An all time XI selected on a basis of juxtaposing ancient and modern – six players from way back, five players from the 21st century, interleaving with one another so that no two players from the same era are next to each other in the batting order, Also a bumper photo gallery.
In this post I present an all time XI selected using very specific criteria – my players are either from the long past or are players at least some of whose career took place in the 21st century, and the interleave so that no two players from the same era are next to each other in the line up.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
*WG Grace (England, right handed opening batter, right arm bowler of various styles through his career, captain). In spite of not getting to play test cricket until he was 32 years old he twice held the record individual score for England – 152 on debut in the first match on English soil in 1880, and 170 in the final match of the 1886 series, regaining the record from Arthur Shrewsbury who had set it the previous match with 164.
Yashavsi Jaiswal (India, left handed opening batter). Has just had an amazing series against England (712 runs including two double centuries), and looks set to have a long career for India.
Don Bradman (Australia, right handed batter). Quite simply the greatest test match batter the world has ever seen.
Brian Lara (West Indies, left handed batter). Succeeded everywhere and against every type of bowling, including 688 runs against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka against peak Muralidaran (off spinners are supposed to cause left handers particular problems).
Aubrey Faulkner (South Africa, right handed batter, leg spinner). Has a case to be regarded as the most genuine of genuine all rounders, averaging 40.79 with the bat (just over 1,700 runs) and 26.58 with the ball (85 wickets). No one else to have played enough matches to qualify for consideration has ended with a batting average of over 40 and a bowling average of below 30.
Ben Stokes (England, left handed batter, right arm fast medium bowler). A talismanic figure for England in recent years, with a value to the side that goes far beyond his mediocre looking figures at test level.
+Leslie Ames (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). The first test match class wicket keeper to also be a genuinely high class batter.
R Ashwin (India, off spinner, right handed batter). One of the greatest of all off spinners, and a useful lower order batter as well.
Syd Barnes (England, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). 189 wickets in just 27 test appearances, at 16.43 a piece.
Jasprit Bumrah (India, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). India’s greatest ever fast bowler, and one of the greatest of all time.
William Mycroft (Derbyshire, left arm fast bowler, right handed batter). Over 800 FC wickets at 12.09 a piece, but born just too early to play test cricket. In this XI he would probably come on first change after Barnes and Bumrah had done their stuff with the new ball.
This side has a powerhouse batting line up, and a bowling attack of Barnes, Bumrah and Mycroft to bowl pace/seam/swing and Ashwin and Faulkner to bowl spin, with Grace and Stokes in reserve, is not likely to have any great difficulty taking 20 opposition wickets. I will not produce an honourable mentions section on this occasion because it would have to be massive to do anything approaching justice to those who have missed out. Comments welcome, and if you are feeling really bold feel free to suggest an alternative XI selected on similar lines that you reckon could make a game of it with this one.
PHOTOGRAPHS
A bumper gallery for you today – while it has not been conspicuously sunny it has been reasonably pleasant outside…
A look back at the last two days of the second test match of the five match series between India and England and some thoughts about the composition of the England XI. Also a photo gallery.
After many twists and turns India won the second test of the five match India v England series at Vizag when Jasprit Bumrah clean bowled Tom Hartley for 36, making England 292 all out, and India victors by 106 runs. This post looks back at the last couple of days.
THE INDIAN SECOND INNINGS
India started day three of a possible five 28-0 in their second innings, 171 runs ahead with all their wickets intact. Shubman Gill enjoyed a charmed life, surviving one LBW due to an edge that was as much news to him as it was to the rest of us and another on umpire’s call when not quite enough of the ball was deemed to be hitting the top of middle stump. He made the most of this, going on to a century which was instrumental in India getting to 255, a score that meant England would need the highest total of the match batting last to win. Their target of 399 was also over 100 more than any visiting side had ever scored in a fourth innings in India, though four previous tests elsewhere have been won after higher run chases, and in the 99th and last ‘timeless test’ at Durban in 1939 England scored 654-5 before weather and the arrangements for their journey home led to the match being abandoned as a draw with England 42 runs short of the target. However England under Stokes have produced so many surprises that no one was consigning them to defeat just yet.
THE ENGLAND SECOND INNINGS
England lost Duckett just before the close of day three, and Rehan Ahmed was sent in at number three (Pope is a nervous starter, so it makes sense to protect him from having to do so twice over, and Ahmed is good enough with the bat that the possibility of a major innings from him could not be entirely discounted). England closed on 67-1, needing 332 more to win.
The fourth morning (this morning) started with news that James Anderson had said England were in a very good position and that Shubman Gill had assessed India 70-30 favourites, an assessment that in itself spoke volumes for the approach of this England team compared to the last one to visit India in 2021, and the extent to which they have ripped up conventional test standards.
Ahmed was the second to fall, contributing 23 before he did so. Pope exactly matched this score, and his dismissal brough Root to the crease. Root played a frenetic, almost frantic, innings, wildly at variance with the methods that have brought him over 11,000 test runs at an average of 50, and was out for 16 off 10 balls. Crawley, who had batted impressively, then fell to a controversial LBW, which was sent upstairs. At the point the ball hit Crawley’s pad two stumps were exposed and part of the third was visible, which raised questions over whether the impact was truly in line with the stumps. However, the technology ruled that it was out, and England were 194-5. With the score still at 194 Bairstow was pinned by a beauty from Bumrah, LBW for 26. Stokes and Foakes played well for a while, until Foakes edged one behind the wicket but on the floor, Stokes judged that a run was on and was beaten by Shreyas Iyer’s direct hit throw to make it 220-7, this being Iyer’s most significant contribution to the match. Foakes and Tom Hartley then crafted a solid partnership for the eighth wicket, which ended when Foakes gave Bumrah a return catch. That was 275-8. Two landmarks were possible at this stage, Ashwin’s 500th test wicket and a 10-wicket match haul for Bumrah. However Bashir edged one from Mukesh Kumar through to keeper Bharat to make it 281-9 (this was Kumar’s only wicket of what was in truth a wretched match for him) and rule out Bumrah’s 10 wicket match haul. Bumrah then produced a superb delivery to get through Tom Hartley’s defences and end the match. That gave him nine wickets in the match (6-45 and 3-46), and 155 career test wickets at 20.19. Bumrah was named Player of the Match, his marvellous bowling being deemed even more crucial to India’s success than Jaiswal’s double century. I agree with this assessment, though I would have been inclined to give a shared award to both players. England though comfortably beaten in the end were in no way disgraced, though there were too many 20s and 30s in that fourth innings effort, and only Crawley’s 73 as a score of real substance. I think that the ‘three spinners and one seamer’ approach England have taken thus far needs changing – with Leach injured the remaining spinners are all very inexperienced and none are capable at the moment of providing control. I believe that England’s 8,9,10,11 for the third match of this series should read: R Ahmed, T Hartley, OE Robinson, JM Anderson, and if England want to increase the back up spin options available to them in the XI they can drop Bairstow, who has not been impressive this series, and select Dan Lawrence in his place, giving them two part time spin options (Root being the other).
An account of day two of India v England at Vizag, dominated, as the day’s play itself was by the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah. Also my customary photo gallery.
Today was day two of the second test match of the five match series between India and England. This match is taking place at Vizag. I covered day one here.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE INDIAN INNINGS
Although it was a mere prologue to the main event of the day the end of the Indian innings was not devoid of significance. England appeared to have done reasonably well to keep India below 400, with the tenth wicket going at 396. Yashavsi Jaiswal who had dominated day one resumed on 179 not out. He completed his double century, but facing the risk of being stranded got out for 209, meaning that the highest score by an Indian opener against England remains the 221 that Sunil Gavaskar scored at the Oval in 1979. Anderson claimed his second and third wickets of the innings, and kept his economy rate below two an over, while young spinners (their combined age is less than that of Mr Anderson) Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir also finished the innings with three wicket hauls.
