of Davidson and the rise of Lillee was also close. George John was rated by CLR James as the finest of the early West Indian fast bowlers, but he was finished before they started playing test cricket. Gideon Elliott who had a very brief but freakishly successful fast bowling career in the late 1850s and early 1860s (48 wickets at less than 5 a piece, including innings figures of 9-2) deserves a mention. George “Tear ’em” Tarrant was a hugely successful fast bowler in the era immediately before the rise of WG Grace, but the way the good Doctor quelled those who before he came along had intimidated by dint of sheer pace on often treacherous pitches explains why I overlooked him. Had I not had Sobers to perform the role, two candidates for the role of left arm pacer would have been Gary Gilmour (Australia) and a gamble on George Garton, yet to establish himself as an England player. George Freeman, whose 288 FC scalps came at less than 10 a piece was another in the mix. George Geary might have had the slot I gave to Lohmann, but my feeling is that the difference between their test records is too great to be put down solely to the flat pitches on which Geary had to operate at that level. Glenn Chapple of Lancashire is a what might have been – injuries prevented him from gaining international recognition, and as fine a player as he was in domestic cricket I cannot justify dropping either Lohmann or the other Glenn to make way for him.

THE WOMEN

I was not able to include a female in this XI, but the Challenger in the Women’s BBL took place today, and Grace Harris with a superb innings, Georgia Redmayne with a great display of wicket keeping, and Georgia Voll with a stellar bowling performance all had big days out in a superb win for Brisbane Heat over Perth Scorchers, while Georgia Adams, a spin bowling all rounder, is also making a name for herself. Of the players I have named the most likely to earn a place in this squad in years to come is Redmayne, who if she continues to keep the way she did today could challenge Duckworth.

EXEAT

I have doubtless missed some of the riches available for this XI, though I do remind people wishing to comment that I have declared a policy of not selecting anyone who made rebel tours of Apartheid South Africa. Please feel free to make suggestions, so long as you examine the effect they would have on the balance of the side. With five batters and a batting all rounder having ironclad cases for inclusion fitting in enough bowling is a challenge for this letter.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…