THE ENGLAND INNINGS
England began brightly, with Zak Crawley playing well. Mukesh Kumar did not at any stage resemble a genuine test match new ball bowler. Axar Patel, R Ashwin and left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav all took turns at the bowling crease. At high water mark England were 114-1, but then Crawley fell to catch by Iyer of Axar Patel. Bumrah was then called back into the attack to deal with Joe Root. Nine runs later Bumrah found the edge of Root’s bat, Gill took the catch and it was 123-3. Then Pope, who was just beginning to look settled after a typically nervous start had two of his stumps uprooted by an absolutely unplayable ball from Bumrah to make it 136-4. Bairstow and Stokes resisted for a time, but the unstoppable Bumrah found one to take the edge of Bairstow’s bat for another catch to Gill to make it 159-5. Kuldeep Yadav got Foakes with a good ball and Ahmed courtesy of a loose stroke which gave Gill his third catch of the innings and England were 182-7. Tom Hartley now joined Ben Stokes, and Stokes threatened to wrest the initiative back for England. However, with Stokes on the verge of a half century a superb delivery from Bumrah rattled his stumps to make it 229-8. That was Bumrah’s 150th test wicket, at an average of 20.50 a piece, a fact the significance of which I noted in the tweet reproduced in screenshot form below (follow the link highlighted in blue to note the exact time at which I posted it):
The day got better yet for Bumrah, as he induced Hartley to give Gill a fourth catch of the innings, which brought the debutant Shoaib Bashir in to join Anderson, given a one place promotion from his usual slot presumably on grounds of experience for the last wicket stand. Bumrah finished the innings by pinning Anderson LBW. England had just crept past 250, but a final score of 253 all out gave India a first innings advantage of 143. Bumrah had taken 6-45 from 15.5 overs on a pitch not offering much assistance, a truly great display of test match fast bowling, from one of the great masters of that art. This gives him an overall tally of 152 test wickets at 20.29 each, with Barnes ahead of him on 189 wickets at 16.43, and Alan Davidson the great Australian left armer having taken 186 at 20.53, with West Indians Ambrose, Garner and Marshall all also having finished with over 150 wickets at less than 21 a piece. Barnes and Bumrah were both in my all time Bs XI. I make one change to that XI in retrospect, Benaud being moved from being in the XI to fronting the TV commentary and Bishan Bedi taking his place giving an XI off: C Bannerman, SG Barnes, *DG Bradman, KF Barrington, AR Border, IT Botham, +Wasim Bari, W Bates, SF Barnes, BS Bedi, JJ Bumrah. I first noticed Bumrah when not long discharged from Addenbrooke’s after emergency cancer treatment, when he destroyed Australia in Australia (see here).
THE START OF THE INDIAN SECOND INNINGS
There was time for five overs of the Indian second innings, in the course of which they scored 28-0, meaning that they start day three with a lead of 171 and all their second innings wickets intact. Cricket is a game which regularly makes fools of those who make over-dogmatic statements about match situations, and this is never truer than when Stokes’ England are involved in the action, but it is at any rate not contentious to state that India are in a very strong position, especially given the tendency of Vizag pitches to break up as the match progresses (average innings scores there show a very straightforward pattern of declining from first to fourth innings of the match).
An all time XI all of whom have given names beginning with J. There was a massive embarrassment of riches available for this letter, so the honourable mentions section is large. There is also a photo gallery of course.
Today, in a post the will feature a huge list of honourable mentions, our XI are linked by having given names beginning with J.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
Jack Hobbs (England, right handed opening batter, occasional right arm medium pacer). One of the greatest ever to play the game, unchallengeable for this spot.
John Edrich (England, left handed opening batter). A member of the ‘hundred hundreds’ club and someone with a superb test record. Scores of 310* v New Zealand and 175 & 164 v Australia show his ability to really cash in on a good start.
Javed Miandad (Pakistan, right handed batter, occasional leg spinner). In the whole of his long test career his average never dipped below 50. Many would still name him as his country’s all time number one batter.
Joe Root (England, right handed batter, occasional off/ leg spinner). Undoubtedly one of the greatest batters England has ever produced.
Jacques Kallis (South Africa, right handed batter, right arm fast medium bowler). An absolute champion cricketer. Garry Sobers mastered a greater range of skills, one could argue that the likes of Aubrey Faulkner, Keith Miller and Imran Khan were truer all rounders, and one can list batters (though not very many) who were better and a greater number of bowlers who were better, but it would be brave person to state unequivocally that anyone has been a better cricketer than the South African.
James Langridge (England, left handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner). He got few opportunities at test level due to overlapping with Hedley Verity, though he did take a seven-for on debut at that level. In a long and distinguished first class career he averaged 35 with the bat and 21 with the ball.
+James Foster (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). The most heavily contested slot in the entire XI, as you will see when we look at the honourable mentions, but the person I have chosen was a magnificent keeper, a good middle order batter and was badly treated by the England selectors of his day.
*Jason Holder (West Indies, right arm medium fast bowler, right handed batter, captain). An impressive captain, in spite of never having had the luxury of having a really strong side under his command, and his averages are the right way round.
Jim Laker (England, off spinner, right handed batter). One of the greatest off spinners ever to play the game. In 46 test appearances he took 193 wickets at 21.24 each, which included the best innings and match figures in test history, 10-53 and 19-90, at Old Trafford in 1956 against the oldest enemy.
James Anderson (England, right arm fast medium bowler, left handed batter). England’s all time leading test wicket taker, more test wickets than any other non-spinner, and still going in his 40s.
Jasprit Bumrah (India, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). One of the leading contemporary pace bowlers, and probably the best pace bowler his country has ever produced.
This side has an awesomely strong top five, a genuine all rounder, a keeper who was also a good batter, a bowling all rounder and three all time great specialist bowlers. The bowling, with Bumrah, Anderson and Holder to bowl pace, Laker and Langridge to bowl spin, Kallis as sixth bowler and in the unlikely event of them being needed Hobbs, Miandad and Root available as back up options is both strong and well varied, and should have little trouble taking 20 opposition wickets on even the flattest of pitches.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Jack Robertson is the only obvious challenger for an opening role. The middle order was studded with options: Johnny Tyldesley, Joe Darling, Jack Ryder and Jesse Ryder being the four most obvious to miss out. James Hildreth had a magnificent record for Somerset but never got picked for England. I would expect James Rew to avoid Hildreth’s fate, but at the moment he is one for the future. James H Parks and James M Parks would both also have their advocates. The two legendary Hambledonians James Aylward and John Small have to be relegated to the honourable mentions due to lack of sufficient detail about the career records.
Jack Gregory might have had the slot I gave to Jason Holder but I wanted the latter’s captaincy as well as his playing skills. Jacob Oram of New Zealand was a fine all rounder, but I wanted a spinning all rounder, given that Kallis’ selection was set in stone and I also wanted Holder in the number eight slot. Johnny Douglas, both an England cricket captain and an Olympic gold medallist at middleweight boxing, cannot be completely ignored.
There was a logjam of keepers to consider, even after disqualifying Robert Charles ‘Jack’ Russell and Clifton James ‘Jack’ Richards is in neither case was Jack either their given name or derived from John. John Murray, Jackie Hendriks, Jeff Dujon, Junior Murray, Jack Blackham, Jimmy Binks and Jim Kelly are the seven most obvious potential keepers that I had to overlook.
There was if anything an even greater wealth of seam/ pace bowling talent. Josh Hazlewood is probably the most obvious miss to a contemporary audience, but two other Aussies, Jeff Thomson and Jason Gillespie were also formidable in this department. Jack Cowie, probably New Zealand’s best pre-Hadlee quick, also merits a mention. John Wisden has to be mentioned for historical significance, and a later Sussex pacer, John Snow also had a fine test record. Javagal Srinath, the first genuinely fast Indian bowler I ever saw in action, was another candidate. James Broadbridge was one half of the first truly great bowling partnership in cricket history, along with William Lillywhite, but it was the latter who was the greater bowler.
James Lillywhite Jnr, England’s first ever test skipper, was one of the spinners I had to overlook. Jason Krejza once took 12 wickets in a test for Australia, but he conceded 358 runs while doing so. Jim Sims was a good enough leg spinner to be selected for England and a useful lower order batter. Jemma Barsby, who bowls both off spin and left arm orthodox spin, and has recently helped the Adelaide Strikers to win a second successive WBBL title was another I considered. Jack Noreiga remains in a club of one as a West Indian to have test match nine-for. Jim Higgs had some successes as a leg spinner for Australia. Jack Saunders, who bowled left arm spin and seam for Australia in the early 20th century had a fine record as well. Two left arm spinners, Johnny Briggs and Johnny Wardle, both had excellent test records. Jimmy Matthews once took a hat trick in each innings of a test match, but those six scalps were almost half his career tally of test wickets and he never took more than four in an innings at that level.
In the absence of live cricket to write about I have created a clash between a team of players from before ODI cricket was a thing and a team of ODI players to do battle with one another. Also a photo gallery.
There is no live cricket today, so with the ODI World Cup 2023 approaching its final phase I have decided to produce a contest between two XIs – one of players whose careers took place before ODI cricket existed (with one very minor exception explained when we come to him) and one of ODI players. The following playing conditions would apply to what would be a five match ODI series: only one new ball per innings – using two as happens currently deprives us of old ball skills such as reverse swing because a ball that is only in use for 25 overs doesn’t get old, two minute time limit between a wicket falling and the new batter being ready to face (I am not expecting any ‘Timed Out’ dismissals but I am making sure that situation is covered anyway) and my own playing condition regarding overs not bowled within the time limit: The batting side to be awarded 10 runs or twice the current scoring rate, whichever is the greater, for each unbowled over, counting incomplete overs as ‘unbowled’ for this purpose.
THE PRE-ODI XI
*WG Grace (right handed batter, right arm bowler of various types through his career, good close catcher, captain). His commitment to attacking cricket is without question, his captaincy record is superb, and he was the dominant cricketer of his era.
Frank Woolley (left handed batter, left arm orthodox spin bowler, excellent close catcher). A fast scorer, a fine bowler and an excellent close fielder. Only one cricketer ever achieved the first class career treble of 10,000 runs, 1,000 wickets and 1,000 catches – Woolley.
Don Bradman (right handed batter, occasional leg spinner, excellent outfielder). The most prolific batter the game has ever known and capable of scoring seriously fast as well.
Garry Sobers (left handed batter, left arm bowler of every type known to cricket, excellent fielder). Before the pedants fly in, yes he did play a solitary ODI near the end of his career, in which he scored a duck. That is not enough to class him as an ODI player in my book, and I refuse to not pick the most complete player the game has ever known, so I include him in this XI.
Keith Miller (right handed batter, right arm fast bowler). One of the greatest all rounders ever to play the game, and both his attacking approach to batting and his willingness to experiment with the ball would be well suited to ODI cricket.
+Les Ames (right handed batter, wicket keeper). Twice winner of the Lawrence trophy for scoring the fastest first class hundred of the season, and maker of over 1,000 wicket keeping dismissals in his career.
Gilbert Jessop (right handed batter, right arm fast bowler, gun fielder). The most consistently fast scoring batter the game has ever known, a more than useful bowler and a brilliant fielder. I have listed him at seven in this order but I would expect Grace to display some flexibility in this matter – if wicket number 1,2,3 or 4 falls with say 10 overs to go I expect Jessop to come in.
Alan Davidson (left arm fast medium bowler, left handed batter, brilliant fielder). Among bowlers to play exclusively post WWII, to have ended their careers and to take 150 or more test wickets the one with the most economical bowling average is Davidson, with 186 test scalps at 20.53 each. He also had moments with the bat even at the highest level, averaging 24 in test cricket with an HS of 80 and his fielding earned him the nickname ‘the claw’.
Alfred Shaw (right arm medium/ slow bowler, right handed batter). The man who bowled more FC overs than he conceded runs at that level, and took just over 2,000 FC wickets at 12 a piece just has to be in this XI.
Sydney Francis Barnes (Right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). He would grumble about only being allowed 10 overs, but I would fully expect him to make superb use of those overs – he was probably the most skilful bowler ever to pick up a cricket ball.
Hugh Tayfield (off spinner, right handed batter). The leading test wicket taker for South Africa in their first period as a test nation, and by some way at that. He was also notoriously miserly with the ball, once sending down 137 successive dot balls including 16 successive eight ball maidens.
This side has seven top line batters and a capable number eight in Davidson. However the true jewel in this side’s crown is the bowling, with that front four of Davidson, Barnes, Shaw and Tayfield backed by all rounders Miller, Jessop, Sobers, Grace and Woolley. The only recognized bowling type not covered is leg spin, and Syd Barnes’ signature weapon largely fills that gap. Also there are few if any ‘passengers’ in the field in this XI, and a number of genuinely outstanding fielders. This is a side that would take a lot of beating.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
New Zealander Bert Sutcliffe would be well suited to the left handed opener’s gig, but he does not have Woolley’s advantage of also offering a bowling option. Mulvantrai Himmatlal ‘Vinoo’ Mankad was another possibility, but I rated his batting not explosive enough. Mushtaq Mohammad could have been selected in place of Keith Miller had I been really desperate for leg spin representation. Among the bowlers I regretted not being able to include were Bill O’Reilly, Clarrie Grimmett, Hedley Verity, Johnny Wardle and Wilfred Rhodes (his approach to batting rules him out of an upper order slot in this format IMO). Billy Bates instead of Hugh Tayfield would strengthen the batting, but I think the South African was the finer bowler.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN ISSUE
Various white South Africans around the time ODIs were first getting going had limited opportunities to showcase their talents, and while several could make cases for inclusion I have opted not to pick any – I could not count them as ODI players since they never got to play those, and it would have been against the spirit of the exercise to pick them in the above line up. I will repeat something I have previously stated about this issue: these individuals deserve some sympathy, but not as much as the non-white South Africans who were entirely deprived of the chance to showcase their talents, going all the way back to Krom Hendricks in the 1890s.
THE ODI XI
Sanath Jayasuriya (left handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner). He gets this gig for his stellar role in Sri Lanka’s only World Cup win back in 1996.
Sachin Tendulkar (right handed batter). His record tally of ODI centuries has just been equalled, but his claim to this slot is in my view unarguable.
Virat Kohli (right handed batter, occasional right arm medium pacer). Currently the co-holder of the record for ODI centuries.
Viv Richards (right handed batter, occasional off spinner). The first truly great ODI batter.
+AB de Villiers (right handed batter, wicket keeper, occasional medium pacer). The man known to fans as ‘Mr 360’ because he could score literally anywhere in the whole 360 degree arc.
*Imran Khan (right handed batter, right arm fast bowler, captain). One of the greatest all rounders ever to play the game, and his leadership in the ‘cornered tigers’ world cup of 1992 removes any doubt about who has that role in this side.
Ravindra Jadeja (left handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner, gun fielder). One of the finest all rounders of the modern era.
Wasim Akram (left arm fast bowler, left handed batter). A great bowler and a handy lower order batter.
Joel Garner (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). His immense height meant that he posed problems in 3D geometry for opposition batters, and very few could surmount them.
Muthiah Muralidaran (off spinner, right handed batter). One of the stars of that 1996 world cup win – the Sri Lankan seamers Vaas and Wickremasinghe often bowled only their opening spells, the remainder of the overs being bowled by spinners, and this man invariably bowled his full ten overs, generally with fine figures.
Jasprit Bumrah (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). One of the reasons India have won all nine of their group games at the current tournament has been the excellence of their bowling, and this man is the spearhead of that attack.
This side is well equipped batting wise, and has a stellar bowling line up, with Jayasuriya likely to be seventh bowler. There is no leg spin – to accommodate either of the two best ODI leg spinners I have seen in action I would have to drop Jadeja and promote Akram to number seven.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Some would have ignored Jayasuriya’s bowling and selected Adam Gilchrist to open the batting and keep wicket. Some Indian fans would want Dhoni to be both keeper and captain, but I disagree, and they already have four players in my chosen XI. A live alternative for the number seven slot, though it would remove a spin option would be one of two South African bowling all rounders: right arm seamer Shaun Pollock or left arm seamer Marco Jansen. Some would pick McGrath ahead of Garner as the tall mean right arm pacer and in test cricket I would agree, but in ODIs I rate the West Indian just ahead of the Australian. Feel free to volunteer further suggestions in the comments, but remember to consider how your choices would affect the balance of the sides.
An all time XI of players whose first two initials are identical and a large photo gallery.
In this post I create an XI of players who each have two forenames that begin with the same letter of the alphabet. While CCC ‘Box’ Case (Somerset) did not do enough to qualify there is one completely alliterative player in the team. I have shown due regard for team balance, and as you will see a few serious players missed out.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
Tamsin Tilley Beaumont (England Women, right handed opening batter). Tammy Beaumont as she is better known is an outstanding opening batter. Her double century in this year’s Women’s Ashes saw her join the club of players to have scored centuries in all three international formats. Also as a result of that innings she has 40+ averages in both Tests and ODIs.
Conrad Cleophas Hunte (West Indies, right handed opening batter). His impressive test record looks better still when considered in light of the fact that he was never part of a settled opening pair.
Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan (West Indies, right handed batter). Averaged 40 in test cricket at a time when WI as a whole were struggling.
Walter William Read (England, right handed batter). An aggressive stroke maker, and good enough to be only the second English batter after WG Grace to score a first class triple century. He also had a test century, a remarkable 117, scored from number 10 in the order, with William Scotton stonewalling at the other end.
*Warwick Windridge Armstrong (Australia, right handed batter, leg spinner, captain). In test cricket he scored 2,863 runs at 38.68 and took 87 wickets at 33.59, while at first class level his figures were 16,158 runs at 46.83 and 832 wickets at 19.71. He also averaged a catch a match in the field in spite of his considerable bulk. Added to this he was a shrewd and ruthless skipper, the first ever to lead a side to victory in every match of a five match series (the 1920-1 Ashes).
Robert Richard Relf (Sussex, right handed batter, right arm fast medium bowler). He was originally picked for his bowling, but an innings of 210* (he would add two further FC double centuries to that before the end of his career) as nightwatch earned him a permanent move up the order and his bowling took second place thereafter. His best innings bowling was 8-79. He never earned an England call up, but he did once score 73 for the Players against the Gentlemen.
+Cyril Clairmonte Depeiaza (wicket keeper, right handed batter). He preferred his middle name Clairmonte to his first name Cyril. He had one of cricket’s more interesting nicknames, based on that surname “Leaning Tower”. His career was very brief, but his only FC century came in a test match (as part of a seventh wicket stand of 347 with Denis Atkinson, who made 219), and he averaged over two dismissal per game at that level (7 catches and four stumpings in five appearances), while he made 40 dismissals in his total FC career of 16 matches.
George Gibson Macaulay (England, off spinner, right handed batter). Only eight test appearances, which yielded him 24 wickets at 27.58, and 112 runs at 18.66 with an HS of 76. In FC cricket he took 1,837 wickets at 17.65 with a best of 8-21 and scored 6,055 runs at 18.07 with an HS of 125* (one of three FC centuries). When he first came to the Yorkshire nets he bowled fast but he acted on advice from George Hirst to slow his pace and develop spin instead.
Wesley Winfield Hall (West Indies, right arm fast bowler, right handed lower order batter). A great and lion hearted fast bowler.
John James Ferris (Australia, England, left arm swing bowler, left handed lower order batter). Nine tests, one of them a game on a privately organized tour of South Africa elevated to test status in retrospect (his “England” appearance) yielded him 61 wickets at 12.70 each, while his 198 FC matches, including a spell at Gloucestershire, yielded 812 wickets at 17.54.
Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah (right arm fast bowler, right handed lower order batter. One of the best contemporary pacers in the game, currently coming back from an injury layoff. He has already done enough to secure his place, including claiming membership in the select club of visiting pacers to have terrorized the Aussies on their own pitches (his test best came there, 6-27 at the MCG in 2018).
This side has a well equipped though not sensational batting line up, and a wonderful bowling attack. Bumrah, Hall and Ferris to bowl pace, swing and seam, with Relf as fourth seamer if needed, and a spin pairing of Macaulay and Armstrong, with the latter to captain them amounts to serious riches in that department. In other words this side is a bit like 1930s Yorkshire or 1950s Surrey – the batters will more than likely score enough for the bowling unit to capture 20 wickets.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
I have already mentioned the overall grand champion of alliterative initials, CCC ‘Box’ Case, and the fact that his record falls just short. Two early Aussie openers, HH Massie and JJ Lyons might have had Beaumont’s slot, though in each case the sample size is small. Both had one things going for them – they were very attacking in approach, which would make them a good contrast to Hunte. A side picked for limited overs would feature Moeen Munir Ali (England), attacking batter and useful off spinner, but his long form record does not justify selecting him, especially with Macaulay, a far superior off spinner, inked in for a slot. At least three classy pace options had to be overlooked – WW Davis and WW Daniel (both WI) and JJ Bridges (Somerset, 685 wickets at 25.71 in FC cricket). Readers may well have their own suggestions.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off – it has been unpleasant for much of today, but I got out early enough that I caught only the warning signs of unpleasantness to come, in the form of an ominously stiffening wind…
I am reasonably confident that this (two pics – next one a little closer up) is a Ruddy Darter.
The deciding ODI between England and India is intriguingly poised as I start this post picking the greatest XI of cricketers with surnames beginning with B (see the As). Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy is within sight of The Open Championship and five of the most unpleasant human beings anyone could conjure up are engaged in a battle to make Sauron look like one of the good guys as a way of securing the Conservative party leadership and with it the post of Prime Minister.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
Charles Bannerman – Australia. The Kent born opener scored 165 in the first ever test match innings, and even with him scoring that many his team could only tally 245 all out. He also impressed in his native land during the heavily rain affected summer of 1878, though that tour did not feature a test match.
Sidney George Barnes – Australia. A combination of WWII and continual skirmishes with the authorities limited his test career to 13 matches, but a batting average of 63 speaks for itself.
*Donald Bradman – Australia. The most prolific batter the game has ever seen, his test average of 99.94 leaves a respectable career average (around 40) between him and the best of the rest at that level.
Ken Barrington – Surrey and England. The Berkshire born right hander averaged 58 at test level, with a best of 256 at Old Trafford in 1964.
Allan Border – Essex and Australia. The nuggety left hander pretty much was Australia’s resistance batting wise for about the first 10 years of his illustrious career. In the last few years of that great career, with Australia a good side, he played some excellent attacking innings. He would be the vice-captain of this side, as an acknowledgement of his status as the best skipper Australia have had in my lifetime.
Ian Botham – Somerset, Worcesstershire, Durham and England. For a few years he was a genuinely great all rounder, for a few more after that he was a producer of occasionally devastating performances. England selectors of the period during and after his final decline spoiled many a promising career by trying to get decent young cricketers to fit into the Botham shaped hole opening in England’s ranks.
+Wasim Bari – Pakistan. Pakistan’s best ever wicket keeper, and unlike some of his successors in that post there were never any questions asked about where his real loyalties were.
Billy Bates – Yorkshire and England. His brief test career was ended by a freak eye injury sustained during net practice, but 656 runs at 27 and 50 wickets at 16 at that level are some testament to the off spinning all rounders capabilities. He took England’s first ever test hat trick, part of a match performance that yielded 55 in the only innings he had to play and seven wickets in each Australian innings.
Richie Benaud – Australia. Before becoming ‘the Bradman of TV commentators’ (yes I believe he was that far clear of the best of the rest in that role) the Aussie leg spinning all rounder became the first to achieve the test career double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets.
Sydney Francis Barnes – England. Probably the most skilled bowler of any type ever to have played the game. Like his near namesake who is opening the batting for this XI he had a less than harmonious relationship with the authorities. He played little county cricket because he was paid better for being a professional for various clubs in the northern leagues. This meant that he played less than half of the test matches that England played between the start and end of his test career. Nonetheless, 189 wickets in 27 matches at 16.43 a piece is sufficient evidence of the trouble he caused even the best opponents.
Jasprit Bumrah – India. He burst on the scene at the end of 2018, taking a cheap six-for in that year’s Boxing Day test in Melbourne. He is now established as one the finest contemporary pace bowlers, and is still young enough that he should still be improving. He would form a seriously potent new ball combination with Barnes (sorry Beefy, in this line up you don’t get the new ball).
This team has a heavy scoring top five, a colossus of an all rounder at six, a top drawer keeper, two bowlers who can bat and two of the greatest specialist bowlers. The bowling, with Barnes and Bumrah sharing the new ball, Botham as back up pacer and two contrasting spinners in Benaud and Bates is both strong and well balanced.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
The team has no left arm orthodox spinner, and two who came very close were the Indians Bishan Singh Bedi and Palwankar Baloo. However, the only people I could have dropped to make way for one of them were Bates or Benaud, and that would have weakened the batting. Warren Bardsley (Australia), Bill Brown (Australia) and Jack Brown (Yorkshire, England) were three fine opening batters, any of whom might have been selected instead of Bannerman. Davud Boon suffered due being a regular number three – a position which for this particular letter is not open to debate! Jonny Bairstow missed out due to the extreme strength of batting available here and the fact that he has blown hot and cold (currently blazing hot) through his career. Two South Africans, Eddie Barlow and Colin Bland were very close to selection – the former missing out to Ian Botham and the latter to the general batting strength available, though he is of course designated fielding sub in the event of anyone having to leave the field. Bill Bowes was the best pace bowler to miss out and would certainly be in the tour party for this letter. West Indian speedsters Winston and Kenny Benjamin were also fine players, but no one is persuading me that they get in ahead of Barnes and Bumrah (or indeed Bowes). I also regretted not being able to accommodate Somerset and England’s Len Braund, resourceful batter, good leg spinner and brilliant slip fielder. West Indies batter Carlisle Best was ruled out for the same reason I had to rule out Keith Arthurton in the previous post – not enough substance to go with the style.
My account of the first day of India v England in Chennai, plus some photographs.
This post deals with day 1 in Chennai, where India and England have been doing battle. For those of us here in the UK coverage has been available on Channel Four for TV fans (which I am not – don’t look here for any comments about TV coverage) and on Talksport 2 for radio fans who want live commentary (TMS have been running a ‘cricket social’ on n 5 live sports extra). The time difference between the UK and India, and my preferred methods of following the game meant that at 3:45AM local time I was tuned into talksport2 and had a cricinfo window open on my computer for extra detail.
PRELIMINARIES
England were without Zak Crawley due to injury but did have Stokes, Pope and Archer all available and all were duly selected. England also departed from their stated rotation policy with the veterans and gave Anderson a second successive match. Fortunately, for all that some who should have known better were spruiking such a move England did not pick Moeen Ali. The selected lineup was thus: Sibley, Burns, Lawrence, *Root, Stokes, Pope, Buttler, Bess, Archer, Leach, Anderson. India meanwhile had lost left arm spinner Axar Patel to injury. Somewhat surprisingly they opted not pick wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, going instead for deepening their batting by picking both offspinners, Sundar and Ashwin, both of whom are handy with the bat alongside a debutant left arm spinner, Shahbaz Nadeem. Joe Root won the toss and chose to bat. Indian skipper Kohli, being a sensible chap, did not resort to the ‘psychological ploy’ of saying that he would have bowled anyway (note to captains who still do this, no one is buying it, OK?) opting instead for honesty.
THE PLAY
The morning started quietly, but with no great trouble for England. With 15 minutes to go until lunch the score was 63-0, but then Burns essayed a reverse sweep, not wise on day one of a test match and especially not so close to lunch, and edged the ball to Pant who took the catch. In the next over the unfortunate Lawrence got an absolute beauty from Bumrah and was pinned LBW and it was 63-2. The third umpire then spent ages agonizing over a decision on a potential run out after Root was a bit dozy, but fortunately he had made his ground. England took lunch at 67-2, and Root and Sibley were able to regroup. Post lunch scoring was slow initially but neither batter looked in any real trouble. Things picked up somewhat in the second half of the afternoon session and England reached tea at 140-2, with Root playing superbly and Sibley doing precisely what he was in the side to do: bat time and get some miles into the bowlers legs.
After tea Root hit the accelerator, while Sibley continued to be an excellent foil at the other end. Sundar was bowled comparatively sparingly, and was expensive and sadly posed little threat. Nadeem’s debut was marred by the bowling of several no-balls (pretty much inexcusable for a spinner), leaving only Ashwin as genuinely threatening spinner. The faster bowlers were better, Ishant being accurate enough to command respect at all times, and Bumrah bowling splendidly and deserving rather more reward than he actually got.
There were three scheduled balls of the day remaining and we were deep into the half hour over spill in which overs can be bowled when another corker of a ball from Bumrah pinned Sibley LBW. Because we were already over time, the dismissal ended play for the day, which means that England will resume on 263-3, Root 128 not out and Stokes the new batter. Root’s innings was a gem, his handling of the spinners especially brilliant. Sibley was rocklike until that fourth last ball of the day beat him, and his determined effort should not be overlooked. Root’s first innings scores in his last three tests have been 228, 186 and now 128 not out with power to add. In terms of an English batter going big successively in two different away countries I can think only of Hammond in 1933 who scored 101 and 75 not out in the fifth and final Ashes test and then produced scores of 227 and 336 not out in New Zealand in the next two games as a performance to rival Root’s.
Sundar’s figures of 12-0-55-0 indicate the problem with picking someone in a bowling role based on their batting ability, and underline the rightness of England not selecting Moeen Ali who is undoubtedly a less skilled practitioner with the ball than Sundar.
Root and Stokes need to get England through the first hour of tomorrow, and then England should have India where they want them. Root after the close made it quite clear that England are aiming to go big, and on this surface which appears to be very unresponsive that is necessary – I reckon that at minimum England need to double their current score before they can feel in control of things. However, I would much rather be in their shoes than India’s at the moment, hence the title of this piece.
PHOTOGRAPHS
There has been some sun today, and the finches are out in force here in North Lynn…
Today’s all time XI cricket post faces Janus-like in two directions simultaneously, towards the past and the future of this great game.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the final post in this All Time XIscricket series – as I start typing it the test match at the Ageas bowl is about to get underway following weather delays. England have won the toss and chosen to bat, in view the correct decision grey skies notwithstanding. This post takes its name from the Roman god Janus because it faces two ways – a look at cricket’s past in the form of a team selected for a combination of entertainment value and class, and a look to the future with a team largely comprising up and coming players, with the topical exception of the captain.
TS ENTERTAINMENT XI
*WG Grace – right handed opening batter, right arm bowler of varying types through his career. ‘The Doctor’ just had to be the captain of this side, with his outstanding approach and his attack minded approach. One quote “I never like defensive strokes – you can only get three for them.” Against Kent in the match after becoming the first to 100 first class centuries he made 257 as Gloucestershire replied to Kent’s 470 with 443 of their own. Kent then slumped to 78 all out in their second innings, and Gloucs needed 106 in an hour and a quarter to win, and Grace was on 73 not out when they got there just in time, having been on the field fior the entire match, and with his 47th birthday less than two months away.
Victor Trumper – right handed opening batter. At Old Trafford in 1902 he scored a century in the morning session of day 1. In a wet season he amassed 2,570 first class runs for the touring Australians, including 11 centuries.
Frank Woolley – left handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner, excellent close fielder. The only non-keeper to take 1,000 first class catches. At Lord’s in 1921 in the face of Gregory and McDonald against whom his colleagues could offer no resistance he scored 95 and 93. His highest first class score, 305 not out in a tour match on the 1911-2 trip to Australia, came from number three.
Charles Macartney – right handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner. He scored centuries in the second, third and fourth matches of the 1926 Ashes, the second of the three, at Leeds coming before lunch on day 1. In 1921 he scored 345 in 232 minutes against Nottinghamshire, reaching 300 in 198 minutes.
Garry Sobers – left handed batter, left arm bowler of every type known to cricket, brilliant fielder. The most complete player ever to play the game, and the most automatic of selections for a team of this nature.
+Les Ames – right handed batter, wicket keeper. Twice winner of the Lawrence Trophy for the fastest first class hundred of the season, three times he achieved the keeper’s season double of 1,000 runs and 100 dismissals (only John Murray of Middlesex, who did so once, achieved the feat in all the rest of cricket history). He executed 418 first class stumpings, an all time record.
Gilbert Jessop – right handed batter, right arm fast bowler, brilliant fielder. The ultimate in x-factor players. 53 first class centuries and only once did he bat for over three hours in a single innings.
Billy Bates – off spinner, right handed batter. 16 test matches, 50 wickets at 16 each and a batting average of 27. He was the first England bowler to take a test hat trick, as part of a match performance in which he took 14 wickets and scored 55 in England’s only innings.
Frank Tyson – right arm fast bowler. The ‘Typhoon’, producer of possibly the fastest bowling ever seen, during the 1954-5 Ashes tour when he bowled England to victory after they had been stuffed in the opener at the Gabba (that series remains the last Ashes series down under won by a side who lost at the Gabba).
Sydney Barnes – right arm fast medium bowler. Probably the greatest bowler ever seen. His signature weapon, ‘the Barnes ball’ was a leg break at fast medium pace, the nearest subsequent approach to which was Alec Bedser’s speciality. Incidentally it was from this no10 slot that he played his most important innings, the 38 not out that saw England to victory at the MCG in 1907, when they lost their eight wicket still 73 adrift, and their ninth still needing 39. Arthur Fielder of Kent was the no11 who assisted Barnes in that final partnership. In Barnes’ last test series, when he took 49 South African wickets in four matches before missing the fifth after a dispute, he took 17-159 in the match at Port Elizabeth, not a venue generally regarded fondly by bowlers.
William Mycroft – left arm fast bowler. 138 first class matches, 863 wickets at 12.09, including a 17 wicket haul in a losing cause against Hampshire in 1876 (the crucial innings was played by one Reginald Hargreaves, who later married Alice Pleasance Liddell, aka the Alice of “Alice in Wonderland”). He may have inspired the name of Mycroft Holmes (Doyle was fine cricketer as well as being a fanatical follower of the game, and Mycroft and brother Thomas played for Derbyshire as fast bowler and keeper, while Frank Shacklock and Mordecai Sherwin, from whose surnames one can get Sherlock played the same roles for Nottinghamshire), and in this XI he has a team mate with the middle name Holmes (Frank Holmes Tyson).
This team has an excellent top six, the ultimate in x-factor no 7s and four very fine and varied bowlers. Tyson, Barnes, Mycroft, Bates, Woolley, Sobers, Grace, Jessop and Macartney provide a wealth of bowling options. Do you open with Mycroft and Barnes and have Tyson come on first change, do you open with Tyson and Barnes and bring Mycroft on first change, or do you attempt to persuade Barnes to accept coming on first change so that you can open up with Tyson and Mycroft?
HONOURABLE MENTIONS AND SEGUE
Of course I have a stack load of regrets about players I could not accommodate, and many of you will have ideas of your own, but my principal regrets are:
Could not find a place for Denis Compton’s batting and left arm wrist spin bowling.
No place for Keith Miller.
Tyson was one of three choices for that slot – Harold Larwood, who also terrorized the Aussies in their own backyard and Charles Kortright of Essex were both in my thoughts.
Bill O’Reilly, Doug Wright, Derek Underwood, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar and Jack Iverson were all highly individualistic bowlers I would have loved to be able to accommodate.
Having attended to the past it is now time for…
TS FUTURE STARS XI
Prithvi Shaw – right handed opening batter. Has a remarkable record for someone so young, and will surely be a superstar before too many more years have passed. India would not want to break up the Sharma/ Agarwal opening pair an earlier than necessary, but perhaps they could accommodate Shaw by playing him at 3, with Kohli at four.
Dominic Sibley – right handed opening batter. His South African tour pretty much established him in the England side, especially his first test century. The restart of test cricket has not been good for him – in the brief passages of play that the weather has allowed he has been dismissed for a duck, but he will be back scoring runs again before long.
Shreyas Iyer – right handed batter. He has a magnificent record in all forms of cricket that he has played, and that will surely continue when he gets his chance at test level.
Daniel Lawrence – right handed batter, occasional off spinner. He played at no 4 in last week’s warm up game at The Ageas Bowl and made 58 in the first innings, and was then not called on to bat in the second. He was then left out of the test squad, with Denly being chosen for the batting spot vacated by Joe Root being on paternity leave. His time will surely come soon.
James Bracey – left handed batter, occasional wicket keeper. He made 85 in that warm up game at the Ageas Bowl, and again was overlooked for the test match. He has done some work on his wicket keeping, but regards himself primarily as a batter, and that is the role I see him playing for England when he gets the call up.
*Ben Stokes – left handed batter, right arm fast bowler, captain. The one member of this side who is indisputably established at the very highest level, and in a nod to what is happening at the Ageas Bowl I have named as captain.
+Ben Foakes – wicket keeper, right handed batter. England’s best (and worst treated) current wicket keeper. Among 21st century keepers his only rival with the gloves is the now retired Sarah Taylor, and he averages over 40 for those few tests he has been selected for. Bairstow is no longer able to perform in red ball cricket, and Buttler is barely even a competent keeper, and has never had a good red ball batting record, and yet it is this latter named individual who is currently taking the place behind the stumps that should be Foakes’. Stokes is an established test cricket, while Foakes should be but is not yet.
Lewis Goldsworthy– left arm orthodox spinner, right handed batter. He had a good under-19 world cup, and I expect to see him notable first class performances from him before too much longer. He may yet develop into a genuine all rounder, but at the moment he is definitely more bowler than batter, hence his positioning at no eight in this order.
Rashid Khan – leg spinner, useful lower order batter. Four test matches have yielded him 23 wickets at 21.08, a magnificent start at that level, and he has a phenomenal record in limited overs cricket. He has also already racked up a test 50 with his lower order batting. I look forward to seeing him establish himself as one of the greats of the game.
Oliver Edward Robinson– right arm medium fast bowler, useful lower order batter. I use his full name because there is a young wicket keeper from Kent, Oliver Graham Robinson, who is on the fringes of the England set up. He takes his wickets at 22 each in first class cricket, and bowled well in the warm up match at the Ageas Bowl. Whether he has sufficient pace to trouble top level batters remains to be seen, but he should get his opportunity before too long. Yes, one has to pick for the present, but the future should also be considered, and England are due to go to Australia for their 2021-2 season, by when James Anderson will be 39 years of age, probably too old to spearhead the attack out there (the last England new ball bowler to succeed out there at that sort of age was Syd Barnes on the 1911-2 tour).
Jasprit Bumrah – right arm fast bowler. He has played 14 test matches, the second most of anyone in this side, in which he has taken 68 wickets at 20, including shaking the Aussies up in their own backyard in the 2018-9 Border – Gavaskar Trophy. I hope to hear more of him in the not too distant future – talents of this type can only be good for the game.
This team has a fine top five, the x-factor player of the current era at six, the best current keeper and a beautifully balanced selection of bowlers. Bumrah, Robinson and Stokes look a fine pace trio, and Goldsworthy and Khan should combine well as spin twins.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Pakistan left arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi has made an impressive start to his career, and would be my first reserve quick should one or other of Bumrah or Robinson be unavailable. Hamidullah Qadri was the other English success story of the u-19 world cup, although at the moment he would have to be considered as at best third in the senior off spinning queue behind Bess and Virdi, though in red ball cricket he is certainly ahead of Ali in my pecking order. Finally, a suggestion of a type that might be regarded as akin to heresy in certain quarters, all rounder Amelia Kerr has had success with both bat and leg spin for the New Zealand Women, is still only 18, and the Kiwis do not have a long queue of spin bowling options – will they take a chance on giving a female the opportunity to play alongside the men?
Today in my all-time XIs series I look at a test playing line up and put myself in the firing line for 1.3 billion of the game’s most avid fans – yes it’s India in the spotlight.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the latest of my variations on an ‘All Time XIs‘ theme. Today for only the second time since starting this series I am doing a test XI, and I my choice puts me in the firing line of 1.3 billion avid cricket fans – yes it is India in the spotlight today. I am going to begin from players whp featured in the time that I have been following the game, and will then move to on the all-time element of the selection.
INDIA FROM MY CRICKET LIFETIME
For this element of the post I have set my cut off point at that 1990 series in England – I caught snatches of the 1986 series, but the 1990 one is the earliest involving India of which I can claim genuine recollection (England should have visited India in 1988-9 but that tour was cancelled for political reasons).Â
Mayank Agarwal – 11 test matches, 17 innings, 974 runs at 57.29, no not outs to boost the average. He has made a sensational start at the highest level, and is also part of a tremendously successful opening partnership with…
Rohit Sharma – 2,164 runs at 46.54 in test cricket sounds good but a little short of true greatness. However, Sharma was initially played at test level as a middle order batter, and his results since being promoted to the top of the order have been utterly outstanding.
Rahul Dravid – 13,288 test runs at 52.31 for ‘the wall’. In the 2002 series, he and Michael Vaughan of England took it in turns to produce huge scores. Dravid assisted in one of test cricket’s greatest turnarounds in 2001, when India were made to follow on and emerged victorious by 171 runs, and I shall have more to say about this match in due time.
Sachin Tendulkar – more runs and more hundreds (precisely 100 of them) in international cricket than anyone else in the game’s history. He was one of the few batters of his era who could genuinely claim to have had the whip hand on Shane Warne. I first saw him in that 1990 series when he was 17 years of age, and his personal highlights included a maiden test century and an astonishing running catch (he covered at least 30 metres to get to the ball).
*Virat Kohli – one of the top few batters in the world today (the Aussies Smith and Labuschagne both have higher test averages, and Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson bears comparison, and heterodox as I am about such matters I would also when it comes to long form batting throw Ellyse Perry into the mix), and has certainly already achieved enough to be counted among the greats.
+Mahendra Singh Dhoni– wicket keeper and dashing middle order batter. Of the contenders for the gloves he alone has a batting record the enables me to select five front line bowlers.
Ravindra Jadeja – left arm orthodox spinner, lower middle order batter and superb fielder. His averages are the correct way round (35 with the bat and 24 with the ball).
Kapil Dev – right arm medium fast, attacking lower middle order batter. He spent much of his career with no pace support whatsoever, having to attempt to be the spearhead of an attack that was often moderate. At Lord’s in that 1990 series he played an innings that should have saved his side from defeat, though it did not. Facing 653-4 declared (Gooch 333) India were 430-9, with Narendra Hirwani, a fine leg spinner who had captured 16 West Indian wickets on test debut but a genuine no11 bat at the other end, when Kapil faced off spinner Eddie Hemmings. There were four balls left in the over, and Kapil’s task was to score 24 to avert the follow-on. He proceeded to hit each of those last four balls for six to accomplish the task. Hirwani, as predicted, did not last long, and England had a lead of 199. Gooch crashed a rapid 123 in that second England innings (a record 456 runs in a test match, the triple century/ century double was subsequently emulated by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara), and India collapsed in the fourth innings of the match, giving England what turned out to be the only victory of the series.
Anil Kumble – leg spinner, lower order batter. One of only two bowlers, the other being Jim Laker, to have taken all 10 wickets in a test innings, and the third leading test wicket taker of all time.
Mohammed Shami – right arm fast bowler. India has not generally been known for producing out and out quick bowlers, but Shami’s 180 wickets at 27.49 are a testament to his effectiveness.
Jasprit Bumrah– right arm fast bowler, 14 test matches, 68 wickets at 20.33. Save for when the West Indies were in their pomp visiting fast bowlers have rarely been able to claim to have blitzed the Aussies in their own backyard. Bumrah, who virtually settled the destiny of the Melbourne test of 2018, and with it the Border-Gavaskar trophy, with a devastating spell in the Australian first innings is one of the exceptions.
This combination boasts a stellar top five, a wicket keeping all rounder at six, and five varied and talented bowlers, the first three of whom can all contribute with the bat as well. I believe that Kapil Dev as third seamer in a top quality attack rather than spearhead in a moderate one, which was too often the role he had to play, would be even finer than he was in real life. Now we look at the…
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
This section begins with an explanation (nb not an excuse, there being in my opinion nothing to excuse) of one of my choices:
JADEJA V ASHWIN
The choice for the second spinner role was really between these two, and there will be many wondering at the absence of Mr Ashwin. Here then is the explanation:
Jadeja – 1,869 test runs at 35.24, 213 test wickets at 24.62. Ashwin – 2,389 test runs at 28.10, 365 wickets at 25.43
Jadeja outdoes Ashwin both with bat and ball, which is why he gets the nod from me.
Now we on to the other honourable mention to get his own subsection…
THE VERY VERY SPECIAL INNINGS
Against the mighty Aussies in 2001 Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman came in in the second innings with India having followed on and already four down and still some way behind. He proceeded to score 281, at the time the highest individual test score ever made by an Indian, India reached 657-7 declared (Dravid 180 as well), and with 383 to defend rolled Australia for 212 to win by 171 runs. India took the next match and with it the series as well – Laxman in one brilliant, brutal innings had upended the entire series. Laxman finished his career with 8,781 test runs at 45.24, a very respectable record, but not quite on a par with the middle order batters I actually selected – India has always been hugely strong in this department.
OTHER HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Two other opening batters besides my chosen pair featured in my thoughts – Virender Sehwag, scorer of two test triple hundreds, and a shoo-in for Agarwal’s partner had I decided not go with the known effective partnership, and Navjot Singh Sidhu, an attack minded opener in the 1990s, who had a fine test record, but not quite fine enough to make the cut. For much of my time as a cricket follower India have struggled to find openers, often selecting makeweights to see of the new ball before the folks in the middle order take control (Deep Dasgupta, Shiv Sunder Das, Manoj Prabhakar and Sanjay Bangar, the last two of whom also served as opening bowlers are four examples that I can remember). In the middle of the order Mohammed Azharruddin, Sourav Gangulyand Vinod Kambli were three of the highest quality performers to have missed out, although the first named is of course tainted by his association with match fixing. Cheteshwar Pujara was a candidate for the no 3 slot I awarded to Dravid, but for me ‘the wall’ just shades it. Kiran More, Nayan Mongia, Rishabh Pant and current incumbent Wriddhiman Saha are a fine foursome of glove men all of whom would have their advocates. Among the spinners I passed over were Chauhan and Raju in the 1990s, Harbhajan Singh in the early 2000s and Narendra Hirwani the leg spinner who took 16 on debut but did little else in his career. Also, while mentioning Indian spinners who I have been privileged to have witnessed in action I cannot fail to mention Poonam Yadav, who nearly bowled her country to this years T20 world cup. The seam bowling department offered fewer alternatives, but Javagal Srinath, the first Indian bowler of genuine pace who I ever saw, left arm fast medium Zaheer Khan and dependable fast medium Bhuvneshwar Kumarwould all have their advocates, but I had already inked Kapil in the for role of third seamer and wanted the two out and out quick bowlers of the current era as my shock bowlers.
INDIA ALL TIME
I will only mention the players I have not already covered, before listing the batting order in full and moving on to the honourable mentions.
Sunil Gavaskar has a test record that absolutely demands inclusion – he was the first to 10,000 test runs and made a good portion of those runs against the West Indies when they were stacked with fast bowlers. I could not include him in the team from my time as a cricket follower, because he was finishing his great career just as my interest in cricket began to develop. I saw one reminder of his past glories, when he batted for The Rest of The World v the MCC in the MCC Bicentenary match and made a chanceless century, never giving the bowlers a sniff.
Cottari K Nayudu was an off spinning all rounder and India’s first ever test captain. His seven test matches left him with a modest looking record at that level, but his first class record, built up over a span of 46 years looks very impressive indeed.
Syed Kirmani is generally considered to be have been India’s greatest wicket keeper.
Amar Singh was a shooting star across the cricketing sky, India’s first great fast bowler, and for many years the only one of international repute that his country produced. His seven test appearances produced 28 wickets at 30.69, but it is record in 92 first class appearances, 506 wickets at 18.35 that gets him the nod from me, especially given what cricket in India was like in that period.
Palwankar Baloo was a left arm spinner who played his cricket before India was a test playing nation, and had to contend with huge prejudice as a member of a low caste. Unlike the various Jam Sahebs, Maharajas and Nawabs who were able to strut their stuff in English county cricket he had to settle for those games people would pick him for in India. The 33 games he played at first class level yielded him 179 wickets at 15.31 each. Although I am open to correction on this I believe he is also the only first class cricketer to share a name with a character from the Jungle Book (Baloo is the big brown bear who teaches Mowgli the law of the jungle in Rudyard Kipling’s magnum opus).
Thus my all-time Indian team in batting order is: 1)Sunil Gavaskar 2)Mayant Agarwal who in spite of his short career to date holds his position 3)Rahul Dravid 4)Sachin Tendulkar 5)*Virat Kohli 6)Cottari K Nayudu 7)Kapil Dev 8)+Syed Kirmani 9)Amar Singh 10)Palwankar Baloo 11)Jasprit Bumrah
This combination features a stellar top five, 6,7 and 8 all capable of useful runs, and three superb specialist bowlers. The wicket keeper is top drawer. The bowling attack features two genuinely fast bowlers, Kapil Dev as third seamer and two contrasting spinners in Baloo (left arm orthodox) and Nayudu (off spin).
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Other than those mentioned earlier the only other opener I considered was Vijay Merchant, who had the second highest first class average of anyone at 71.22. His test average was a mere 47 however, a massive decline on his first class output for reasons I shall go into later, and for this reason I reluctantly ruled him out. In the middle order Vijay Hazare, Pahlan Umrigar and Gundappa Viswanath would all have their advocates, will I also had to ignore the possessor of the 4th highest first class score in history, Bhausaheb Nimbalkar. Among all rounders the biggest miss was Mulvantrai Himmatlal ‘Vinoo’ Mankad, who completed the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in test cricket in his 23rd match (only Botham has required fewer), but I was determined to select Baloo, which meant that there would be less scope for Mankad’s left arm spin, so in the interests of balance I left him out. My view on the mode of dismissal named after him is that it is the batter who is trying to gain an unfair advantage by leaving the ground earlier, and if the bowler spots and runs them out well done to them, although delaying before going into delivery stride in the hope of catching a batter napping is taking things a little too far. Dattu Phadkar, a middle order batter who was often used as an opening bowler was another who could have been considered. With all due respect to Messrs Bedi, Prasanna and Venkataraghavan who each had more than respectable records the only one of the great 1970s spinners I really regretted not being able to find a place for was Bhagwath Chandrasekhar the leg spinner who was a genuine original. His right arm was withered by polio, and that was the arm he bowled with. Among specialist pace bowlers there are, as I have previously indicated, few contenders, but Chetan Sharma had has moments in the 1980s. It is now time for…
A CODA ON THE DOMINANCE OF THE BAT IN INDIAN CRICKET
For a long time first class matches in India were timeless, which is to say they were played out until a definite result was reached. Some of the scores were astronomical, with the only two first class matches to have had aggregates of over 2,000 runs both played in India. I will use one match as a case study:
BOMBAY V MAHARASHTRA 1948
This match featured in Patrick Murphy’s “Fifty Incredible Cricket Matches”, and he used a phrase about matches such as this one that I just love “a meaningless fiesta for Frindalls” (William Howard Frindall, aka ‘Bearders’, was the second chronologically of two legendary statisticians to have initials WHF, the other being William Henry Ferguson). Bombay scored 651-9 declared in their first innings, Maharashtra made 407 in response, and Bombay declined to enforce the follow-on, racking up 714-8 declared at the second time of asking to set Maharashtra 959 to win. Maharashtra managed 604 of these, losing by 354 runs in a match that saw 2,376 runs and 37 wickets, the highest aggregate for any first class match ever. Three batters notched up twin centuries, Uday Merchant (nb Uday, not the famous Vijay) and Dattu Phadkar for Bombay, and Madhusudan Rege for Maharashtra. Phadkar was a test regular, Rege played one test match in which he aggregated 15, and even in first class cricket averaged only 37 in all, while Merchant had a first class average of 55.78 but was never picked for a test match, and there were three other individual centuries. What this kind of thing meant was that Indian bowlers tended to operate under a collective inferiority complex, while the batters would flounder any time they faced other than a shirt front. Fred Trueman, who bowled against Pahlan Umrigar in the 1952 test series (at his retirement Umrigar held a fistful of Indian test records), and claimed that there were times when he was bowling and the square leg umpire was nearer the stumps than Umrigar, the batter, and while this story may have grown in the telling, it would have been an exaggeration rather than a complete invention. This is why I would need a lot of convincing of the actual merits of some of those who had fine looking batting records in those years, while any bowler with a good looking record is likely to get huge credit, and it is one reason why I make no apology for my choices of Amar Singh and Palwankar Baloo in my All Time Indian XI.
LINKS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
We have reached the end of our journey through Indian cricket, and it only remains to put in a couple of links before applying my usual sign off. First, finishing with the cricket I draw your attention to the pinchhitter’s latest offering, which will certainly repay a read. Finally, a splendid piece on whyevolutionistrue in defence of governor Andrew Cuomo who has been pilloried by religious zealots for daring to not give god full credit for such success as has been had in the fight against Covid-19. And now, in my own distinctive way it is time to call ‘Time’:
A splendid orb web brought to my attention by the angle of the sun in my garden this morning (five pictures)
The two XIs in tabulated form with greatly abridged comments.
aspiblog 